Tatonka Archives - Sustainable Landscapes

On the 8th August 2016, Phil Bonham’s almost completed seat sculpture was carefully transported by Tatonka to it’s final resting place next to the Faraway Tree at Sanders Reserve. Now fully sited and fully completed, the Seat of Life is ready for all ages to discover and to enjoy.

If you are venturing onto the Reserve, the sculptured ‘Seat of Life’ and the ‘Faraway Tree’ are must sees. The official opening for the Seat is planned for October 2016.

About the Seat

The seat was created as an object to sit on, to play in and to let your curiosity go wild. An old macrocarpa tree, sourced from the same area at Sanders Reserve as where the Faraway Tree stands, the log was cut down in early 2015 in preparation to be sculptured into the magical ‘Seat of Life’, that you see today.

As Phil carved the seat, many images emerged. Nothing was planned, the creatures you see became very clear to Phil as he stripped back the bark and began carving into the outer wood.

Below, Phil describes the features and forms…

The strange bird headed figure is a tree nymph or the hamadryades from Ancient Greek culture that were of the trees. She is pregnant because this sculpture is about the life force within things…an egg shape sits in the window under her side.

Finishing touches to the nymph on the ‘Seat of Life’

Some of the bird heads are specific and two are named, in reference to the recent pukeko culling fiasco when three takahe were shot. He mauri to nga manu, he mauri to nga rakau, he mauri to gna tangata.

Pukeko Heads on the ‘Seat of Life’

There are many other forms and references that passed through my mind and hands as it was made and hopefully there will be even more that are seen and felt by those who go to Sanders Reserve and walk down to Library Point, where waka and launch were launched.

Placement of the Sculptured Seat

Loaded on to the back of the Tatonka truck, at the yard at 389 Paremoremo Rd, the beautifully hand crafted seat was carefully manoevered into place in preparation to be moved to Sanders Reserve.

The sculptured seat on the back of Tatonka, note the back wheel!

The short trip to Sanders Reserve took little time, and before anyone even had a chance to notice, the seat was being unloaded in a position close to the Faraway Tree.

Arrival at the site, next to the Faraway Tree

Unloading was quick, the seat was set down on the ground in a temporary position while the site was prepared.

Tatonka going hard out to unload the sculpture!

Several basalt rocks were placed on the ground as a solid base to secure the sculpture in its final resting place. The tail, (the second half of the sculpture), was moved onto site and carefully glued into place.

The tail had to be glued into place on site

There were still many hours of final finishing for Phil to complete once the carving was on site. To complete the picture, matting, cushion fall and a timber edge were installed by Sustainable Landscapes.

It has been an absolute pleasure having the opportunity to get to know Phil throughout the process of creating his art sculpture. We have seen the long hours Phil has poured into this sculpture which has turned out to be a labour of love. To visit you will see for yourself, the wonder of his creation. Dave and Barb, Sustainable Landscapes.

Creating a private and functional low maintenance front yard, was the objective in this landscaping project situated in Hauraki on Auckland’s North Shore.

The area to be landscaped faced the footpath and was also the main entrance to the house.

The existing garden was a mixture of annual and perennial plantings, the odd shrub along with a selection of scoria rocks.

There was a path that led people to the front door. This area was north facing and only a stone’s throw from the beach.

Our client’s brief was to create a functional outdoor living area with the use of natural stone walls.

The first step was to remove the existing garden.

We tried to save as many plants as possible, offering some on the roadside for free outside our yard.

Once the area was cleared, we had to install strong reinforced concrete footings in which to lay our stone.

From that point on, we began building our stone walls. The stone comes from the Northland. We use our crane truck to place the larger boulders.

With plenty of concrete mortar to bind the stone from behind, we began to build our stone walls.

As the walls are being built, they create a real sense of privacy from the street.Once the outside walls were completed with stone cappings, we begin work on building a strong entrance to the property by using old railway sleepers.

The next step was to clear the garden area and wall to the left of the property to enable us to face a stucco wall with stone, matching it in with the new stone walls.

Placing the finishing touches, was the next step. This is where our Tatonka crane truck comes in very useful when having to place large Palm trees.

We laid shell for the paved areas. As this property is so close to the beach, the shell is very appropriate to use, plus it makes a nice crunching noise, letting the occupants know if anyone is walking on their property.

With the completion of the wooden steps, laying pebble, then planting grasses, palms, ferns and ready lawn put the finishing touches to this project.

Installation of a wrought iron gate built and supplied by David Gilbert at www.wipl.co.nz and tarseal supplied by Mark Wilson at www.asphalt-improvements.co.nz

Tag Archives: Tatonka

Siting of the ‘Seat of Life’ Sculpture at Sanders Reserve

Natural Stone Wall, Hauraki