Community

Artist Talk at Honolulu Biennial The Hub Main Stage: Wahi Pana-A Sense of Place

March 6, 2019 Commentary-Debate, Community, Living Aloha, whattodoinoahu

There will be a free panel discussion on March 11 from 4 to 6pm at the Hub Main Stage at the Ward Center at 1200 Ala Moana Blvd. It is free, but you need to register because of limited seating. Take a friend to listen to the lively and thought provoking discussion. The Honolulu Biennial is focusing on the theme of Make Wrong Right Now and exploring themes of place, belonging and identity in a biennial that covers Oceania andRead More

Talk Story

February 25, 2019 Community, Hawaii, Living Aloha, whattodoinoahu, Workshops

Learning through the oral tradition is not only transferred from kumu (expert) to haumana (student) but also through the telling of stories. The retelling of stories in an amusing and engaging way was an admired gift as I grew up. People would exclaim in pleasure and anticipation if a favorite cousin or aunty was said to be coming to a party. “Oh! Deborah’s coming? Good! Good! She can talk story!” Listening to a gifted storyteller retell a story was asRead More

Wahi Pana: A Sense of Place

February 22, 2019 Commentary-Debate, Community, Exhibits, Hawaii, Living Aloha, New Work, News, Social Activism, whattodoinoahu

“Wahi Pana” means a pulse of a place and many understand it to mean a place of reknown or historied place such as the site of the birth of Kamehameha in Kohala. But I also believe a wahi pana can also be a place that creates the sense of belonging, especially if it is one that is tied to the place of your birth or where you feel a connection to as part of your ohana (family). I wrote aRead More

2019 Reading Tips on books that will really change you

January 1, 2019 Book Reviews, Commentary-Debate, Community, Hawaii, Living Aloha, Sweden, whattodoinoahu

Warning: These are books you need to do by yourself in your own timing. Landmarks walks you through the Ignatian Journey of 4 weeks. If you are looking to deepen your spiritual practice. I was initially turned off by the crude drawings, being an artist, but I chose to see them as cocktail napkin drawings in a conversation with the author and it helped me get through the really deep things she had to share. For the person who wantsRead More

Artists love other artists

December 30, 2018 Commentary-Debate, Community, Hawaii, Living Aloha, News, Social Activism, Sweden

I believe artists love other artists, and we always hope, always rejoice, when other artists move forward. I believe my special gift to share has to do with helping others understand that even when we feel alone, we are never truly alone and exercising our creativity in making art, enjoying beautiful art made by others, making things, enjoying handmade things by a skillful craftsman keeps us connected. Then we can embrace solitude and not run from it, relax and enjoyRead More

Hanging on various walls

November 20, 2018 Commentary-Debate, Community, Exhibits, Living Aloha

When hanging artwork on walls, it is best to check what type of wall material you are dealing with, and to research the most secure way to hang the artwork. Consulting with your framer will also help make the right choices for the hardware on your pieces and the best way to hang the pieces securely. If it is a space you intend to change out the artwork, the best solution is some type of rail system, and this includesRead More

Sharing my love of watercolor with teenagers

September 22, 2018 Commentary-Debate, Community, Hawaii, Living Aloha, Social Activism

A Day at Farrington High School Home of the Governors. I was lucky to be invited to be a guest at Farrington High School yesterday to present my story as a local girl who studied art and lives off my creativity and to give a few lessons on watercolor. I had 80 minutes and three classes in a day. The school has fostered no less than 3 Hawaii State Governors over the years. I prepared about 20 minutes of talkingRead More

Teaching watercolor to kupuna

August 22, 2018 Commentary-Debate, Community, Hawaii, Living Aloha, News, Social Activism

The Joy of Being an Absolute Beginner I started teaching Beginning Watercolor to kupuna (seniors) at Palama Settlement as an expanded program for their senior activities last year. Palama began with ceramics and watercolor, something we have been doing for the keiki (children) for some time now. It was an interesting challenge and I was very excited and curious to see what the interest would be from our kupuna.  I began the first class with 6 students, the second grewRead More

Devaluation of Creative Work?

July 16, 2018 Book Reviews, Commentary-Debate, Community, Living Aloha, Social Activism

I appreciate a good bargain like any other person, but this post about ‘more books than I can read in a lifetime’ gave me a feeling of unease instead of elation. The music industry was revolutionized with the easy availability first of CD, then online streaming of content–paid for legitimately or not to the point that global conscience about having to pay for music has devalued it to the point that almost no one I know feels it is aRead More

Chuukese Folk Tales

June 4, 2018 Book Reviews, Community, Hawaii, Living Aloha, New Work, News, Social Activism

I started working on this project last year, when a grant was submitted to produce a collection of Chuukese folk tales gathered from the Chuukese community in Honolulu. Palama Settlement, where I volunteer and lead a keiki After School Enrichment watercolor program has been meeting the challenges to support their community over the past century. Hawai’i is a place where many immigrants have landed on these shores, some by choice, some feeling like this was their only choice for aRead More