Like any small business, the business of art can be a hard road travelled, Māori multidisciplinary artist Daniel Ormsby (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Kaputuhi, Ngāti Uekaha) uses his years of experience to guide up-and-coming artists through the roadblocks on their journey.
You can’t miss The Red Shed where Daniel is based, it’s on the road that leads to one of the country’s best-known tourist spots – the Waitomo caves.
Opened seven years ago, The Red Shed is not just a space for creating art it is also a place for creative thought and learning to flow, and many artists have passed through its doors.
“It was just an idea as everything else is. I was in a comfort zone working from home. The home is a very comfortable place but it also has limitations. I just recognised the need for myself to grow,” he says.
Daniel and a couple of friends decided to rent a house locally and the building that would become the Red Shed was available.
Daniel Ormsby
Housed in one of the oldest buildings in Waitomo, they set about transforming it into a gallery and studio space with an adjoining covered work area outside.
“It’s about 135 years old, at least. But it’s perfect for what we do. It’s not a sterile environment so it doesn’t matter if we can drop paint. It’s a great creative environment,” Daniel says.
“We’re in prime location just before the village so everyone has to go past us, which is the blessing and a curse.”
The curse of it being the time it takes from creating art to extend manaakitanga (hospitality) to visitors,
Daniel says.
In the past few years, The Red Shed has become less of a public gallery and more of a place to do the work of creating; it was a key learning that came out of Covid for Daniel.
“It’s been a bit of a flux and we’ve diminished the gallery aspect of it because we weren’t getting any work done,” he laughs.
“When Covid came the tourism slowed down and we closed the doors and discovered that we were getting so much more work done.”
An established artist for many years, Daniel knows he has the luxury of already having his name out there.
His tā moko (tattoo) bookings fill up quickly, his carvings and paintings are widely sought after and there’s always commission work on offer.
Because of this success, Daniel mentors other creatives as they set out to make a career in the fickle world of art.
“I’m a bit of a helper. I think it’s just an extension of who I am. I was doing arts in a time when I was mocked for it or told to get a real job. I went through the hard times and just pointing out potholes so others don’t have to stand in them or to accelerate people so they don’t have to struggle.”
From a shearing family, Daniel formally started his art journey nearly 30 years ago at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa but he had been carving well before that.
He studied contemporary art during the day and carved at night, and graduated with a double major in contemporary and traditional art.
He then went on to tutor at the wānanga and also did a stint in the marketing department, which helped build an important skill set in any business.
It’s this marketing skill that Daniel puts to good use on Facebook, which is where most of his work sells.
“I’ve really only ever used Facebook. My timing with Facebook coincided with my tā moko career. I had a style that was quite different and it stood out at that time. People would comment on my work and others would see and it grew from there.”
In the early days of his career, Daniel became a single father on the DPB and he used this time to learn te reo and continued honing his creative skills. He worked in his own home before being given the opportunity to use a shed by a local drug and alcohol, mental health and wellbeing organisation.
“In return I volunteered to take troubled youth two to three days a week. Because nothing’s free and the work ethic I got from my parents made it important to me to feel that I’m giving back.”
Daniel continues this philosophy of giving back in the opportunities he provides at The Red Shed.
Opportunities for emerging artist to work alongside established artists, for artists to gather and work alongside each other and tonnes of opportunities for inspiration and art kōrero (discussion).
And because of the work ethic he gained from his parents, Daniel expects a lot from the people who use the space.
“You’ve got to want to do the work. A lot of people would like to just come and hang out because of the atmosphere, but you have to be working. Your work shows if you’re talented, and also if you’ve got the ethic.”
Like any business, the team culture is an important part of ‘hiring’ and fitting in with the values of The Red Shed is important to Daniel.
“I’ve got a tikanga (principles) and mauri (spirit) here where no one’s better than anyone else.”
It can also be a place of healing for the artists that spend time at the shed.
“Artists are drawn to the energies present at shed,” he says. “The arts help many reconnect with a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives, particularly when they’ve passed through trauma or have reached a spot in life where growth is required.”
And while Daniel may have been in the business of art for decades, he’s not afraid to re-examine his business practices.
Last year he attended Creative Waikato course Elevate with a number of other artists involved in the shed.
The nine-month programme supported creative practitioners to investigate how they could have achievable, financially viable and sustainable creative careers.
“I had to do it because I forced everyone else to,” he laughs.
“But I got so much out of it. You just get deeper roots. I’d get by on a strategy of just do the art and face the business side of things it as it comes. That’s good to a point. But then it gets messy. So, it’s a necessary topic for artists – you can’t run from it forever. You’ve got to deal with all that stuff.”
