This piece was a commission. I was contacted by a lady who wanted a carving to express some experiences in her life that would be represented by a flying bird, a seahorse and Nikau palms. We talked a little about what the objects represented and their relationship to herself and each other.
I used a few different carving styles in this piece. I carved the Nikau palms in relief to strengthen the bottom part of the carving, the seahorse in reverse intaglio (into the back) to give a underwater feel and the flying bird in intaglio (into the front).
The material is NZ Carnelian. You can find out more about it here.