Some flowers bloom loudly; others take their time, unfurling petal by petal. Moewai Rauputi Marsh feels like the latter.
An artist and arts facilitator based in Ōtepoti, Moewai is rooted in whakapapa, community and creativity. Of Kāi Tahu, Kāti Huirapa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa and Tūhoe descent, she works primarily with earth pigments, returning to ancestral places such as Puketeraki to gather materials and learn from those who care for the whenua. This care extends to her work supporting others through creativity, where community remains especially central: “it took a village to raise me,” she says.
That spirit of tending and togetherness flowers in Putiputi Pod, the podcast that grew from another longstanding connection. A childhood best friend had invited her to make a show for OAR FM – after moving back to Malaysia, the two had kept their friendship alive through snail mail. Those letters taught Moewai the beauty of making slowly and taking time to think about someone. Given space to let the podcast take shape, Moewai found herself reconnecting with her younger self. Childhood memories resurfaced, and flowers emerged within her art.
Her childhood nickname, Puti, soon became part of the picture, and when someone remarked that her putiputi were blooming, the idea began to unfurl. Meaning “100 flowers on sleeping water”, her name itself evokes the quiet, often overlooked moments where something begins to grow. “Pod” is both a nod to podcasting and the pod of a seed: a small vessel holding the possibility of another bloom.
Like Moewai, Putiputi Pod takes its time to bloom. It moves with the seasons and maramataka, deliberately avoiding a fixed release schedule and leaving room for rest, curiosity and the spontaneous connection that makes growth possible. In many ways, Moewai is a living expression of the whakataukī poipoia te kākano, kia puawai – nurture the seed, and it will blossom.
A fitting reminder, perhaps, to stop and smell the flowers. Putiputi Pod is now available on Spotify.
