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Ta Moko - Scotland/ England

July 5, 2016

www.paitangiartandink.co.nz will be coming to a town near you soon. If you or your friends are in Scotland/ England and wish to have Ta Moko please message/ email me with details asp as we intend to be in the UK around 20 July. Details required: size and location of ta moko on your body and where you live. If we have enough interest then we will come to you. Watch this space for further details. email: colinharrison200@gmail.com.

Planning is now in full swing for Scotland Tour. Arrive late in Glasgow on the 19th July and on the on 20th the fun begins.

1st cab off the rank is a visit to Rob Allan of Amber Peyote Woodcraft and Design in Kilburnie. Check out their Facebook page. From Kilburnie we are travelling a clockwise direction through the Scottish Highlands, Pai is desperate to see a heelan coo in the heelans and to swim with Nessie in the Great Glen. A family stop in Inverness to see cuzzies and then to Rothes to see niece and fam. A wee drive through to Cupar will complete the Highland leg of the tour.

This blog will of course be updated and dates confirmed as we go.

Cmon Scotland!!!

13 July

Well people, it's a week till we arrive in Bonnie Scotland. Paitangi is all booked up for our Scottish leg so if you were thinking of having a walk in....too late! To all those whom have supported Pai, I thank you and look forward to seeing you all very soon.

18 July

Our penultimate night in Munich. We are kinda excited as tomorrow night we touch down in Glasgow ready for a whirlwind tour of Bonnie Scotland. Last night we had our cultural fling with Beethoven and his 9th symphony. What an outstanding night; Bavarian Symphony Orchestra playing to an outdoor audience in the Odeonplatz on a balmy Bavarian evening, as the sun goes down and the moon comes up. A fine farewell to Munich.

22 July

Well folks, been in North Ayrshire for the last two days. The flights over were interesting, having flown long hall flights and then intercity hopping between European cities. Te sandwich in a cardboard box was amusing. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful on KLM airlines. Touchdown in Glasgow, 25C at 10pm was pretty good. The Ramada hotel is less than average while undergoing renovations but it was a haven for the night.

A short drive to Kilburnie the following morning and into our first client. Rob Allen of Amber Peyote Woodcraft and Design (check out his work). Rob had contacted Pai two years ago and had kept in touch over that time. He had also offered Pai accomodation and a place to practise her art if she was ever in Scotland. Was this a stalker? Was this man a mass murderer? Nothing was heard from Rob for a while and when Pai announced the 'tours' this man appeared again and repeated these kind offers. Then Rob dropped the bait; Rob is a woodworker, artist, ex Royal Engineer and all round good bloke. This resonated with both Pai and Colin who decided to visit his company and check him out.

Well, Rob is the real deal. Both Pai and Colin were taken aback by Robs enthusiasm, generosity and kindness. His ambition and drive is evident in his work and the people that popped into the workshop to see him. Two days of smiles, laughs and riveting story telling.

Robs Ta moko tells his life story, a beautiful piece by Pai and a well deserving recipient. Rob was supported by his lovely partner Sally, who, during his 8.5 hrs journey, managed to clear out all the rubbish from his office.

Today sees the next part of the odyssey travelling north through the Highlands. Who knows what will turn up next? But I can tell you this, we have made lifelong friends with Rob and Sally and we all know we will meet again, whether it's here in Scotland or in NZ. Bless you both.

28 July

We've had a few glitches with the site and now hopefully have them ironed out.

We are now in Stirling on a bit of site seeing tiki tour between mahi; working our way south to catch up with whanau.

After we left Kilburnie we drove north through the Great Glen (Nessie country) and into Inverness to catch up with cuz James and Robert. James was keen to have Ta moko and became another member of ngati Pai. James was a strong clansman and gave no hint of the pain Pai inflicted. We said goodbye to the cuz after he guided us through Rait Castle and Clava Cairns. Thanks James, you're the bomb.

A short trip east to niece Kirsty and hubbie Andy in Rothes. How handy.....both work in a distillery each. Nice!

Anyhoo Andy was first up with a leg piece; another tough highlander who casually read, played on iPad while inked. Kirsty also showed true grit being totally relaxed reading throughout. We had a lovely stay with Andy and Kirsty and a tour of Glen Grant distillery and the gardens were a bonus. Pai was very happy rummaging through the hoko hoko shops in Rothes.

