Carving the catalyst for inmate's fresh start

TALENTED DEMAND: Dan with part of a gateway he designed for Whangaparaoa College, carved by fellow inmates at Ngawha prison.

An inmate at Ngawha Prison says seeing people cry over a carving he made for a school changed his life. Now the head designer on Ngawha's carving course, Dan says when he gets out of jail he wants to go back as a tutor so he can help other prisoners learn new skills and get their lives back on track.

We're not able to print Dan's real name, his crime or his sentence. To give you an idea of how long he's inside for, think of a long jail term and double it. Chances are you won't be far off.

Dan was a successful musician before being jailed, but had never tried his hand at art. While at Paremoremo, New Zealand's highest-security prison, in 2013 he taught himself to draw portraits by copying faces from the Woman's Weekly. He was soon "smashing drawings out" and exchanging them for noodles and chocolate, so his family didn't have to provide him with extras.

From there he graduated to coloured pencils and acrylics - his paintings have been shown in galleries around Northland and Auckland - then joined a carving class and taught himself to carve. When the other inmates asked him to lead the class he protested, saying he could only carve birds and knew nothing about his own culture.

"But they said: 'You can carve, man. We'll teach you the rest.'"

Dan had "a bit of a karakia" with his tupuna and felt the calling. His first public carving project was a waharoa (gateway) for a school in Albany in 2006. The finished work was handed over to teachers during an emotional ceremony at the prison.

"Seeing people crying over something I've carved for them, that's life-changing," Dan said.

"If you've done something bad they put you in here and you think, 'This is it for me.' But carving is a ladder to get you back as a functioning human being again."

In 2013 Dan was transferred to Ngawha to help get a carving programme under way. He is now the head designer, drawing up plans for each new project and guiding his fellow inmates.

Recent projects include a waka for Tikipunga High School and carved signs and seats in Orewa. The inmates are putting the finishing touches to an entranceway for Whangaparaoa College, and plan to make 25 panels for Kawakawa's revamped pool complex.

Dan said learning to carve was not just about gaining mana, pride and new skills. It was also a catalyst for inmates hoping to make a fresh start in life.

"Prison's not a great place, but even if you're doing a big lag you can do something in that time. You can learn something new and steer yourself away from where you were before. When you learn something and get good at it, it opens your mind," he said.

Inmates could study towards NorthTec diplomas in whakairo (carving) or art and design, but the opportunity wasn't open to anyone - participants must be ready to "shape up and change".

"There's no mucking around," he added.

"I know people out there want us to do a long lag and think we should be doing it harder, but they should also want to see a reformed person, someone who's changed."

Dan still has a way to go before he will be considered for parole. But once he is released he wants to go straight back in - as a tutor, not an inmate.

"I don't want a normal life when I come out, or the life I had before. I want to come back in here and help inmates. There's so many talented men in here, they just need good role models to inspire them and give them confidence," he said.