Kīlauea Volcano on Hawaiʻi Island erupted this morning, the third time since 2018. For me, the next best thing to being there in person is to watch the television news reports from my studio on Oʻahu. These images are from KITV4. At this time the eruption is confined to Halemaumau Crater.
Be well, and avoid the vog!
~Rebekah
By now, everyone knows that Iam Tongi is the newest American Idol. TV viewers cast more than reportedly 17 million votes for the 18-year-old from Hawaiʻi.
Fans and judges liked Tongi’s heartfelt song stylings. While the champ has a good voice, the show is not “The Voice” or “America’s Got Talent”; it’s more of a popularity contest.
He charmed viewers with his smarts, humility, kindness, humor, and bigger -than-life presence.
Here are the lyrics to the song “Monsters” by James Blunt that Iam sings:
Monsters
/
Lyrics
Oh, before they turn off all the lights
I won’t read you your wrongs or your rights
The time has gone
I’ll tell you goodnight, close the door
Tell you I love you once more
The time has gone
So here it is
I’m not your son, you’re not my father
We’re just two grown men saying goodbye
No need to forgive, no need to forget
I know your mistakes and you know mine
And while you’re sleeping I’ll try to make you proud
So, daddy, won’t you just close your eyes?
Don’t be afraid, it’s my turn
To chase the monsters away
Oh, well, I’ll read a story to you
Only difference is this one is true
The time has gone
I folded your clothes on the chair
I hope you sleep well, don’t be scared
The time has gone
So here it is
I’m not your son, you’re not my father
We’re just two grown men saying goodbye
No need to forgive, no need to forget
I know your mistakes and you know mine
And while you’re sleeping I’ll try to make you proud
So, daddy, won’t you just close your eyes?
Don’t be afraid, it’s my turn
To chase the monsters away
Sleep a lifetime
Yes, and breathe a last word
You can feel my hand on your own
I will be the last one
So I’ll leave a light on
Let there be no darkness, in your heart
But I’m not your son, you’re not my father
We’re just two grown men saying goodbye
No need to forgive, no need to forget
I know your mistakes and you know mine
And while you’re sleeping I’ll try to make you proud
So, daddy, won’t you just close your eyes?
Don’t be afraid, it’s my turn
To chase the monsters away
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Jimmy Hogarth / James Blunt / Amy Victoria Wadge
Monsters lyrics © Cookie Jar Music Llp, Emi Music Publishing Ltd
CONGRATULATIONS!! to Iam Tongi!!!
Be well.
~ Rebekah
It’s not too early to make a note of these art and music events:
“Emergence” by members of the Windward Artists Guild will be on view at the Downtown Art Gallery, 2nd Floor, in Honolulu Chinatown, May 18-27, 2023. A reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on May 19. Come and see my diptych “Maʻafala Breadfruit” of hand-dyed tissue paper.
Next, the Windward Choral Society directed by Susan McCreary Duprey will sing “Jubilate Deo” composed by Dan Forrest on June 11, 2023, at Kawaiahaʻo Church in Honolulu. The downbeat is at 4 p.m. This major work is in seven movements, each in a different language! Symphony orchestra members will participate. Free admission. Donations appreciated.
Thirdly, “Remembering Susan” in honor of our late friend and artist mentor Susan Rogers-Aregger is scheduled for the month of June 2023 at ARTS at Marks, Nuuanu avenue and Pauahi street, Honolulu. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. The opening reception is from 5 to 8 p.m. on June 2. The closing reception is from 5 to 8 p.m. on June 30. Works will include collages and ceramics.
Let’s hear it for the arts and music! Hooray!
Be well.
~Rebekah
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
mu·si·cale
/ˌmyo͞ozəˈkal/
noun NORTH AMERICAN
a musical gathering or concert, typically small and informal.
“Musicale” is the apt name of my sister chorister Liz’s soirée last Sunday evening. It provided another opportunity to hear Tony Lu, a renowned visiting pianist who is blind.
Tony Lu
Liz’s cordial home is on a hill overlooking scenic Kāneohe Bay. A grand piano and two additional keyboards are among the musical instruments in a long parlor.
After socializing at a potluck buffet on the deck—I baked a pan of brownies!—guests gathered inside for after-dinner entertainment: piano duet, piano trio, improvisational playing by Tony and clarinet-piano-vocal jazz styling (“All of Me”), for examples. It seemed like a trip back in time to me, although this was the first time I’ve been present at this kind of “kanikapila.” Grateful!
Be well.
~ Rebekah
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
The National League of American Pen Women (NLAPW) is a club for women who work professionally as fine artists, writers, and composers. What they have in common is the blank page to start.
When I was a reporter for The Honolulu Advertiser, during and after college, noted and respected writer Gwenfread Allen introduced me to the Honolulu Branch of NLAPW that held regular monthly meetings I enjoyed. Fine, but what I really enjoyed was meeting the Arts members. I wanted to be like them, and that’s what inspired me to take oil painting lessons from the now late Gloria Foss, followed by tissue-paper dying and collage-making workshops by Susan Rogers-Aregger, who has also passed. Currently I have an inventory of paintings and collages. The most recently completed collage “Crater View” has been juried into “Ultra III” at Pauahi Tower, 2nd Floor Lobby, on exhibit from March 12 through May 11.
If you’re reading this, then you know I write a blog. It’s not my whole life; mostly I try to keep it upbeat. I’ve written about a lot of things, and if you scroll way way down, you’ll come to a search box. Plug in a topic and be surprised. I write a travel blog, too, “Popo Goes Abroad,” accessed from the menu bar.
As for music, I’m not composing nor arranging, but I really enjoy my part as a chorister in the Windward Choral Society. The choir is currently rehearsing “Jubilate Deo” composed by Dan Forrest. We are scheduled to perform this major work—seven movements in seven different languages—at 4 pm, June 11, 2023, at Kawaiahaʻo Church in Honolulu. Susan McCreary Duprey is the artistic director. Please mark your calendar!
Be well.
~ Rebekah
Rebekah’s Studio 
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