Wood chips, stone dust flying for symposium

There is a flurry of wood chips and stone dust in Midhirst this week as 10 artists from around New Zealand create works of art for Stratford's first Stone and Wood Sculpture Symposium.

Held at the Stratford Club, local brothers Tai and Karam Meuli have organised the symposium as a fundraising event for the Stratford Club.

Tai has been working with stone, wood and steel for over 20 years professionally and has been attending symposiums around the world for 15 years. Tai and Karam's father Rex Meuli was a long-standing member of the Stratford Club, and Tai says the symposium is a great way to support the club as well as bring some of New Zealand's best artists back to his home town.

For the past week the artists have been creating their pieces at Tai's home in Midhirst. All will be on display at the Stratford Club and auctioned off this weekend.

The artists began to arrive in Taranaki last weekend and Tai says it has been great working together. "Many of them haven't been to the region before and Karam and myself have both been out of the area for a number of years so it is nice to be home".

Other artists involved in the symposium include Jocelyn Pratt, a stone sculptor who travels around international symposiums, and Lawrence Makaore, a New Zealand actor best known for his roles in the The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Tai says each of the artists shows a wide variety of skill, and each piece created for the symposium will be unique.

While the pieces will be on display at the Stratford Club on Saturday and an auction held on Sunday, members of the public are invited to view the artists at work until Friday morning by phoning Tai on 021 022 72606.

The Stone and Wood Symposium will be at the Stratford Club on Saturday, November 28 from 11am until closing and Sunday, November 29 from midday, with the auction starting at 3pm. Entry by gold coin donation.