In the recently released doco, Mō Te Iwi: Carving For The People, Rangi Hetet speaks about his teacher, Hone (John) Taiapa, more than 60 years after he learned whakairo under the renowned master carver.

"I thank my teacher, John." - Rangi Hetet says at 82 years of age

Our father, Rangi's acknowledgement of his teacher, as the source of his own knowledge and skills, is an example of the tikanga of honouring one's teacher.

This tikanga (way of doing things based on traditional Māori values) is something that can sometimes be overlooked by students of the traditional arts. In this post we discuss the tikanga of honouring your teacher within Te Whare Pora (the house of weaving). If you're a carver - the same principles apply.

TE WHAREPORA AND THE TIKANGA OF HONOURING YOUR TEACHER

It helps to think of Te Whare Pora as a state of being more than just a place where weaving happens. If Te Whare Pora is built...

Nōu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai tatou kātoa.

With your food basket, with my food basket, all of us will prosper.

The rourou speaks so well about co-operation and it is one of the simplest and most quickly woven of baskets. A perfect 'bowl' for kai (well, most foods - except soup).

It is a five-cornered basket like the one pictured here woven by one of our online students - Bybi Clarke

Whereas, the kono is a simple four-cornered basket. 

Even though they may look the same, they are actually quite different baskets. 

You might like to check out our article about why weaving kono can make you a better weaver. 

Pictured below are kono woven by Veranoa Hetet. 

"I desperately want to get to my weaving but I feel like there's no time!"

Is not being able to find time to weave getting you down?

Break the weaving drought with these 7 top tips:

#1  Make a Date with Your Weaving

There are only 24 hours in a day. No more. No less. Scheduling time can make it possible to find more time to weave. Try to be realistic. 
Decide on a day or night that you will make your 'date with weaving' time. Treat it like a date - make sure the kids are taken care of, make a special space in your home for that weaving time, get yourself and everything ready. Turn up for your date. No rain checks or brush-offs.

#2  Start with a small project

Being over-ambitious can sometimes be counter-productive but if you start with something small, that can be achieved in a short space of time, it can swing you into action knowing that you can get your weaving project done.

#3  Try not attempting too many tasks at once - like gathering,...

Matariki is a time when the crisp, cool of early nights draws you inside to hunker down and turn inwards. It's the perfect time to start planting the seeds of your weaving dreams and make plans to bring those dreams to reality.

If you've been thinking about weaving kākahu, especially something like a korowai, then winter in the southern hemisphere is the time to begin honing your skills for the mammoth task that weaving a korowai is. (If you're in the northern hemisphere from June-August then you'll be thinking about harvesting for raranga).

Taaniko is the best thing to learn and practise first because it's one of those great indoor activities to do when you want to snuggle up on the sofa, keep warm and shut out the rest of the world. 

Once you've honed your taaniko skills through the winter months you'll be able to move on to hieke by the spring and by the time summer comes, you'll be finishing that hieke...

Of all the lessons we teach in Raranga, possibly THE most important one is Kono. This simple four-cornered basket really is the humble beginning of many a great weaver.

So why are kono so important to learn to weave? 

Here are three of the best reasons you should learn to weave kono:

#1  You will learn to find your ara (weaving pathway) and keep it

#2  You will learn to make corners easier on a smaller item (such as a kono) first rather than a bigger item such as a kete

#3  You will be able to practise, practise, practise until you acquire the Raranga technique because you will be able to make many more kono one after the other and in doing so you will get more effective practise.

It could be argued (and you may be thinking this yourself) that you could learn those same things by weaving a kete. However, we'd like you to consider this:

Learning to weave a kono first, before you dive headlong into weaving kete, is a really great strategy because...

  Made for tv.

Let's be honest: it can be a scary thing selling your artwork. Even the most experienced artist can have a mini-panic attack at the thought of selling their work. I know many a seasoned artist who after years of selling their creations still have self-doubts when it comes to putting their work up for sale.

In another life, for almost a decade, I ran our family gallery at Waiwhetu and I owned Koha Gift stores in Queensgate Hutt City and North City Shopping Malls, Porirua. I have sold many an artwork on behalf of my whānau and other artists. So, while I'm not an artist, I know the signs of artist's fear and the thoughts that go through the mind of an artist when thinking about selling their work:

1. My work isn't good enough to sell
2. I'm too shy to sell my work
3. I don't know how to price my work

Just the thought of selling their artwork makes most artists terrified. Like a possum in headlights they become suddenly paralysed - unable to decide on a price, unable to...