Andys completed ink with Maori curling stone.

The trip south began with a few stops within 5 miles of Rothes, Colin and the GPS never agreed; gps says go right, Colin goes left, GPS says do a u turn, Colin turns left. And so the ever decreasing circle carried on till we had travelled 100miles but had only actually traveled 16 miles from Kirsties house.

Anyhoo we eventually found a beautiful spot for the night, just south of Aviemore and settled for the night in luxury.

Tonight we find ourselves at the foot of the Wallace Monument in readiness for more history and stone crowds in the morning. Love it. Night all.

ps....Pai loves castles..."love all that shit!"

pps...hope to be well south by tomorrow night, maybe even in Twynholm?

4th August

Well and truly south now, Stranraer to be exact. Wallace Monument and Stirling Castle in the bag, games night in Star Hotel, Twynholm and a few domino wins in the bag and now in Stranraer with first victim in the bag.

Pai found time to ponder at the Cairn Holy Chambered Cairn, Gatehouse of Fleet.

14 Aug

Hi all. For those of you following Paitangi Art and Ink on Facebook, you will realise that Mahi was a mix of visiting family residing in Scotland, paying respects to Paitangis' ancesters in Yorkshire and some Ta moko. It's been a very busy month covering some 2000 miles and visiting family and friends in Kilbirnie, Inverness, Rothes, Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, Twynholm, Stranraer, Hartlepool, Yeadon and Aysgarth. For those of you who missed out because we couldn't make it happen, my apologies but we are already making plans for a return trip.

Dave in Stranraer receives Ta moko in memory of his mum.

16 August

Today is the last full day in Scotland. Tomorrow sees our return to our German whanau to complete some mahi already started. We took in a couple of sites on the way to our hotel; Forth bridges, The Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel. It seemed fitting to end our month in the UK visiting one of Scotland's very own Taniwha, the Kelpies. At 30m in height Pai can still hongi with Duke.

Ta Moko - Deutschland

July 1, 2016

Here are some examples of Paitangis' mahi while in Munich. Pai's clients have travelled from Italy, Turkey, Czech Rep. and Austria, as well as all corners of Germany. They and have come from all walks of life, some waiting years for this chance, to seek Tamoko from Pai. Everybody has a story to tell and the beauty of Tamoko is that your story can be transposed on to your skin as interpreted by Pai. Thank you, all of you, who came, told your story, laughed and cried and walked away with a smile.

Colour touch up on existing dolphin by Paitangi.

Red ink touch up on existing moko moko by Paitangi.

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European Tour 2016

June 6, 2016

Two weeks till we leave for our European Tour. A workshop will be held in Munich for the first month, 24 June till around the end of July. If you require an appointment in Munchen during these dates please email our partner, Kurt at kurt@mflworld.com for a consultation These dates are fluid, depending on demand. Watch this space for further details.

One week to go and the trip is coming together. Excitement in the camp is building and final preparations are almost complete. We are looking forward to catching up with our German friends in Munich and to experience the hospitality of the Bavarians.

19 June: 48hrs till we fly to Munich. It's been an emotional day saying farewell to family and friends in the Far North. Currently in Auckland arranging dates etc for forthcoming events and picking up last minute supplies before we fly.

21 June: the trip to Europe finally begins. We at the 'City of Sails' Auckland Airport nice and early,

A wee bit of duty free shopping to be had, a beetroot juice and ten minutes of Wales v Russia (currently 3-0....go the boyo's).

No issues with the flight through to LA. Great to fly with National carrier Air New Zealand, just something about them that brings the earthiness to flying. A couple of inflight movies, the usual inflight meals and before we knew it we were in the city of angels.

LA International is were the fun begun for the next two - three hours. Arrival time was 2.30pm and departure time 5pm, plenty of time, or so we thought. 2 1/2 hrs is generally enough to make a connecting flight; disembark, immigration, baggage, re check in, more security and then to departure lounge.....easy?....Not!!!

We managed to pick a day were 35000 travellers were transiting through the airport. Busiest time of day, one officer advises. 2hrs spent in the first queue in immigration compouded our fears that we would miss connecting flight. Dejavu....again.

