NGAA KOORERO OO TIPU TOI
Kaihanga, Ringatoi, Kairaranga, Kaimahi o ngaa Toi Maaori
Tipu Toi was created to bring te taiao and te ao Māori into everyone's lives.
Tipu; a te reo kupu used for plants but is also used as a word for growth and toi is our word for art. Used together in this way the name translates roughly to; the Art of Plants, but Tipu Toi is now so much more.
I produce one of a kind taonga from natural and sustainable sourced natural resources. My passion is to grow knowledge and awareness, communicated through my art.
KO NGAIO AU
Ko wai au? Ko au te whenua, ko te whenua ko au. Ko Hotorua raatou ko Te Ata i Rehia ko Porourangi ooku tuupuna. Ka whakapapa au ki ngaa tangata oo Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua me Waikato Tainui me Ngāti Porou. Engari, i te tupu ake au ki Ootautahi. He aha tōku mahi? Ko Kairaranga me Ringatoi me Kaingaki Māra me Kaihanga au, no reira ko Kaitiaki te Ao Māori ahau.
My name is Ngaio, and I am a ringatoi based out of Ootautahi. My whakapapa is to Ngaati Te Ata Waiohua, Waikato Tainui, Ngāti Porou and Tauiwi. I grew up in Ootautahi and although I have spent some time in other parts of the world, I always end up back here. I feel a strong connection with te taiao, and raranga is the main artform that incorporates my whakapapa, creativity and the use of safely sourced natural resources. I love my toi; Raranga, I get to explore not only my whakapapa, but of those who I get to create these for.
My mahi is at Te Whare Tapere at Te Matatiki Toi Ora the Arts Centre, where I am one of the Kaimahi. Te Whare Tapere is a space for Maaori, by Maaori and beyond. It is a house of indigenous Storytelling which acts as a space and platform for Ringatoi from Te Waipounamu. As a Ringatoi, I work in a roopu in Taamaki Makaurau; Te Toi o Te Ata, working on developing the cultural narratives for my iwi; Ngaati Te Ata Waiohua throughout the greater area. Mahi Toi, Te Taiao and Te Ao Maaori are quintessential elements in my life and the reason I do the mahi I do.
Ngaa mihi mahana e te whaanau,
Ngaio
