Sparked by a love of art and power tools, Whakatāne artist Briar Merritt has put down her paintbrushes and pens for now to focus on creating custom carved mirrors.

Using a dremel and a variety of diamond-tipped bits and burrs, Merritt etches intricate patterns into glass, making each piece one-of-a-kind.

Since sharing her mirrors on local buy-and-sell pages, she has been overwhelmed by the positive response from the community.

Currently working on custom orders and new designs inspired by local landscapes such as Moutuhorā Whale Island and Putauaki, she incorporates elements from her life and whakapapa (genealogy) to create individually unique pieces.

In addition to her mirror carvings, Merritt designs striking digital art and business logos using an iPad and digital pen.

For Merritt, art became a form of medicine and healing after a difficult period in her life.

She is passionate about sharing with others how essential creative expression is for mental and emotional well-being.

“Your passions are your first aid kit for when you’re not feeling yourself. For me, it’s art; for others, it can be anything. When you have problems in your head, they’re multiplied, but when you exert your problems through your hands—through creating—there lies the remedy.”

A busy mum who spends most of her days working on her whānau farm, Merritt also dedicates her spare time to her art studio at home.

“My son is autistic, so art is a really cool way for him to be able to channel energy if he’s feeling irritable, it’s a really cool medium to be able to express, as he doesn’t like to talk a lot with words, he spends a lot of time in the art studio with me.”

A self-described “urban Māori,” Merritt’s art is influenced by her journey to reclaim her Māori culture. Of Wairaka and Hokowhitu a tu descent, Briar completed a manaakitanga course with Te Wānanga O Aotearoa, where she learned about the local history of assimilation and raupatu (confiscation). Through her studies, she began researching her whakapapa and, in the process, discovered a deeper sense of identity and "ūkaipō" (belonging) to the Whakatāne region – values she reflects in her work.

“As a child, I never wondered why I never heard my poppa speak te reo Māori, or why we called him poppa instead of koro. But as an adult, thinking back, I realise that’s why – after learning about the Tohunga Suppression Act etc. My whānau didn’t speak te reo Māori, but now I do, my niece does, and my children do, too.”

For her son’s school gala, she printed and framed her digital designs, raising over $1500 for his boarding school in one day.

“At the gala, a little girl bought one of my pictures. She then wanted a photo with me, and for me; that was massive. It’s purposeful for me and hopefully it sparks something in her that makes her want to pull out her felts and start creating.”

To see more of Briar's work, you can follow her on Facebook @MamaMaoriToiRongoa or on TikTok @artalchemy.