A Logo with meaning

Some of you may have already seen my new logo on Facebook but if you didn't here it is! This logo is special for many reasons. It has been incubating in my mind for a long time and I took great pains to get it right. If you didn't know, I was an Art major and went to Art and Design College. I have always designed my websites and business cards.

Everything I design or photograph has some meaning to me. Whether it is a photo (yes I studied and love photography too!) that evokes a feeling that I am trying to convey, symbol/logo, or just the general look of something. In my past I painted, sketched, and silver smithed my inspiration.

Now I don't have much time for doing my art work except my Hand decorated Browbands and when I play at Liberty. When I play at Liberty, it is like the area my horse and I are in is a canvas and together, we are the paint. We can play in this area and make a spontaneous living art.

I have always loved tribal art and design. I have a particular affinity for Polynesian tribal art. The first time I went to New Zealand I already knew I would seek out the Maori art and culture. My friend and I were in search of the symbolic carved pendants to take home. As we searched for them, learned about the customs that surrounded them.   

The first thing I learned was that you must be given one as a gift, it must be warm from being worn by the person giving it to you. Uh oh I can't buy one for myself! So I bought two pieces that were carved from one stone for my parents. I wore the stones my whole trip and gave them to them off my body when I got home. But I didn't have one!

My next trip to New Zealand I am on a mission to get my Greenstone pendant, I left it up to the Universe how it was going to come to me. There is a lot of folk lore around Green Stones (Jade) and interesting stories about them and the people who had them. Everyone's got a story about their Greenstone. My story is that while I was doing my clinic a women showed up to audit who provided her horse for a fellow participant to use. I spoke with her a bit here and there when I could during the clinic. By the end she decided to take a private lesson the day after. I worked with her and we had a really good session with her horse. We chatted after the lesson and she expressed how much she enjoyed the clinic and the results of her lesson. She then presented me with her Greenstone pendant. She said wanted to give me something that let me know how much she appreciated what I did. I was so surprised and touched! She told me her Greenstone story and how she had had this stone for many years. It was a Disc symbol Tahei the Circle of Life. I now had my Greenstone proper! Yay! There is more to this story but I can't fit it all in ask me at a clinic!

So on to my logo. I wanted more than a logo as I said. So I spent a good deal of time studying the Maori symbols and putting them together. I learned that it was important to tell your own story so I did take some artistic Liberty (no surprise I'm sure). There are 3 major symbols within the logo.

• The Koru or spiral: depicts new beginnings, growth and harmony, taken from the symbolism of a unfurled silver fern leaf. The symbol of new growth, new life, peace and tranquility, the Koru also depicts endearment in the form of the relationship of a parent and a child or husband and wife. Let's add person and horse too!. The unfolding of new life, that everything is reborn and continues. It represents renewal and hope for the future 

 

• The Rauiri or single twist (figure eight): The single twist represents the path of life, it is the eternity symbol. The single figure eight represents the joining together of two people (in my artistic license, the joining together of a horse and person), Usually given as an offering of friendship between different tribes and a wedding. The twist or crossover represents: the bonding of friendship, the joining of lives for eternity.

 

• The Manaia (Gaurdian Angel): The Manaia is known as a spiritual guardian, and carrier of supernatural powers. Traditionally depicted as a bird like figure with the head of a bird, body of a man and the tail of a fish, representing the balance between sky, earth and water. Well I took more license here and gave my Guardian angel the head of a horse. The Manaia as the Guardian Angel can be described as the unseen light surrounding each individual. It is said to be the messenger between the earthly world of mortals and the domain of the spirits. Te Manaia is a holder of great spiritual energy and is a guardian against evil.

My logo tells the story of my passion for my horses, the Koru,  The Path they have taken me on and will take me on and the deep friendships we form on the way, The Rauiri. The Manaia in the form of my horse Guardian Angel is the messenger between me and the horses and their spirit.

I want to thank Bek Farr at www.nectarine.co.nz for helping me make it into a logo. She was awesome and thanks to technology, we were able to design together while she was in New Zealand and I was here! Thanks for all the positive feedback on Facebook about the logo. So many people loved it!
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