From the quiet, reflective medium of primary school drawings to large-scale public installations and canvas works held in private collections from Paris to New York, the creative journey of artist Sarana Haeata is rooted in intuition and organic evolution.
Guided by her Māori-Australian heritage and the principle of wairūa, a moving life force that invites flow over force, her practice spans ceramics, murals, digital art, and heavily textured painting. Grounded by the realities of motherhood and an ever-evolving relationship with her materials, Haeata creates work that balances raw, earthly tactile elements with deep narrative weight.
In this interview, she reflects on the pivotal shifts in her career, her collaborative approach to raw mediums, and how her definition of success has transformed over time.
Let’s get into it.
You spent your youth immersed in creative expression, what was the exact moment or shift that turned making art into a serious, full-time calling for you?
It was in my late teens - early twenties that I felt a shift. My focus up to that point was actually the performing arts. Art was something I was good at and liked to do in my spare time but I hadn’t considered it as a career. Turns out I don’t have the headstrong competitive confidence to go through rigorous drama or dance auditions so I ended up coming back to the quiet art form that had held me since primary school. It also coincided with having my first child. Visual art felt achievable in the sleep deprived chaos of newborn life.
How does your Māori-Australian heritage inform the fluid gestures and spiritual weight in your pieces?
My heritage doesn’t consciously inform my works but growing up with Māori culture did instil a sense of being open to the moving current of life. As a kid I was always told to listen to the wairūa - a moving life force that would take you to where you were supposed to go. You know if you’re on the right path when things flow easily, but if you work against this energy it can become tiring and difficult. In retrospect this does seem to ring true in how I approach my paintings as well as my parenting!
Your artistic arc moves from precise pencil drawings to years as a ceramicist, and now into large-scale painting and public installations. How did working with raw clay influence the heavy, sedimented textures we see in your canvas work today?
Working with clay gave me a deep love of texture. For a while I sought to mimic that texture by mixing my paint with dirt from my garden or collected sand. I also learnt a lot about listening to my materials and not forcing them to be something they didn’t want to be. There’s only so much that you can push clay before it starts pushing back, and I love the idea that I’m working in collaboration with my materials rather than lording complete control over them.
Where do you find inspiration?
I love stories most of all. In my childhood I grew up listening to magical myths and legends of ancient gods so for a long time that heavily influenced the work that I made. Now it’s more stories from my own life, experiences of motherhood and stories that I hear or see snippets of playing out in other women’s lives. I’m often inspired by dance and music that can spark big feelings in me or make me dream of colour palettes.
With your paintings hanging in private homes everywhere from Paris and Copenhagen to New York, how has your definition of creative success evolved since your early exhibition days?
Oh it’s very different now! I think when you are a young artist there’s a naivety that once you’re in a gallery you are a success. You will sell everything. Life will be grand. Champagne will be had. However it’s an ongoing journey and not one I would describe as easy. Because my art career came after having kids the luxury of needing to make money from my art was never really there. So I didn’t really give myself the option of not being successful. On the flip side of this it meant I said yes to everything for a long time, so now my measure of success is what I say no to. Saying no is definitely a privilege that I don’t take for granted. The highest picture of success to me now is having time to take a day off during the week, getting enough sleep and being able to go on holiday with my family. I’m still striving for this one!
You already fluidly cross boundaries between digital art, ceramics, oil, and murals. Is there an untried medium, tactile material, or grand scale you are itching to tackle next?
I’d love to explore textiles as well as more large scale sculptural works using stone, marble and wood! I’m praying for the time to be able to experiment with that.
From gallery spaces to fashion-adjacent collaborations, your visual language translates beautifully across disciplines. If you could build a collaborative project with any living designer, architect, or creative house, who tops the wishlist?
There’s many! But I really love the art driven furniture of Mary Eefi Design, absolutely love every interior by Flack studio and would love to work with Hermes and Loewe one day because why not?!
Nestled in the coastal countryside of Margaret River, how do you spend those first few quiet hours of the morning before getting paint under your fingernails?
In a mad chaotic apocalyptic rush to get my kids to school. Then it’s straight into painting!
From beach sand mixed into your pigments to easy, tactile layering, your work feels closely tied to the earth. How would you define your personal sartorial style, and does it mirror your studio uniform? Which pieces in your wardrobe do you find yourself reaching for?
My studio uniform is usually highly unglamorous but does need to be comfy. As a kid I was very into wearing my brothers hand me down clothes and was heavily influenced by 90s surf and skate fashion, this is definitely still part of me today! But for the most past I favour elegant lines, a nice silhouette and colour block layering. In a sentence I would say I have a love for jumpers and jeans that borders on toxic.
As the season changes, what fresh daily rituals, seasonal wardrobe additions, or creative projects are you most excited to lean into?
As it gets a little warmer here I’m excited for daily swims and warmer walks in the forest or on coast. I of course still want to add my jumpers to my wardrobe but I don’t think that’s actually wise. This is also the time of year when I hyper fixate on bathers for summer season which is also completely unnecessary. In terms of creative projects we’re currently building our home and I’m VERY excited about mosaic walls, DIY terrazzo bench tops and stained wood cabinetry. I also intend to make a couch which could go horribly wrong.
What is your most cherished design piece in your home?
My art collection! I started collecting art properly five years ago and it is the thing that both my husband and I enjoy investing in. I also have a pendant light and a lamp by Earth Darlings that I adore.
What are your top spots in Margaret River you take your friends to when they visit?
Many! Joey’s Nose for a great four wheel drive to the beach and friendly waves for kids to surf on. Jewel Cave is my favourite underground cave here, it’s definitely worth seeing at least once. Then if they’re here in September all the artists in the region open their studios so we could visit some beautiful sculpture, ceramics and jewellery studios (those are the ones that I particularly love). Then for food we’d go to Miki’s Open kitchen for Japanese for a degustation and female run winery Dormilona for a boutique wine.
Where is at the top of your bucket list to travel to?
Greece! And I’d love to get back to New Zealand to visit family and show my kids where they come from.
Whether navigating the creative rhythm of her Margaret River studio, experimenting with textural mediums, or drawing inspiration from coastal landscapes, Sarana Haeata’s work remains a testament to listening, to materials, to life’s shifts, and to internal energy.
As she looks toward future ventures involving large-scale sculptures, textile experimentation, and personal design projects, her practice continues to be driven by curiosity and an openness to where the current leads. Through a grounded approach to both life and art, Haeata demonstrates that true creative fulfilment lies not in absolute control, but in embracing the fluid, collaborative journey along the way.
Image credit: Sarana Haeata
