by Helen Martin
Local sculptor Joanne Sullivan has completed her seven-foot clay model of Papatûânuku, Maori mythology’s Earth Mother. The model has been blessed by Ngati Awa and Tainui iwi and is now on her way to a foundry in China, where she will be cast in wax before being shipped back to New Zealand. Joanne will then work the detail of the sculpture into the wax and the sculpture will be shipped again to China, this time to be cast in bronze. Papatuanuku’s final resting place will be the Kotuku Wellness Retreat, Mangawhai, where she will be unveiled on the March 2021 Equinox.
