Clive Fugill
Master Carver
Ngai Te Rangi, Ngati Ranginui, Tainui, Ngati Rangiwewehi
Clive Fugill is never without his little notebook. "You see this," he says pulling it out of his pocket. "I learn new things every day by keeping my ears open. A student will say something to me and I'll write it down. I am teaching them but they are teaching me as well."
Clive is the master carver at Te Puia's school of carving, renowned for its expertise of this traditional Maori art form.
He is a fountain of knowledge with a gift for explaining. He is, indeed, a master of teaching. "I tell my students, if you come out of this after three years with your skill as good as mine, I've done my job. I've passed on the knowledge and it has a chance of surviving," he says. "If they come out and their skills are higher than mine, all the better. It's not degrading as a teacher. How can it be? You have more than achieved."
Yet despite his Maori heritage, visitors are often stunned to see this fair skinned gentleman amongst the wood and shavings. "Yes. I'm the one who is a bit pink," he chuckles.
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