Ko Taranaki te Maunga (Taranaki the mountain)

For those unfamiliar with where Taranaki is, look at a map of the north island of NZ, on the western side, there's a rounded belly poking out, kinda half way between Auckland & Wellington, that's the region of Taranaki & in the centre of the region stands Taranaki, our mountain.

Taranaki is our mountain. 
A dormant andesitic stratovolcano. 
It is an iconic, ever present ( tho not always visible) landmark which created our landscape, determined the regional topography, rivers & plains, influences our weather & infuses our being.

It is difficult to put into words the significance the mountain holds for people who live in the region. 
I think it's true to say that it defines us.
There are times we completely overlook it, or can't see it due to it being hidden behind cloud so thick that you would have trouble getting a stranger to believe it was even there . . . . but we know it's there.

Taranaki (the mountain) definitely influences local artists & creatives with a desire to re-create the mountain in their own media, to celebrate the role the mountain plays in their lives. 
And why not ? it's a perfect subject . . . .

Taranaki infuses people with identity, a sense of belonging & connection.
Wherever we go & for how ever long we are away, our mountain waits for us & whenever we return we look for it, we need to see it, then we know, absolutely, we are home. 


Depending on which side of the mountain you live determines where it features in your landscape. 
For us, it's to our south, guarding us from behind. 

Hugh works on an on-going series of andesite sculptures (stone from the mountain), creating triangular forms with two faces, each different. 
To date he has completed 5 works, which we refer to as 'Faces of Taranaki'.

My mountain work is much more humble, it is made of wool & crochet.

I wanted a gift for a 30 something year old who was leaving the town & province to further her career. 

There is a local ceramicist, Maria Brockhill, who makes lovely small mountains which I like to buy as gifts.
I went to the usual design store to purchase one, only to discover there were absolutely none in stock.
After pondering about what I could buy instead, I decided to make a similar sized mountain, crochet of course, & using New Zealand wool.

Of course the recipient was completely underwhelmed & the gift has probably long ago been 'on gifted' or discarded.

I really don't care as I was overjoyed to have created my own tribute to our beautiful mountain. 
 
Someone asked if I could scale the little mountains up & make doorstops, so I did.

I modified the design to create a permanently stuffed upper & a zippered compartment in the base. 
This enables the base to be filled with anything you want to whatever weight you feel you need.
I use a small bag of rice, which weighs about 700g, to hold our doors. 
Our floors are wooden so wool is ideal as there are no accidental scratches.
Best of all is being able to slide the doorstop out of the way with my foot. 
I love my mountains. I have 3. 

People who leave Taranaki miss the mountain. In fact some of them yearn for the mountain. 
They fill their homes with Taranaki themed paintings, wall hangings, photographs, cushions & sculpture. 

Nowadays a few of them also have my doorstops. 
They are made with all the love & respect I have for our mountain. 

Yep … it's a crochet doorstop !
… a fun, quirky, reminder of home.

The full range of mountains available for purchase is in the Etsy online store or email me here.