Dail Solvander's seashells

GROWN-UPS' PLAYHOUSE: Dail Solvander outside her studio.

GISBORNE is full of dark horses, and not just of the cinematic kind. I never cease to be amazed at the many modest, undiscovered geniuses whose creative lights are hidden under bushels. I’m sure this region has more than its fair share of talented, artistic people who can look at every day things and visualise potential that ordinary mortals like me do not see.

One such person is a colleague who has been leading a secret life for years, undetected by her workmates.

At work Dail Solvander is an efficient, organised, time-focused, elegantly-attired sales consultant, but after hours she morphs into a creative being for whom deadlines mean nothing and the dress code is ultra-scruffy and paint-strewn.

At the end of a day’s work, Dail can’t wait to run away from the real world and snatch precious time in her studio in her dreamy, flower-filled back garden.

Built by her partner under the supervision of a builder friend, the studio, painted in bright primary colours, looks like a grown-ups’ playhouse. The exterior walls are green, the door red, the floor purple and one of the interior walls is a patchwork of patterned craft paper.

The tiny workspace — there’s only room for one inside — is crammed with materials for her many craft projects such as seashell mobiles and children’s wall hangings.

Dail had the first glimmerings of her artistic tendencies a few years ago while living at Natewa Bay, Vanua Levu, a remote and beautiful part of Fiji.

“I lived there for about eight months back in 2007 and used to collect nuts from under the trees. One day, to fill in time, I decided to paint them and hang them on fishing nylon along the veranda. Small tins of paint were hard to come by over there but they looked pretty all the same,” says Dail.

A shell collector extraordinaireWhen she came home to Gisborne, she began collecting shells from the beach and painting them, having discovered with great glee she could get little test pots of paint in every hue under the sun.

“I call what I do doodle art, painting dobs of bright paint in random patterns on shells which are then strung on fishing line and hung as decorative mobiles.”

Dail also makes children’s wall hangings out of old cork placemats which she paints in bold colours and then decorates with pictures from children’s story and nursery rhyme books.

She came up with this idea after seeing some beautiful découpage placemats made by a friend.

“I thought they were fabulous and looked easy to make. However, having discovered just how complicated the découpage process is, I began by making a simplified version.”

Needless to say, Dail now spends a lot of time rummaging in second-hand shops for old placemats and story books with colourful pictures.

“It’s funny how things evolve. I’ve never done anything arty before except for sewing, so I was surprised when this creative thing began to emerge in me a few years ago.

“I can spend endless time working alone in my studio, surrounded by my photos and treasures, listening to the radio, completely absorbed in what I’m doing. I’m oblivious to the hours passing,” she says.

“It’s utter escapism, pure fun, total peace, no stress, me-time. I sit there thinking how lucky I am. People don’t allow themselves enough time to do this sort thing these days — we are all so busy and time-focused.

“It’s about being able to just be. Plus there’s a product at the end of the process which is nice.”

Dail began making the items as gifts for friends but now she’s amassed so many, she plans to “come out” and sell them at art and craft markets. Her secret will be well and truly out then.