Studio Tapu was conceived of about five years ago just after my wife and I came to San Diego. In San Diego, I felt a bit detached from New Zealand, so I decided to pick up the bone carving hobby I had as a teenager in an attempt to reconnect with New Zealand.

The Maori word 'Tapu', which roughly translated means spiritual significance/forbidden/sacred, is also believed to be the Pacific route of the word 'Taboo'. I felt it was an appropriate name for what I was setting out to do, in that it references the Maori tradition of bone carving but also indicates that I acknowledge my deviation from that tradition, since I am not Maori myself and I make my own contemporary designs.

I am an artist/illustrator, currently living in North Park in San Diego, California. Originally from New Zealand, I met and married a girl from Minnesota who as well as being a talented artist is also a very serious scientist currently studying bio-engineering at UCSD (more on Lauren below).

I attended the University of Otago in Dunedin, where I studied Art History and Film Studies. Although I have a background in design and illustration, I am for the most part a self-taught artist using a variety of mediums from bone to watercolour and digital art. I follow a DIY philosophy and so I have also created this website myself.

I was taught how to make bone carvings in Intermediate School (approximately 10-11 years old) by a Cook Islander. We were taught to make traditional hooks with files and sandpaper. Immediately after learning the process, I began creating my own designs, including dragon heads and stylized hooks. I saved up for a Dremel (a high speed drill) and spent many summer days getting covered in bone dust, resultng in some pretty unique designs.

I am most inspired by nature and the beauty of things we often take for granted. Many of my pieces are based in abstraction although I have recently started making pieces which are more figurative and specific to events and experiences in my own life and the lives of others around me.

Above all else, my family and friends inspire me to be the best artist I can be and without them none of what I have created would exist.

Lauren Jepson is a PhD candidate for Bio-Engineering at UCSD. Originally from Mora, Minnesota, Lauren has studied silver-jewelry-making in the USA and in New Zealand. Although Lauren is a talented and gifted artist she spends most of her time trying to understand the universe through science and technology.

Lauren draws inspiration from friends/family/pets, science and nature. She is currently learning how to oil paint and she has many silver jewelry pieces she is attempting to finish to add to this site.

In her youth Lauren would hunt and trap small creatures at the lake near her house to study then release. When I first met her she was obsessed with catching lizards.

Bone Carving is a traditional Maori art from which goes back centuries. The Maori are master carvers and tell the story of their culture and ancestors through intricately carved efigies, buildings, canoes, weapons and even some times their faces and bodies (Traditional Maori Tattooing). Of these, bone carvings may be the most recognisable globally.

It is not uncommon to find bone carvings in tourist shops and markets through out New Zealand some of which are made very well but mostly they are made quickly and without passion to turn a quick profit. Some are even produced and imported from China and India and are a kind of false-bone resin. These kinds of pieces often don't stand the test of time and defeat the purpose of owning a carving. To find a piece of any respectable nature in NZ, traditional Maori and European New Zealander Artists can be found through gallerys.

The most common bone carving design is the traditonal hook or hei matau, a stylized fishing hook meant to bring good luck and refers to the Maori legend of Maui who raised the North Island of New Zealand while fishing with his grandmother's jawbone as a hook.

In the Maori tradition, a bone carving acts as a kind of vessel to resonate with the wearer's spiritual energy or mana. A carving could be passed down over generations embracing each wearer's essence becoming a treasured heirloom in the process. In modern times this significance is rarely known outside of New Zealand.

Commission based projects are an option although it should be noted that bone carving is a limited medium to work with so not all designs are possible. To discuss the possiblitiy of a commission based design please contact Tim via this site. Prices for this vary depending on the time it would take to complete.

Pricing is determined by calculating the time it takes to create a piece while considering the rareity and orginality of the object. Other considerations such as business expenses and market rates have an impact as well.

Some pieces which use exotic or rare and expensive materials are priced accordingly.

Shipping fees are applied to all orders. For bone carvings a $7.00 USD charge will be applied upon purchase. For all other products the shipping cost will be calculated and billed seperately.

For international shipping, please write to us in advance of purchase.

Returns are only accepted under the following conditions: