About Me
I am now based back in Otaki once more and i’m excited to also be enrolling to study whakairo (carving) for personal interest and development at Te Wananga o Raukawa for 2025.
I love learning and it’s a privilege to have the chance to study again at this point of my life.
It is also such a blessing to be back involved with my church community at Rangiatea.
Many thanks to all the beautiful souls that have crossed my path over the recent months of my Australia tour in Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns and Perth.
It has been especially significant to spend time with close whanau in Australia whom I haven’t seen in a few years due to Covid.
I appreciate you all so much.
Mauriora!
It has been very healing and grounding to have been based in Porirua, Wellington, my tribal homeland, for the past four months or so.
Thanks to all my local clients and those that traveled from afar to get tattooed by me in recent months.
‘MANA FROM HEAVEN’ new original painting. Email taryn.teuira@gmail.com to purchase.
A new JESUS inspired collection has sprung through me, quite unplanned. Here are some of the first pieces. I am currently working on more new original paintings in this series, and it feels very healing and exciting for me.
I am looking at converting to Christianity and have been recently studying the Bible, the teachings of Jesus, the different Māori Christian movements of the past two hundred years, and general Christian philosophies overall - for the first time in my life, at age 35.
Part of what really appeals to me so far about this pathway, is the simple values of love, peace and forgiveness and the daily practice of those things.
I now have new eyes and a new heart and the internal shift feels quite profound for me. I will write and share more on this topic in time.
Attending our Māori Anglican Church, Rangiātea in Ōtaki recently has been a blessing.
‘DO NOT FEAR, FOR I AM WITH YOU’ new original painting, from Isaiah 41:10. SOLD. 20cm by 25cm.
‘KO TE MEA NUI, KO TE AROHA, THE GREATEST THING IS LOVE’ new original painting. SOLD.
‘WHEN YOU PASS THROUGH THE WATERS, I WILL BE WITH YOU’ new original painting. From Isaiah 43:2. SOLD.
‘FOR GOD DID NOT GIVE US A SPIRIT OF FEAR, BUT OF POWER, AND OF LOVE, AND OF A SOUND MIND’ new original painting. SOLD.
‘WRITE IT IN THE HEAVENS’ new original diptych. SOLD.
‘KA TUITUIĀ TĀTOU E TE AHO TAPU, THE SACRED THREAD THAT WEAVES US TOGETHER (IS LOVE)’ new original painting. SOLD.
‘SHE IS FAR MORE PRECIOUS THAN JEWELS’ new original painting. From Proverbs 31:10. SOLD.
‘THE ALLURE OF GENTLENESS’ new original painting. SOLD.
Thank you to all of the supportive people that purchased these paintings in this series.
Awesome catching up with fellow Wellington artists Miriama Grace Smith and Pikihuia Haenga recently in Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Kia ora!
I returned home to Porirua, Wellington, Aotearoa at the end of January 2020 for some much needed time in my own rohe (tribal area). I will continue to be based at home in the Welington region for the foreseeable future due to the current pandemic.
I have had to postpone, cancel and reschedule many pre-planned overseas trips, kaupapa and clients for 2020 and I will be in touch with you directly about those if you were to be involved in anything that i’ve had to change due to current travel restrictions worldwide.
Here are some of my recently completed paintings, all infused with a HEALING intention. More paintings are currently in progress and I look forward to keeping you updated on new works available.
‘Native links’ collaborative painting with First Nation HAIDA artist Gregory. We completed this in March at a recent artist waananga in Tauranga. SOLD.
‘Ocean people’ collaborative painting with First Nation TLINGIT artist Nahaan, painter Kiana Ormsby and myself. Currently available at TOI MATARAU GALLERY, Māoriland Hub, Ōtaki. We completed this in March at a recent artist waananga in Tauranga.
‘Mana o te wahine’ currently available at TOI MATARAU GALLERY, Māoriland Hub, Ōtaki.
‘Nō runga i te rangi’ currently available. Email taryn.teuira@gmail.com to purchase.
Detail of ‘Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui’ currently available at TOI MATARAU GALLERY, Māoriland Hub, Ōtaki.
I was pleased to be included recently in a new article ‘How women are shaping tattoo culture in New Zealand’.
Click HERE to read the full article.
I was grateful to be asked to do this interview when I was in London in August 2019.
Now showing at Toi Matarau Gallery (Māoriland Hub), Ōtaki, New Zealand.
I am pleased to now have a collection of my new paintings now available at Toi Matarau Gallery (Māoriland Hub) in Ōtaki.
Now that I am painting a lot, I am on the lookout for galleries in different locations to exhibit and sell my work.
I am really loving the organic round form and i’m currently experimenting with different canvas shapes.
Showing at Toi Matarau Gallery, Ōtaki, New Zealand.
Detail of ‘Poly Power’. SOLD.
Showing at Toi Matarau Gallery, Ōtaki, New Zealand.
‘Poly Power’ for sale at Toi Matarau Gallery, Māoriland Hub, Ōtaki, New Zealand. Now SOLD.
‘He Ao Hou II’ now SOLD.
‘A new dawn’ now SOLD.
I have been really getting into my painting practice over the past few months and I am so grateful to everyone who has already purchased one of my original pieces!
I am also now taking custom personalized commission orders for my paintings based on your story/kaupapa, your ideal budget and your color scheme, you can email me on taryn.teuira@gmail.com to enquire about your own personalized color therapy painting!
Thank you for supporting my art practice!
Mauriora x
Taryn
It has long been one of my goals to get back into painting and I am thrilled to have begun this journey of reconnecting with PAINT and COLOUR over the past four or so years.
Before I was a moko artist, I was a painter!
I loved my time at Toihoukura Māori Art School in Gisborne during 2008 where I learned a lot about painting and Māori design.
I also use and apply a lot of what I learned from my moko mentor, whom I studied with for three years (2009 - 2011), in my painting practice.
I now have several original paintings available for purchase in a range of different sizes and prices.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT HAS BOUGHT ONE OF MY ORIGINAL PAINTINGS SO FAR, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TAUTOKO AND SUPPORT!
Arohanui xx
Taryn
I was thrilled to have recently received an email from NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (!) asking me to write a short travel piece for them, from my perspective, for visitors to my hometown of Wellington City!
Writing is something that I love, along with art, tattooing, music, dancing, culture, travel and personal development!
You can read the article that I wrote: HERE!
I recently just spent a couple weeks in Fitzroy, Melbourne, alongside my colleague and senior artist, Julie Paama-Pengally.
Out of all the cities in Australia, Melbourne is def my favourite one to visit!
Some of my fav things about Melbourne include the diverse and colourful queer culture, getting to know the local Aboriginal artists, musos and dancers better, the street art and graffiti culture, the Caribbean and African communities and their art, food, music and culture that is present there, the thriving dancehall culture, dance and music scene, the vintage fashion stores and the cuisine!
'Call on them and they shall appear'.
I have books coming out soon!
Live taonga pūoro at the opening night created a wonderful ambience.
Big thanks to everyone that came along to the opening night at The Sound Temple!
'Hiwa i te rangi, your hearts desire'.
'Our ancestors watch over us'.
It was a great feeling finally have my first solo show after all these years of being a working artist!
Big thanks to The Sound Temple for hosting the exhibition.
'The people of the rainbow gather'. SOLD.
'Celestial Connections' SOLD and 'Star Seeds' on the right.
I love doing large scale paintings! The more I do, the more I want to do!
Spoken word poetry performance at the opening night, with taonga pūoro accompaniment by Jerome Kavanagh.
'The many radiant descendants'.
Giving an artist talk on all the paintings and the concept for the exhibition.
In November 2016 I spent three weeks with my partner in Bali, a place I have been wanting to visit for a long time! I really loved it there and hope to spend a lot more time there over the coming years. Their wood carving and stone carving is amazing. I especially loved Ubud and Amed. It was awesome getting to buy some local art materials (all kinds of gold pigments) and having the chance to do some painting while I was there. We met some really awesome people.
I also found it interesting how some Te Reo Māori words were the same or similar in Indonesian/Balinese.
In February 2017 my partner and I spent a magical week in Tahiti. Visiting Taputapuatea and Raiatea was a real highlight and special moment in time for me. Catching up with a friend who is a leading Tahitian tatau specialist was enlightening and fun too, and I learned a lot! I hope to spend more time exploring French Polynesia in future.
Here's a poem that I wrote when I was in Tahiti, inspired by what I saw, felt, learned and experienced there.
Niu life
The foundation
Lay it right
And your life will flourish
This land does nourish
Everything it touches
Coconut bread
Coconut milk
Coconut flesh
Coconut candy floss
Nature is the boss
Magical plants
Fish in the spring
I can hear the tūpuna sing
Spring water
In it, I have a shower
This land has power
Burn the fire all day long
In paradise
Oh it's so nice
I can't complain
I don't complain
You shouldn't complain either
Tama tū tama ora
Work and sweat in the heat of the day
This way of life is a good way
Go to bed when the sun goes down
Wake up with the sunrise
And listen to the birds cries
We have everything we need here
This rangatira told me
Not ariki
But rangatira
With dirt on his hands and machete
We need very little money
The fenua provides all the food you need
And a house for you and your family
What more could you want?
When you're living in paradise
Nature people
Nature man
He has a GOOD plan
To live off the land
He's planting his trees
Pulling the weeds
And saving his fees
From the tatau of the tūpuna he sees
I see them too
Everything we need is right here
In this land
In these trees
Rebel against the system
Save your money so you can be independent
And free
Don't be greedy
Time goes so slow
No stress
Taro ice-cream and banana pie
How many different varieties of bananas?
And mangoes?
What day is it?
How long have we been here?
Doesn't matter
All that matters is what kind of food shall we gather
And prepare together
With these grateful hands
For our next meal?
I can climb this maunga like my tūpuna before me
If they can do it, so can I
And so we did
'Kaitiakitanga' by Taryn Beri. Wai (water) and manu (bird) designs feature in this artwork about the importance of caring for our natural environment. We must all be kaitiaki (guardians) of the earth, water and entire natural world if it is to continue to support life as we know it. The manu (bird) designs in this artwork can also symbolically represent significant kaitiaki (guardians) for the owner/viewer of the work. Click on the image to buy your own 'Kaitiakitanga' canvas.
"E tipu e rea i ngā rā o tōu ao, tōu ringaringa ki te rākau a te Pākehā, hei oranga mō tō tinana; tōu ngākau ki ngā taonga a ō tūpuna, hei tikitiki mō tō māhunga; tōu wairua ki te atua, nāna nei ngā mea katoa i hanga."
"Grow up o tender one in the days of your world, put your hand to the skills of the Pākehā that you might find sustenance for your body; extend your heart to the treasures of your ancestors as an adornment for your head; commit your spirit to the divine, who is the creator of all things."
Here is a round up of some of my favorite websites, authors, and tools on the internet at the mo, these are the places that I like to visit on the regs, just for fun:
Personal development
Gala Darling (Adorn yourself, adore your life, Wellington writer doing things proper in NYC)
Tara Bliss (Australian author, coach and speaker currently getting into kundalini yoga)
Gabby B (New York style modern guru and author)
Rach Macdonald (Australian life coach)
Wabi Sabi Well (Australian high vibe health, fitness and wellness)
Rebecca Campbell (Spiritual writer, teacher and speaker)
The Daily Love (Personal development)
The business of art + self employment
Marie Forleo (New York style business and lifestyle coach)
B-School (Online business school for entrepreneurs and artists)
The Abundant Artist (Business tips and advice for abundant artists)
The Renegade Collective (Magazine for game changers, thought leaders, rule breakers and style makers)
Leonie Dawson (Australian life and business coach)
The Change-Makers Collective (Online design + business tools and people)
Books
Light is the new black (Spirituality)
High (Self development)
Growing into Grace (Self development)
Design
Sian Richardson (Kiwi girl doing design and online business proper)
E-Books
Rebels with a cause (A playbook for doing what you damn well please)
Spirited (Self development and spirituality)
Charles Royal (Māori artist, academic and thought leader)
Travel Related
Hubud (Business + creativity hub based in Ubud, Bali)
I hope you find something useful and interesting in there!
Arohanui,
Taryn
I worked on my cousin Hepa's moko peha at Mahara Gallery for the exhibition opening weekend. On the wall behind us is my latest painting, 'Te Āhuru Mōwai'.
Last weekend I attended the opening of 'He Toi Reikorangi: Te Ātiawa artists celebrate Matariki' at Mahara Gallery in Waikanae, on the Kapiti Coast of the Wellington region (New Zealand). It was super exciting and hundrends of people showed up to celebrate and show their support for the exhibition, including some of the best Māori artists in the world. For the duration of the opening weekend, Mahara Gallery invited myself, Rangi Kipa and Mitchell Hughes to showcase our tā moko expertise.
The fact that this exhibition opening was in Waikanae was personally significant to me, because my grandmother spent a lot of her life growing up in Waikanae, and her grandfather Wi Parata was a well known leader of the area and one of the biggest landowners - in fact Waikanae was once known as 'Parata Town'.
Iwi exhibitions are one of my favorite types of exhibitions because they reinforce and strengthen the whakapapa/genealogical bonds between the artists and the people of the iwi they belong to. Iwi exhibitions are a positive and uplifting community kaupapa that bring people together, showcasing the artistic excellence and skills amongst that particular tribe - I think that in itself, is an inspiring and empowering outcome.
A section of the moko peha that I worked on at Mahara Gallery during the exhibition opening weekend.
My eight year old apprentice, Ria Te Uira, stretching skin at Mahara Gallery.
My niece Ria Te Uira is a great little apprentice.
One of the reasons that I love to bring tā moko into art galleries is that it exposes and opens up the art form and cultural practice, to an entirely different audience, an audience that may not ever have the chance to see tā moko happening in real life, in any other situation. The potential for engagement with the public is great in an art gallery setting, and I enjoy answering the many and varied questions that people come up with. Having tā moko artists working in an art gallery space is magnetic, cutting edge, and a rare opportunity for gallery viewers to witness the tā moko process.
