PROFILE

HISTORY
I was born in Auckland; my parents are Bill and Marie Costar. I grew up in Titirangi, at the foot of the Waitakere Ranges. My education came from Kaurilands Primary, Glen Eden Intermediate, Kelston Boys High, and Massey University.

In my late teens, I worked on farms, as a storeman in a gasket factory and for a paint company. Then I built a housetruck and hit the road to explore New Zealand.

First stop was Nambassa Festival, where I was introduced to yoga and spiritual matters. By the next year's Nambassa Festival, I had built a second housetruck because my family had outgrown the confines of the first.

At this festival, I constructed a pyramid, (approximately 9 metres square at the base) at the request of my yoga teacher - Louis Postlewaite (Karmayogananda). The festival was a financial flop but the acts , the guest speakers and the experience, left lasting imprints on me.

At Nambassa, I met another housetrucker, Merv Jury. Years later, we met up again on the road. Merv was now carving bone. I enjoyed watching him work but couldn't get inspired about bone.

Finding a piece of burnt Totara wood, I carved a pendant... I was hooked. (Yes. I had carved a fishhook). Later I bought some jade offcuts and became hooked again, on stone this time.

My third housetruck was laden with about a ton of stone, wood and tools, along with the grinders and diamond saw I used when 230 volts was accessible.

Coming to the South Island, I settled here in Takaka with my wife, Pounamu, and our children - Jessamy, Isaac, Shanti and Venus - later followed by Rewa, Pepe (deceased), Sam and Taimana, on our piece of land not far from town.

PHILOSOPHY
I think of myself as a multimedia carver. My greatest passion is stone, primarily jade, although wood, shells, fossil ivory, whalebone, tagua nut (vegetable ivory), and many other treasures also wait in the corners of my workshop.

In 1994, I assisted with the first "Taonga Pūoro" Wananga at Onetahua Marae. This was a workshop, teaching us to make and play some Maori musical instruments. We used local soapstone to make "Karanga Manu" (bird callers) and "Karanga Weka" (a Weka or NZ Woodhen caller).

A whole new world of music opened before me at this workshop. It was the start of a journey that continues to amaze me.

Although I'm not Maori as far as I know, I have since childhood held a fascination with the Taonga (sacred treasures) of old and the wonderful carvings created long before the advent of power tools.

Most of my carving is inspired by nature and the beauty and forms that surround us. Being a Cancerian, water, with its flows, curves and spirals features a lot in my creations.

Since I began carving Taonga Puoru (musical Instruments), I have become more influenced by traditional Maori designs.

Wayne Costar