At first, I was like, “Nahhh…”
Mayor Campbell Barry put out a Facebook post aimed at Lower Hutt artists, and my husband, Daniel, tagged me in the comments. We were standing in the kitchen, and he said, “I tagged you in Campbell Barry’s post. Countdown Wainuiomata is looking for an artist to make a mural for the side of their building. Could be a great opportunity.”
And I said, “Oh yeah? Ok, thanks. I’ll have a look.”
But that self-doubt part of my brain was already saying, “Nahhh.”
I had never made a mural before. I had watched people make them but never made one myself. Years ago, when Daniel and I were youth pastors, we commissioned a guy to make a mural for our youth group wall. Man, that artist wielded his spray cans effortlessly.
I enjoyed the murals where we live in Wainuiomata that brighten up our streets and community spaces, but you know what? I had only admired those murals from afar. I thought murals were beyond my skill set because I had never messed around with spray cans or made a giant art piece in public. And that was why my default response to the opportunity of making a mural was a no.
This is all Daniel’s fault for putting the idea in my head.
Because all I had pictured was creating art in public with spray cans, I tried to shut the thought of mural-making down. But really, what happened was that I sent that thought to the scheming corner of my brain where all worthwhile ideas come strutting back as full-blown action plans.
I mean, I have always wanted to make a mural. I just thought it would be later down the track… After a day or two, that thought came out of the scheming corner and presented me with some pretty solid reasoning:
I was assuming spray cans. And painting in public.
How would I know if this project was something I could tackle unless I got all the information and made an informed decision?
I emailed and asked for the brief.
Oh! I can do that!
Here is what the brief asked for:
“Countdown would like a strong visual design that reflects the uniqueness of Wainuiomata, past, present and future. This could include stories of the natural environment, history of the area, culture and diversity of the area. We would like a piece that is engaging to the community that can provide a further link along Te Ara Raukura.”
As soon as I read that, images and ideas for a mural flooded my mind. The best part was that the brief said I could make the mural at home on marine ply that would then be installed in a 1.4m high by 4.6m long space on Countdown’s wall along Te Ara Raukura.
Te Ara Raukura is the new road linking Queen Street with The Strand, with Countdown supermarket as part of the community space. The name is significant to Te Āti Awa iwi because it references the events at Parihaka in 1881 where Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi led non-violent resistance against 1600 Crowned troops and settler volunteers.
Ara = road, street, or pathway.
Raukura = symbol of peace and unity.
How fitting it is that Te Ara Raukura comes off Queen Street.
The brief said nothing about spray paint which meant I was free to use exterior paint that I was confident using and could withstand the weather just fine. Don’t get me wrong, I plan on having a good go with spray paint at some point! (To be honest, I’d probably get hooked and not want to paint with anything else for a while.)
Making the proposal to be considered by the Countdown team and local iwi.
Writing the proposal was the hard part. I had never written a proposal before. The design of the mural was the easy part. As soon as I read that brief and considered making the mural an option, the image came to me straight away. I wanted to convey the togetherness of the community here in Wainuiomata. I wanted it to pop with colour, reflecting the vibrancy of our people and the natural beauty of our landscape.
Here is the design that I came up with:
The waka on the Wainuiomata River conveys “He waka eke noa” – we are all in this together. Moving forward together. The carvings on the waka are koiri and rauru. The koiri is a symbol of self-reflection and nurturing. It also means to flourish. The rauru represents new life, growth, strength and peace.
The people in the waka show the passage of time in our community. Starting from the left: Mata and the women who grieved by the river, the settlers who came to Wainuiomata to start new lives and families, the soldiers who fought in the World War, a family during the housing boom, farmers, business owners, and from there, it’s an assortment of immigrants, individuals, mixed families and new families that call Wainuiomata home.
If you have seen the finished mural, you know that picture is not it. Here’s why:
So, the fantastic news was that the Countdown team and local iwi chose my design! They loved the idea of representing the multicultural aspects of Wainuiomata, but they asked if I could redesign it. The waka imagery was inappropriate, as it is a vessel for warriors.
Waka taua – the largest waka
Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr, ‘Waka – canoes’, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/waka-canoes (accessed 14 November 2022)
These were up to 30 metres long, and some could hold 100 people. They were beautifully carved at front and back. Warriors used them to go to battle, and the vessels were considered to be sacred.
Story by Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr, published 12 Jun 2006
I am learning more all the time about Māori culture and also more about Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I understand that partnership with iwi is vital in New Zealand, so I valued the feedback I was given. It enabled me to redesign the mural respectfully while conveying the same story of “He waka eke noa” – we are all in this together.
2nd design: better and bolder.
I liked this design better than the first one. And I enjoyed it even more because I designed it in the middle of Covid-mask-wearing-no-hand-shaking times. I was not putting masks on these people hanging out on the riverbank!
From dainty to BIG.
After Countdown and iwi accepted the second design, I headed South to Waimate for my watercolour exhibition of the town. Straight from Waimate, I came home and had a 1-month deadline to make the mural. It was a contrast going from dainty watercolours to BIG colours. I had spent months painting small details on A4 paper, and then I turned around and painted a 4.6 metre-long mural with big paintbrushes and rollers.
I sanded and primed the marine ply, then made a grid to draw the proportions right. All-nighters and all-dayers amongst family life & kids, dragging the ply in the studio on rainy days, pulling it out on the deck on our captivating sunny Wainui days. It was fun! And it was liberating to make something big after all the smalls. Fiddly details sometimes, but worth it.
Te Ara Raukura dawn blessing and mural unveiling.
Put your best foot forward.
When the year started, a mural was nowhere on my radar. I am proud of myself for seizing the opportunity to design and submit a proposal. It gave me a lot of experience I would never have gained if I hadn’t gone through it.
I want to encourage you if you struggle with taking leaps with the projects in your life. My final thoughts, before I decided to go for the proposal, were:
“There will be artists who can submit a proposal but won’t because of a lack of confidence. There will be artists who want to submit a proposal but can’t because of other obligations. Then there will be artists who go for it, and my design will compete with theirs. So I will put my best foot forward.”
I hope that you will too in whatever you do. Take the opportunity if you can say yes, even if it is daunting. Be confident, be open to the learning curves that come with it, and enjoy the process.
Share your thoughts.
Spray painting as an art form is something I am yet to try for myself.
Have you ever had an opportunity arise, and you were brave enough to take it? Please share your experience with us below to encourage others.
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”
— 2 Timothy 1:7
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