Another reason that I enjoy bringing tā moko into art gallery (and museum) settings is because I believe that all of our Māori art forms are inter-related and connected. Our various different art forms are at their strongest when put together and combined, contrasted against each other, complimenting one another, feeding into, informing and in conversation with one another. A decorated wharenui is a prime example of this, as is kapa haka where you see many of our art forms in relationship together at once.
The idea of inter-related art forms is part of the reason why I love collaborating and working alongside other artists, that use different mediums to me. It is also why I am currently enjoying the use of taonga puoro by Jerome Kavanagh, to compliment my tā moko process.
Tohunga tā moko, Rangi Kipa was also tattooing at Mahara Gallery for the exhibition opening weekend, as was moko artist Mitchell Hughes.
An outstanding modern work by master artist, Rangi Kipa.
Inspiring tukutuku work in the exhibition by my whanaunga, expert weaver Kohai Grace.
Photographic portraits in the exhibition featuring Te Ātiawa women and their moko kauae, by Heloise Bergman.
Whakairo in the exhibition by my whanaunga, Rakairoa Hori.
Painting in the exhibition by one of my favorite contemporary Māori painters, Darcy Nicholas.
Outstanding hue by expert weaver, Veranoa Hetet.
I love this work by Tracey Morgan using seaweed and tāniko.
I have two prints on show in the exhibition, 'Manu Ariki' and 'Hine Ariki'. The kete shown in the foreground are by Snooks Forster.
My painting 'Te Āhuru Mōwai' currently at Mahara Gallery. This painting refers to a 'cosy haven' inside the womb of a woman, the home of a baby growing, the amniotic fluid and the dna / ancestral material that makes up the baby and who the baby is / will become.
The photos of art work shown in this article are just a snapshot of the full exhibition and there are many more awesome and innovative works on show until 12th July 2015, so go and see for yourself!
I recently spent about a week tattooing in Taihape at Winiata Marae. In general I mostly prefer to stay within my own rohe, and work within areas that I have some whakapapa link or affiliation to (except when I am overseas) - that's just how I prefer to roll whenever possible. However since my partner invited me to work in his rohe at his marae, I was more than happy to pack up my gear and head to Taihape. Furthermore, marae are one of my absolute favorite places to work, along with galleries and museums, so I jumped at the chance to work inside the whare there. As it happened, I did discover a link between my extended whānau and the whānau at Winiata Marae.
It was snowing and really freezing cold the week that we were there, as you can tell by my attire! It's hard to stay fashionable when you are so cold!
Whilst in Taihape I had the pleasure and privilege of tattooing a moko kauae for a local kuia. For me, moko kauae is the epitome of my tā moko practice and it is my favorite type of moko to do. Moko kauae has always been a strong motivating force for me and a large part of why I got into, and have stuck at tā moko. I want to see more and more wāhine Māori take on and wear their moko kauae with pride, strength and dignity - particularly within my own whānau, hapū and iwi.
Some friends of mine at Kikorua Films came and stayed with us for part of our trip and made a little film clip and took some photos. I think they did a great job of capturing the essence of the environment we were working in, and the mahi that we did there.
Moko kauae is a very special and important kaupapa. If you would like to talk me about getting your own moko kauae done, please email me on taryn.teuira@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading!
One of my first experiences of teaching.
An example of the activity I teach in the workshop.
I recently had the opportunity to teach some teachers a Māori art activity that I created for Matariki, based on contemporary whetū/star designs. I have always had a personal interest in stars and the activity grew organically from my own art practice where I started creating round kōwhaiwhai style star designs that I wanted to tattoo on people. Fortunately for me, an organization called Ruapehu Rural Education Programme, offered me the chance to deliver this art drawing activity as a workshop for its educators to come and learn, and to then takeaway and share with the children that they work with. It was super exciting to have the chance to work in the sphere of education, and I would love to do more work like this.
My desire to teach, share and be involved with children and young people has been increasing more and more over the years, and I have a true and passionate interest in education through the arts. I really believe that the arts are a powerful vehicle for instilling confidence in children, helping them to grow their own voices, assisting them to become powerful communicators, and aiding them in finding, exploring and expressing their own unique identities. I believe that the arts have a myriad of benefits for children and all of humanity, and I am currently investing more time, effort and research into learning more about education through the arts. Here's another article I wrote about my recent experience with Māori Art based education.
One of the workshop participants children came in after school and had a go at the activity.
An early childhood teacher from Ireland practicing the activity so she can share it with the tamariki that she works with.
Doing the activity myself while the workshop participants worked on their own star designs.
One of the workshop participants sussing out the technique so she can share it with the tamariki that she works with.
If you are interested in me coming to share this fun and educational, hands on and practical Māori star art workshop (perfect for Matariki) with your organization or group of people, please fill out the enquiry form below.