Stone carving

This is a piece of limestone I carved over the course of several Wednesday workshops, a few years back. Quickly discovering how skillful I would need to be to create anything realistic, I opted for a more symbolic effort. The swirls on the face represent Maori facial tattoo patterns, known as moko. As I understand it, the moko was akin to an identity barcode, with marks on different parts of the face representing your tribe, your parentage, your work.

Anyway, my stone carving's been outside a few years now and is weathering up in all sorts of interesting ways. The moss atop its head is a recent newcomer, looking a bit like the world's least convincing syrup/fright wig. Such is life...