“Hey Jemma, I’m going to be up all night hand-drawing fireworks!”

I grew up from a wee sprog who liked to draw. My Nana and Grandad on my Dad’s side of the family would cut up old cardboard boxes (from tea-bags, cereal, biscuits etc) for me to scribble on when I came to visit. It was bliss seeing that brand-new pile of cardboard waiting for me whenever we went around to visit. I like to imagine them sitting there in the living room with their gas heater on and A Dog Show on the telly, cutting up old boxes for me (although I’m sure they did it at the kitchen table).

When I was at Lucknow Primary School in Havelock North, the students each year would produce a fundraising calendar to sell to friends and family. Each class took on a different month/theme with each student contributing their little piece – and I was one of the students singled out by the Principal to draw extras. Special!

“Dude, get a new costume!” (1988-1989)

This soon turned into making calendars for my family. For the first couple of years I’d draw them, Dad would photocopy each page for me, and my sisters and I would spend the weeks leading up to Christmas colouring the damn things in.

That simply wasn’t sustainable – being Ngati Porou, we have a big family– so somewhere in early High School, I switched to pen and ink landscapes instead. Around that time my Mum pulled out a pile of old pen and ink drawings that her grandfather had drawn, which had been tucked away in the pages of an old family bible (the size of a small foot-stool). The similarities were uncanny and the drawings are still there, tucked away, although I’ve no idea where mine are – this is my first meaningful attempt to archive anything.

“Get a frame that fits.” (2003)

In 2000 I met Hemi and created an entire cast around him. His world became an escape for me, and a vehicle for, I suppose, my creativity and sense of humour. In 2003, I made a new calendar, coloured it digitally, and had it printed out at Massey University’s Printery. It wasn’t spectacular, but it was a step up from the scribbles of the past – and “Hey, no colouring in!”.

It wasn’t until last year, when after a decade I started drawing Hemi again, a new calendar took shape. I used all of my spare time, drawing late into the night on a digital tablet with Belinda Carlisle, The Band, or even Dolly to keep me company. Thanks to late nights and video tutorials, Illustrator and I became good friends and I had 40 brand-new calendars professionally printed and bound – just in time for Christmas – for a few of my friends and family.

It was nice to see that people had missed them, and were so happy I was drawing again. A lovely text from my Aunty Helen reads: “Thank you for bringing Hemi back into our lives.”

But I am the one who’s thankful. The fireworks didn’t take as much effort as I’d feared, and this year, l’ll need to print a few more.

Kereama