James Webster (Ngäti Mahanga, Ngäti Maniapoto, Ngäti Päkehä) is a renowned Mäori artist. His work is seen in the intricate designs of bone carvings to the visual history etched into the skin of tä moko wearer. He makes and plays traditional taonga puoro and is a commissioned artist. James has also exhibited works in Waikato and Auckland, where his work featured on the concrete walls of the infamous spaghetti junction motorway.
Officially registered as Te Ngarue Arts, James trades as Tahaa, operating as a sole-trader from his home in Whitianga.
“I’ve always been artistic,” says the 44-year-old. “I got into (the) Mäori Affairs Trade Training (scheme) when I left St Stephens School because art wasn’t something well supported back then.
Then in my mid-20s the old wairua was calling me to sort out my taha Mäori. That’s when I started developing my passion.”
James started with carving bone and gourds. He began learning more about te ao Mäori and needed a way to express it.
Through self-directed learning he attended wänanga throughout the motu, moving into whakairo and learning about patterns. In the 1980s he attended a hui in Blenheim where he met Hirini Melbourne, Richard Nunns, Brian Flintoff and Rangihui Keefe; it was here that he was introduced to taonga puoro.
“My two passions are taonga puoro and tä moko. Followed closely, of course, by the other mahi toi I do. Based on that passion, my art slowly turned into a business.”
Working from a home studio, James has a space dedicated to tä moko and a wood-shop for the numerous other things he does, including the aforementioned mixed media commissions.
And although he doesn’t have your typical retail store, his shop window is still attracting a large market.
“My shop window is my website,” he says. “I did a trade with a friend, some tä moko work for a website, and it has been really successful. It’s easy to navigate, has a gallery of my work and I’m now in the process of developing an events page.”
“It’s important to keep the website current and active, that’s how you keep people coming back. And it’s working. Most of my commissioned work and other sales come from either word-ofmouth, or the website.”
A three week business course back in 1999 was the only formal training James had before starting his business in 2000. Now, ten years later, he is a successful, full-time artist.
While his business acumen wasn’t the best, Te Puni Kökiri’s Mäori Business Facilitation Service provided assistance for James to receive mentoring from contracted business mentor Kim Hill.
“I didn’t know anything about business, all I knew was how to make money out of carpentry,” admits James. “To a certain degree I applied those same principles to my art, but I still needed to develop my business structure.”
Kim introduced James to a number of professionals who could assist in the day-to-day running of the business, as well as lawyers and those who could help James protect his intellectual property rights. He also leant
about the different facets that came with operating a business, especially in the arts sector.
“I learnt how to streamline my ideas. Because there are so many things I do, I had to bring them all together and make them work under one umbrella instead of trying to juggle the different hats.”
As well as creating art, James has tutored at wänanga and has just completed a seven-part documentary on taonga puoro with production company Stand Strong. The 25-minute episodes will air on Mäori Television from May 17.
Running a business with two tamariki, aged two years and 14 months, hasn’t been easy. While James can no longer work the long hours he used to, however with the support of his “beautiful partner” he can still dedicate time to creating his art.
“There is always a need for balance between work and family commitments, no matter what you are doing. Running your own business means you can be your own boss and decide when and where you want to work, but it isn’t necessarily easy. It’s much different to being in a waged job.
When you work for someone else you do the hours then come home and someone else has to worry about the stresses of the business. But when you run your own business, like your family, you have to be married to it.”
Although there are the challenges, James says he wouldn’t want it any other way.
“It all comes down to what sort of lifestyle you want. I like to go fishing and have leisure time, and running my own business allows for that. It’s hard work, but there are definitely many benefits.”