Having cleared final security check, my hoodie left on X-ray conveyor belt amongst a queue of suicases, knowing that boarding had begun 15mins prior, we sprinted to gate number 130 just to find the last of the passengers boarding. Phew!!! Made it. Staff scanned boarding cards and red lights flashed stating 'cannot board'. Heart sank. 'Step over to the counter'. We looked at each other, knowingly desperate. "Do you have your bags?" Not this old chestnut I thought. A few magic touches of the computer and we were allowed to board. I could have kissed the Lufthansa member. The rest is history. Oh just one wee funny. Pai was asked by the Lufthansa stewardess that was serving us Kai if Pais moko kauae was 'painted on'. "It's beautiful, must have been painful, are you from there?"

Anyhoo we are now in Munich with our hosts Bader and Florian and Pai has been reacquainted with her Englisch Garten.

23 June: up at 5am after solid sleep and greeted by a fox running across the lawn, now named Moxie te foxy. Went for a walk in the Englisch Garten which is 7000 acres of natural woodland and cycle paths, beer gartens and lakes in the inner city. We had to have a rest as the park is so big so we found a restplatz and the photo tells the rest of the story. Cracks me up ...I'm in Germany, In the English Garden, that has a Chinese temple, Grecian Monopterus...hmmm they like to take things these Germans🤓

24 June: Start the day with a walk in the park. This is a dangerous place for pedestrians with moko kauae several cyclists nearly crash their bikes taking a second glance instead of looking out for trees and other cyclists etc.

This was a fun day with the crazy ladies, lots of laughs, singing and jokes (most of which were in German but we laughed anyway). Our hosts are the friendliest, most helpful and caring people ever. This is going to be a good trip...so good to see Kurts beautiful daughters Vanessa and Amelie xxx

26 June

Sunday is our day of rest! Rest? Our good friend Bader took us to Salzburg to visit Florian, or Tama as I have renamed him, in his home town ...are we in Austria yet? We had been told to take our passports because of the refugee situation and Bader had been in Austria recently only to find long queues, lots of police doing border checks. So, I was anticipating being stopped by the police....but no police! Actually, where's the border ?? Into the Oldstadt we go...I love old X. We just don't have this type of old buildings, stone people, castles and churches back home so I really appreciate taking everything in...not many Maori here huh ? I'm checking out the buildings built into the cliff faces, the castle on the hill and the macabre graveyards and those blimin tourists are checking out the tattooed face 😷...

Ok , where are the goats ???

30 June

Kiaora whanau, it's only been a week or so in Deutschland and already it feels like home. Well, kind of......well, not really because there's no place like . Home in the Bay of Islands. Anyhoo, the crazy Germans are looking after us so much there is just too much kindness to go around. After our wee trip to Austria it was back to mahi with two lovely ladies who had flown in from Istanbul especially for Ta moko. Two very happy ladies left for their return flights 5 hours later complete with their ink. Next up was our very own Jason Statham doppelgänger who is working on completing his puhoro. Bader son was totally in the zone but eventually gave in to the fidgety muscle twitch and settled for another appointment on a later day.

Mother and daughter Ta moko team. Awesome.

Tuesday afternoon and off to the city for some well earned shopping and rubber necking. It really amazes me how some people can be so blatantly rude when noticing a difference in someone else's appearance as they pass by.

However, a wander through Marienplatz up to Karlplatz and every shop inbetween was fun, especially the dirndle and lederhosen shop. Hundreds of pairs of deerskin pants and dresses with no fronts. Definitely raise a few eyebrows in NZ.

29 June

Cancellation! Yay....shopping time!

Back to city centre for some shopping and tour stuff. I always thought that 'hop on, hop off' tour buses were supposed to stop occasionally? No? Yes? Ah well, we got off after a lap of the city where we were told to get another bus to complete the tour. Anyhoo, Kurt to the rescue. Kurt came into the city, picked us up and we were off on a magical mystery tour of our own; next stop Schloss Neuschwantein. Two hours later and we are at the most picturesque castle in the world.

A short trip on a horse and cart and we were at the gates.

Check out Pai's version of a very famous song filmed at this castle in 1968.

https://youtu.be/Psrdcc64Rjc

Recent renovations made for a pristine castle that made it look like it was built yesterday.

Next up was a quick drive amongst the beautiful Bavarian countryside to visit Kurts parents in Kempten. What lovely parents they are. Bavarian hospitality at its best: death by meat, beer and schnapps. We loved it. Kurts siblings arrived and the party grew into a 'Germany has talent' side show with plenty of singing and laughing and prosting. The sleep in the car on the way home to Munich was well earned.

