New Zealand's Maori culture is rich in symbols and legends. This is clearly visible in the jewelry that comes out of Maori culture. Make a Maori necklace by carving your own symbol into greenstone. If you can't find that, a soft jade will work. Find the symbol that best matches who you are, or pick a design from a Maori tattoo art gallery and go with that. This project requires gem cutting tools as well as intermediate artistic ability and experience in cutting stones.
Instructions
- 1
Choose a Maori symbol to carve. Buy nephrite jade or greenstone slab to work with. It's easily found on either eBay or New Zealand's trademe.co.nz. Make sure you have the tools you will need. Diamondpacific.net is a good place to find wet saw blades and other accessories.
2Draw your design on the jade slab with the pencil. With a diamond wet saw begin shaping your symbol into the stone. Remember that the more detailed a Maori symbol you choose, the longer it will take to finish it. Choosing a more simple design such as the hei matau, or fish hook, might take just a couple of hours. Choosing something more detailed such as the good luck charm hei tiki could take several days.
3Use a diamond drill bit to polish your final product. With 1000 grit sand paper, you will be able to smooth it out. You may need to use a buffing tool. When you are finished, take an 18k gold necklace (you can find one on overstock.com) and loop it through the end of your Maori-designed necklace.
0 comments:
Post a Comment