Wearing boots as parched as the golden hills around her, Kate Calder strides out to welcome me to The Rocking Frog art gallery, gift store and café at Waikari in North Canterbury.
Like hundreds of Christchurch day trippers and independent overseas tourists, I’m intrigued by the building with the giant frog on top and keen to take a look inside. The gallery displays the work of artists from all over Canterbury and the South Island, but it is Kate’s water colour paintings of merinos I’ve come to see.
There’s only a couple there today because Kate doesn’t have much time to paint. As well as running The Rocking Frog she is mother to Tom 11 years, Sky 8 years and the youngest Fred at 4 ½ years. In her free time she helps husband Duncan Calder on the farm. The couple own The Forks (1000 acres) and lease another 1000 acres, running merinos and grazing dry cows in winter.
Kate started painting when she and Duncan lived down south at Glen Lyon Station, inland from Twizel. She didn’t have any art training but surrounded by merinos and living in such magnificent high country, was inspired to paint.
“Being surrounded my merinos and the high country it was easy to get into the subject. Duncan is quite a good photographer and my biggest critic. He’ll look at a painting and say that leg isn’t right. You’ve got that wrong lovey.”
When the couple moved back north home to North Canterbury Kate began hand painting big picnic mats. Decorated with country themes such as pig’s bottoms and fat ladies on beaches, they sold well at the local Culverdan Fete.
But it was merinos that inspired Kate the most, and five years ago she had a successful exhibition at Merivale Fine Arts in Christchurch. Later she sold more paintings at the Culverden Fete.
However there still remained the problem of how to display and sell her art on an ongoing basis. She was disillusioned by how little artists receive for work sold at galleries, so three years ago she teamed up with another local woman Vicky Radford to open The Rocking Frog.
“This area is oozing with talent. The whole idea was having somewhere central to centre display it all and not charge a fortune in commission so the artists got more money in their pockets,” says Kate.
They wanted to have a purpose built facility in the front paddock at The Forks but Transit NZ wouldn’t approve the access off the state highway. Instead they bought a very dilapidated house in the Waikari village, gutted it and turned into a small gallery space displaying work of artists throughout the South Island including Jane McIntosh, Anna Dalziel, Phillip Beadle, Ben Woolcomb and Sarah Rutherford.
The Rocking Frog has also become an important part of the community. Two auctions fundraised $4,500 for the medical centre and $5,500 for St Johns Ambulance.
Through her increased profile at The Rocking Frog, Kate has more demand for commissions too. But the children are her main priority at the moment, followed by running the business and helping on the farm.
“There is going to be time for my painting in the future. It is a passion. For now, when I can find time it is a real treat.”
