Another Introduction

[Paul <pnuttall@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 After seeing Lara's introduction I realise I have
 probably never introduced myself either. I've been
 lurking for a month or so. I'm a sculptor, with no great
 experience with stone, but definitely lots of interest.
 I live in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, a
 stunningly beautiful country with a lot going for it,
 though a fairly small market for sculpture. Wellington
 is a major port, with a complex waterfront consisting of
 many small bays, a lot of which are very popular beaches
 for swimming and sunning. The city is very hilly, also
 famed for it's winds, though the wind is only there some
 of the time. It's supposed to be reminiscent of San
 Francisco, though I haven't been there yet so can't
 really compare. On a nice day it's hard to beat. We've
 just had one of our most fantastic summers on record,
 so I'm in love with the place right now. However the
 weather has just turned, and today is freezing with icy
 winds and hail.

 I have worked with Oamaru stone, which is a soft, coarse
 textured creamy white limestone from the small town of
 Oamaru in New Zealand's South Island. There is the
 occasional building using it in Wellington, while I
 think half of Oamaru is probably built with it (though
 I've never been there). Oamaru stone is well known in
 Wellington, because it is the primary material used at
 Tareitanga, which is a biennial stone carving symposium
 held on Wellington's waterfront. Check
 [URL now obsolete] for many photos
 of this year's symposium and previous years. This year
 there were probably about 40 sculptors working for up to
 3 weeks, most on multi-ton blocks of Oamaru stone, but
 some on marble (also from the South Island) with a few
 on andesite, a hard volcanic stone from around Taranaki,
 a central North Island province. I didn't take part, but
 visited frequently. Large numbers of Wellingtonians
 visit every day, and numerous events happen on the
 sidelines, quite unconnected but bring more crowds.
 Wellington has a Summer City programme, with free events
 popping up everywhere. Sometimes there are multiple
 large musical events to choose from on a single day. The
 Mad Professor performed right next to the stone carving.
 Sculptors come from all over New Zealnd and the world.

 I have also tried Hinuera stone, which is finer, still
 soft, a brown sandstone(?) which is easily worked, and
 also sold here for building. It is also sold fired,
 which is a darker colour, more towards orange. Sometimes
 a mix of the two are used in building. Various attempts
 with others including granite and scoria to keep me
 stimulated (!)

 Mainly I work in other materials altogether, especially
 bronze, which I create from start to finish using lost
 wax and ceramic shell, or occasionally lost polystyrene
 sand casting. I have carved a number of wooden pieces. I
 enjoy casting mainly. At present I am experimenting with
 ciment fondu, lately mixed with vermiculite which makes
 a fantastic mottled texture and can be nailed together
 (!). My latest attempt consists of 2 pieces of cast
 ciment/vermiculite blend which I intend to join with
 patinated copper nails, and incorporate a hand-made
 paper membrane showing through a hole. No pictures
 sorry.

 Well that was longer than I expected, I didn't think I
 had anything to say!

 Paul Nuttall pnuttall@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx