• Contact TSL
  • The TSL Recipe Vault
  • TSL’s Greatest Hits!
  • Who am I?

This Sydney Life

~ Mostly Recipes & Musings on Health

This Sydney Life

Tag Archives: Gifts under $100

The Week TSL Went to the Birds…

14 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by Joanna in Design, New Zealand

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Australia, Banksy, Bird, Christmas, Christmas Gift, Essenze, Gifts under $100, Home and Garden, Jo Luping, Kiwiana, Leila Jeffreys, Native Bird, New Zealand, Phil Walters, Sculpture

'Tui' Metal Bird by Phil Walters for Silo Design

‘Tui’ Metal Bird by Phil Walters for Silo Design
Tui are considered to be very intelligent, much like parrots or at least the smart ones. They also resemble parrots in their ability to clearly imitate human speech, and were reputedly trained by Māori to replicate complex speech Tui are also known for their noisy, unusual calls, different for each individual, that combine bellbird-like notes with clicks, cackles, timber-like creaks and groans.
(Image from Essenze)

There seems to be a recurring theme this week here at TSL. On Monday I gave you Jo Luping’s lovely ceramic bowls, which included images of New Zealand’s tuis and fantails. Then, yesterday we had Leila Jeffreys and her images of the iconic Australian cockatoo. And today, yet more birds as we return to New Zealand for Phil Walters and his whimsical sculptural interpretations of native birds.

I covet one of these and I may just have to visit the Essenze shop in Parnell for a sneaky self-Christmas gift when I am home next week. At just NZ$79 each, I think it would bring me so much pleasure to look out at my Sydney garden with a wee piece of home in one of the trees. Now I just have to work out which one is my favourite…

In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence. (Robert Lynd)

'Fantail (Piwakawaka)' Metal Bird by Phil Walters for Silo Design

‘Fantail (Piwakawaka)’ Metal Bird by Phil Walters for Silo Design
Known for its friendly ‘cheet cheet’ call and impressive energetic flying antics, the aptly (if a little obviously) named fantail is one of the most common and widely distributed native birds on the New Zealand mainland.
It is easily recognized by its long tail which opens to a fan. It has a small head and bill but large ideas, especially in the field of aerobatics.
(Image from Essenze)

Apparently, the inspiration for the designs first started with Phil’s interest in street art and installation. He had been in Bristol and was an admirer of stencil graffiti artist Bansky. Walters states, “Frankly, I loved the guys swagger, intelligence and most of all his humour. I was in Bristol, Banksy‘s home in 2009 looking at a Banksy exhibition and was pretty impressed with his cunning.

I sat on the plane on the 28 hours back home to Auckland wondering what my version of ‘Banksy’ could be and decided that I’d do something sculptural and in 3 dimensions. The idea of metal birds came from wanting to do something I could covertly hammer into lamp posts, trees and buildings in public spaces that would somehow beautify and add value, or at least not offend.

I ‘placed’ around 40 birds in the field around the North Island over Xmas 2011.

It turns out that not only did they not offend, actually people wanted them both for their gardens and houses and their own ‘public installations’.”

That story just makes me want one of his creations even more…

'Kereru (Wood Pigeon)' Metal Bird by Phil Walters for Silo Design

‘Kereru (Wood Pigeon)’ Metal Bird by Phil Walters for Silo Design
A metal version of New Zealand’s native pigeon, also known as kererū, kūkū, kūkupa, wood pigeon and most commonly as ‘a woody’. It’s reputedly the only disperser of large fruit seeds we have (ouch!), the disappearance of the kererū would be a disaster for the regeneration of New Zealand’s native forests
(Image from Essenze)

'Huia' Metal Bird by Phil Walters for Silo Design

‘Huia’ Metal Bird by Phil Walters for Silo Design
The Huia was a species of wattlebird that was found only in New Zealand’s North Island. Unluckily for the Huia (and for us) it became extinct in the early 20th century due to rampant hunting for mounted specimens (damn those museums and wealthy private collectors). Huia were also hunted to obtain their long, striking tail feathers for locally fashionable hat decorations. So Phil Walters is keen to bring them back, at least in spirit!
(Image from Essenze)

If you are interested in picking up your own piece of native Kiwiana bird life (and one that customs will have no problem with), Essenze ships internationally. You can check out all they have on offer here.

Recent Posts

  • The End of an Era and a New Beginning…
  • ‘He Won’t Know It’s Paleo’ – a Review
  • The Shame of Hidradenitis Suppurativa
  • Lip-Smackingly Good Lemon Ice Cream (AIP Friendly)
  • The Other Side of Family Time at Casa TSL…
  • Family Time at Casa TSL
  • Things Julia Child has Taught Me (That Have Nothing to do With the Art of French Cookery!)
  • Could You Have Pyrrole Disorder?
  • Easter Inspiration Recipe Round Up
  • The GREAT Sydney AIP Resource Page

Enter your email address to follow This Sydney Life. You'll receive notifications of new posts straight to your inbox...

Like TSL on Facebook! Go on… She’s finally got around to signing up!

Like TSL on Facebook! Go on… She’s finally got around to signing up!

Categories

  • Art
  • Australia
  • Book Review
  • Culture
  • Design
  • Dogs
  • export
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • Haberdashery
  • Health
  • New Zealand
  • Nutrition
  • Performance
  • Random Stuff
  • Retail
  • Sides & Sauces
  • Soup
  • Sweets
  • Sydney
  • The Main Event
  • Travel

Top Posts & Pages from TSL

  • Luke Mangan's SERIOUSLY GOOD Osso Bucco
  • A Simple Sorrel Pesto
  • Sculpture by the Sea 2013 - A Photo Montage, TSL Style
  • I Was a Beef Short Rib Virgin...
  • The One Where TSL Makes a Goat Curry...
  • Pete Evans and His SERIOUSLY GOOD Bliss Balls...
  • Jazmin Berakha Embroiders Colour & Pattern
  • Jamie Oliver and His BEST EVER Pukka Spiced Slow-cooked Lamb Shanks
  • Sir Peter Blake and His Lucky Red Socks
  • Sophie Digard & Her Creative Crochet

Archives

  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012

Top Rated

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • This Sydney Life
    • Join 40 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • This Sydney Life
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...