8 July

Well it's been a busy time here in Munich land. We have had plenty of clients through the studio, some having travelled from far away cities in Germany and other countries like Turkey, Italy and Luxembourg. The experience of meeting these people and listening to their stories and gifting them Ta moko is a very emotional process but very rewarding one.

On the other hand, Pai enjoys her time off in this Bavarian playground. You may have seen some of her antics on Facebook but that's only the ones caught on camera. The locals still haven't adapted to their new neighbour and still stare in astonishment at this tattooed, dark skinned person in their hood. The locals ride their bikes in a very upright manner (Mary Poppins styles) like they are all in the Tour de France. Look out or they will take you out. Anyhoo, when they fly by and see the moko kauae, eyes stare, necks twist, balance goes..........

So, a recent trip to the Munich Olympic Stadium of 1972 vintage was no different. Today, as well as sports events, the stadium and grounds are used for numerous events and today it was a Red Bull bike fing where they did spectacular jumps in a huge circuit around the grounds.

The intrepid travellers tried to beat Mark Spitz 7 gold medals in the pool....but after ten lengths decided it was time for beer and bratties.

Anyhoo, off we went for a hikoi around the grounds (no 100m sprint or pole vaulting today for us) and found ourselves at Tollwood, an area full of market stalls and music venues. Pai is in heaven and so is Colin. While Pai discovers a whole new world of goodies, Colin parks at a wee stall with a stein.

No crashes in Munich? Amazing....all the signs are here.

When it came time to leave we found that someone had moved the bus stop, not sure why someone would do this but we found a taxi instead, in amongst the 1000s of death defying cyclists and their bikes.

On the ..... We celebrated Vanessa's geburstag (birthday). Cake, apfelcake and more cake....and beer. 😊

https://youtu.be/822HrB-hSps

and then Pai taught the birthday girl Vanessa and 'the boss' Ameli a children's song in Te Reo.

https://youtu.be/IgW4pV_24DM

Colin seemed to be the favourite as he left the party having received a box of miniatures from Bobby and some schnapps from Kurts parents. He's a lucky boy.

10 July

Well, 32 Degrees Celsius, no wind and drizabone.

The last couple of days have seen a couple of bigs pieces leave the studio. Daniel left yesterday with part puhoro after two days of being on the table. Daniel has been our gentle giant of the tour so far; a very softly spoken man from Trier on the Weser but with an incredible tolerance to pain. Anyone that can sing along to Adele while being inked in such tender places deserves respect.

Anyhoo, fresh air was the call and off we went into the evening heat to catch the U Bahn to Marienplatz for some shopping, Kai and entertainment. The latter started as soon as we got off the train, as always it's 'how do we find our way out of the station again?'

Up to ground level and straight into the Munich Pride celebrations.

Pai dives in with multi coloured residents from Russia and Scotland.

Marienplatz is packed with thousands of love filled revellers from all over Europe. Head down and push our way through the crowds, desperate to find a shop and some normality but we don't get far -

Before Pai is snapped up by some lovely ladies.....or was it the other way round?

Anyhoo, getting closer to the shops Pai gets snapped by the Mad Hatter and invited to Tea.

Finally made it to several shops and much needed undie shopping...phew.

Today the 10th we travelled with Bader son and Uli his baby brother to a nature reserve...no not a nudie camp....tsk....a beautiful animal sanctuary set up half hour outside Munich.

And it was 32 degrees.

12 July

So, yesterday saw Uli and our princess Amelie on the table. Uli left with an arm piece describing his relationship with his two brothers and his love of fishing. Uli never flinched, moved or even yawned. Another great example of patience and determination. Princess Amelie left with a Maori Mandela lotus blossom in pink. She also was an incredible client who showed great perseverance through her journey.

Today sees the return of Sigie to complete his shoulder, chest and back piece. A big piece on a big man....he's late!

13 July

Today we had Nadine in the studio from Frankfurt. She had her first ink from Paitangi whilst travelling in NZ 5 years ago. Then Lucie arrived from Prague after a short 5 hour trip, with a 3 hr window for the Ta moko before her 5 hour return trip. Thanks for coming Nadine and Lucie.

14 July

Well the big man arrived and left with another sitting or two to go. Unfortunately Germans have an incredible work ethic and when they have appointments, even if they are half way through a tattoo, they have to leave.

