Portraits 2

Portraits

Update July 2009

I haven't disappeared, I have just finished the first set of images for the plaques. At the moment I have about 100 portraits so I need to do some more fundraising as I would much rather get them all done at the same time.

Once funds are in place I can get them all done, which involves taking the kauri plaques to Auckland, where they will be laser etched. Then I will varnish them for protection and work out the best way to attach them to the wall.

As soon as there is further news I shall let you know. As the project is ongoing if you know of anyone who has lived in Te Kopuru and wants to be included, get them to send a photograph in or drop one off at The Really Good Shop.

Update

I have got some lovely swamp kauri plaques made up, but they are heavy and so I am going to experiment with various ways of attaching them, to see which works best. The wood is lovely and I will need to also check with the laser engravers that it will fit in their machine. So if all goes well I will get the first batch done in a couple of months. Thank you for your patientance, Simon.

Update

I am in the process of getting the wood cut to size. When this is done I shall be taking it to Auckland for the laser engraving. The first batch will be about 60 plaques and then I will need to apply for further funding to get more plaques completed. As soon as they are done I shall let you know. Thank you for your patientance Simon.

Wall Mock-Up

This is just a mock-up of what the wall might look like. It helps get an idea of the scale for kauri plaques and how many it will take to fill the space. Also the wall behind will be painted before the plaques go up. You can click on the image above to open a larger version.

I have just got back the sample from the laser people and the result is better than I expected. The image was converted for the laser engraving process, and as I did this quickly the actual image on the wood is a bit dark and blotchy in places. But I will spend longer sorting out the rest of the images, before they are etched.

The test piece image is about the right size but the wood will be cut down, so in total each piece will be about 15cm x 15cm. Keeping the size of the pieces small helps in keeping the price down and if for any reason one is damaged, it can be easily replaced. But I am going to get quotes on different size pieces as the wall they are going on is quite large.

The test piece is on Fijian kauri but final pieces will be on local kauri which helps link the project to the area.

When I have got some mock-up images of the wall sorted out, I shall put them here so you can get an idea of what the finished work will look like.

Update

Thank you for sending in your photographs for the MyFace Project. I am still collecting photographs from residents and contacting people via the Internet.

At the moment I am trying out various methods of transferring the photograph to the wood and I am waiting on getting some samples back. When I get the samples I shall add the photographs of them, so you can get an idea of how they will look.

If you know of anyone who has lived in Te Kopuru in the past and they maybe interested in being involved, let me know or they can send a picture direct to me. This includes parents, grandparents etc.

I have started to get the first batch of portrait photographs together. Some of the photographs are old pictures people have sent me, others are taken in Te Kopuru.

The project is starting to expand and I hope to get some more people involved as it develops. In the meantime I am experimenting with ways of transferring the images to the wood, to see which method gives the best image. I will post pictures of the results for you to see.

I have found a local family with a lovely store of kauri, so that part of the project won't be a problem.

If you want to be involved and you have lived in Te Kopuru sometime in your life, just send me a photograph.

Thank you, Simon