April showers bring May flowers

27 04 2023

It’s the rainy season at the studio, and as the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers.”  These are some blooms from my garden.







Enjoy!
Be well!
~ Rebekah





My art receives Honorable Mention

18 03 2023

I appreciated very much the words of Gregory Pai, the juror of Ultra III exhibit of the Windward Artists Guild. He gave the remarks on March 16, 2023, about my hand-dyed tissue-paper collage entitled “Crater View.” The actual crater at Kilauea was Fissure 8, now named ʻAhuʻailaʻau. The acoustics were poor in the second-floor lobby of Pauahi Tower, where the art will be hanging for two months, so I hope I heard the video correctly for my transcription:

“ … it’s not a piece of work that shouts at you when you look at it, but when you start to look at it very closely, it goes deeper and deeper and deeper. And it’s just very skillful use of collage elements to create an abstract, visual landscape. And the excellent values, differentiation and composition using very strong diagonal shapes gives it a strong sense of movement, depth, and aerial perspective. So it was an abstract, but in the same sense you felt like you were looking at a crater. And it had a very real depth abstract quality to it, and it was done in collage, which is a very difficult medium to work with …”

Be well.

~ Rebekah





Yes, I’ll weave a lei for your boat

24 01 2023

On Chinese (Lunar) New Year’s Day, one is not to do any work, but I didn’t mind creating something new for a gentleman who asked if I could make a lei for his boat being launched that day.

I enjoy making fresh lei, and my crew and I have made scores of the garlands for yachts that have finished trans Pacific crossings.

So I gathered the materials from my garden: green ti leaves, alaheʻe (native mock orange), kupukupu fern, and cherry.

They didn’t really need any cleaning. A quick rinse with water and trimming off the stems from the ti was enough.

I made the lei wili style—“wili” means to wind—using 924 (24 gauge) paddle wire from the floral crafts store.

We had agreed on a price for an eight-foot length, but I wanted to use all the material I picked, so the lei became ten feet long.

It was a gorgeous January day, and I was able to meet the customer at 2 pm at the Kaneohe Yacht Club bar. “I’ll be the one with the big lei,” I said.

As you can see, the lei fit perfectly, and the customer gave me a tip. That’s what I mean by “gentleman.”

Welina mai kāua e “Seas the Day”! I hope you catch lots of fish!

Love,

Rebekah





Home for the holidays

13 12 2022

Baked dozens of cookies, trimmed the tree, sang carols of joy in choir, and started wrapping gifts.

Now DH, JJ and I are enjoying some quiet days until Christmas morning when we’ll call on Mom Ivalee and hanai sister Ruth, and neighbors later in the day. 

Our kids and moʻopuna have plans to be in California with their other grandparents, so we’ll celebrate Christmas with them in January.

Oops! I almost forgot—that means Massimo, a.k.a. Trouble, will be at our house for the holidays!

Have a Merry Christmas, studio fans! Be well.

~Rebekah





My friend Cynthia

24 07 2022

So…

My friend Cynthia has a good eye for design. She hosted a July birthday party for three pals in her back garden — an immaculate lawn bordered with edible crops. One corner is a welcome meditation space under a pergola with tasteful outdoor furniture. What’s your mood today?

Breadfruit

Avocado

 

Pineapple

 

Lemon grass

 

Dragon fruit

 

Fig

 

Sweet potato

 

Rebekah, Emma, Cynthia, Lori

 

Be well. ~ Rebekah





Memorable weekend with old friends

19 06 2022

In early June I was invited to fly with classmates and spouses to Volcano, HI, in advance of our high school reunion on Oʻahu. We rented a five-bedroom ”cabin,” in the ʻōhiʻa forest, and it was stocked with everything you needed and didn’t know you needed. So very tasteful! We had a wonderful, mellow time. We played and sang music all day long, and there was always someone in the kitchen preparing food.

L to r: Girly, Dee, Davolyn, Nancy and Rebekah
Me with a ti leaf decoration I made for the koa table. Dietrich Varez prints on the wall. (Photos courtesy of Joann Kaakua)

When it was time to leave, we telephoned the owner to thank her. She replied she was putting the place on the market, but first she would sell the furnishings separately—all except the Dietrich Varez prints. Darn it! Those were the pieces I wanted!

Oh, well.

Be well.

~Rebekah





In solidarity with Ukraine

28 02 2022

Praying for peace. Look for and thank the helpers. Love,

Rebekah








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