Book Reviews

Shadow Artists

August 24, 2020 Book Reviews, Commentary-Debate, Community, Living Aloha

Shadow artists as described by Julia Cameron, author of The Artist Way, are those who are artists but won’t acknowledge it and thus, just like water, find other ways to direct their creative instincts. Some become shadow artists, hanging around the edges of ‘real’ artists’ lives and patronizing cultural institutions, financially supporting a struggling talent, or in some cases, becoming vicious ravagers of fledgling artists. As an artist, I’ve met all the variants of the Shadow Artist, and each timeRead 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

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

Mother’s words by Nancy Wood

August 1, 2017 Book Reviews, Exhibits, New Work

Evening in Mo i Rana looking toward the Swedish border From Spirit Walker, 1993, by Nancy Wood My most treasured book at home is Hollering Sun by Nancy Wood. It was published as a children’s book, but it is fit for any age. Wood gives words to that I fumble to find visually to describe my emotional state and relationship to nature and society. I’m still processing last summer in Iceland…and this latest road trip through Norway up to Mo iRead More