In the afternoon, Princess Vanessa arrived, again. We think Vanessa is addicted....but we like her.

16 July

Last day and it's leg day, the fave! One wee leg and one very big calf. A lovely couple who shared their story and design.

Ever heard of car pooling? Well Europe has the answer. Pick up a mini anywhere on the street, jump in and drive off. Awesome....and it's legal.

17 July

Its all over! Part one of the tour is complete. We have had a great time in Munich and met extraordinary people with some amazing stories. Pai has reacquainted herself with her Englisch Garten, the squirrels, the ducks and bikes and Colin was able to reminisce from his previous visit with the British Army some 30+ years ago.

Thanks to our host Kurt for your support, your kindness and your friendship. Without the permission of your boss, Amelie, this would not have been possible.

See you all in a months time.

18 July

23 August

The sun is shining here in Munchen and it's been beautiful since we returned last week. No easing into the work load here; with typical German precision Pai had 4 clients inked and happy on first day back. It's like we never left and it was great to see our Bavarian whanau once more. Pai has a favourite and it's not a family member, it's Kinder Schoko Bons. Everyday we have schokobonoclock....lots of them. So looking forward to exercise o'clock in NZ.

At the weekend Kurt took us to share a day with his Oma and Opa and family in Wiggensbach, Bavaria. It's normally a two hour drive but when Kurt is behind the wheel and the autobahn is free it's 20minutes. We arrived shortly after we left Munich and the festive spirit started almost immediately. The Bavarian barbecue was on and the beers flowed. On our last visit, Opa gifted a bottle of Blutwurz schnapps to Colin which made its way to Scotland and shared with family. German firewater comes to mind. So Colin returned the honour with a bottle of Caol Ila which went down very well. It was a great day with family, food, drink and plenty of frivolity.

29th Aug

Autumn is here, the leaves are changing to gold and the rain is in the air. It's borderline whether to wear shorts or longs now, such a hard decision! Had to wear a jacket down the street due to heavy rain and on way back rain stopped and temp rose to a stifling heat more akin to the pacific islands. Weird goings on.

Its been a busy week with Pai working flat out on new ink, repeat offenders and continued projects. These long hours are bringing the dreaded fatigue along for the ride too. Tomorrow is the last official ink day...yayyyy. A couple of days rest before the next phase begins, however all will be revealed soon. Watch this space.

Some of the work to showcase:

As you can see Pai worked into the wee small hours here to get finished (nothing new here I hear you say) but as we are in the northern hemisphere and it's now Autumn, the seasonal change has brought about darker evenings earlier. Before the trip to Scotland it was dark around 10pm and now it's around 8 - 8.30pm in Bavaria.

Repeat offender princess Vanessa struck again.

Moving on to a Family tree piece exquisitely interpreted by Pai which is unfinished but deserves to be viewed as it could quite simply be complete as it is.

While Pai was working on this piece, Colin was given time off for so off he went to gain some Bavarian culture. A trip to an art gallery was on the list of things to do. See what you think?

More of Pais work included this wonderful leg piece on a client previously inked by Pai in Aotearoa.

So! All things said and done, this phase of the tour is coming to an end. As this is being typed up, Pai is still working hard on her penultimate client. Home is still a month away but the things we have missed the most are the beach, the sea, the pets and of course...the whanau, in both hemispheres. To counteract these feelings of homesickness every opportunity is made to sneak a cuddle with an animal whether it's cat dog bird squirrel etc etc. in lieu of Maui, Inkoh and the uncuddly Haka the cat.

30th Aug

All packed up and ready to go to Israel on Saturday. Yes. Israel! A long time dream of Pai has been to visit various cultures around the world and some of the lesser known cultures exist in Israel. So here we come.

Back in Munich it was a big day finishing Achim and his family tree. What an incredible patient, tolerant man he is. 5 hours on his back today and not even a twitch. Truly a hero.

Where credit is due to Achim, credit is also due to the artist Paitangi. Pai has worked long hours ober the last two months creating visual and cultural master pieces which are totally absorbed and appreciated by these clients, whom have travelled fair distances to go under the needle. The stories, the laughs and the tears are all part of the experience. It's a great feeling witnessing the humble appreciation of those who receive Ta moko like a blessing. Each client received a karakea and waiata throughout, living the spirituality which is alive and practised amongst Maori people today.