The Bark Cloth is Applied
The bark cloth is placed over the board and pressed against the adhesive.

The Creative Process Begins
When the board is dry, the design is painted on the smooth, flat, hard surface. The symbols are used freely creating whatever the artist's imagination dictates. Lama or black dye is used for drawing the skeleton of the design. Once the skeleton is created, the artist can use color to enhance the creation.

MAMANU PROCESS

The Final Product
After the board is colored the piece is done.

The Bark Cloth is Stretched
The bark cloth is smoothed out and streched over the board.

A Second Layer is Applied
A second layer of bark cloth is applied over the original layer after it is patched. The second layer is then smoothed out, patched and set out to dry.

The Bark Cloth is Patched
The holes in the bark cloth are patched with smaller pieces of bark cloth and adhesive.

The Board is Prepared
The board is coated with adhesive. Traditionally a temporary adhesive, soga, was used in order to allow the bark cloth to be removed when the piece was completed. Here the bark cloth is permanently adhered to the board for display.

Mamanu's Paint Brush
The paogo or dried pandanus brush is used to create the design and later color the piece.