Art endures

27 02 2025

A few days ago, Nohea Gallery at Kahala Mall reconnected me with a past art buyer of mine.

Now “older,” by chance Susan found herself browsing the gallery while waiting for her ride.

She asked Nadja the sales rep about me, so the Gallery took her phone number to give to me. 

Baobab

Susan had bought my “Baobab Tree” oil painting that she watched me paint on location at Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu many years ago.

The baobab tree, if you recall, is the tree that the little prince in Le Petit Prince disliked for all the leaves it dropped and that he had to rake up.

According to Susan, she was really broke at the time, but her husband said if she really liked the painting she should sacrifice and buy it. 

And so she did. It made me happy to hear Susan say the painting hangs prominently in her home.

You may wish to check out the upcoming Windward Artists Guild show for which I have chosen to represent the town of Kaʻaʻawa. It runs April 2-30, at the newly renovated Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Garden Gallery. The Meet the Artists reception is from 12:30 to 3:30 pm, April 6, 2025.

“Good Morning Kaaawa!”
“Morning Destination”

Choral art

These days I’m enjoying another kind of art — choral art, that is, I sing in a community choir. Our choir director apologizes for the ear worms from rehearsing the catchy tunes weekly!

Upcoming concerts are:

March 2, 4 pm, Kawaihaʻo Church, Community Choral Festival, six choirs, freewill offering in lieu of admission charge.

April WCS Spring Concert, April 27, 2025, at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM, at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 148A Makawao St, Kailua, Oahu.

Be well!

~Rebekah


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Categories : About me, Fine Art, Music

Riding the rail

3 08 2023

My friend Louise asked me if I had ridden the rail yet, and, if not, would I like to go with her sometime. She was talking about the Skyline, the name for the long-awaited Honolulu mass transit. She had the week off from teaching, so I said how about Thursday, meaning today. It was an adventure for us who live on the other side of Oʻahu. At first we couldn’t find the terminus at Hālawa near the Aloha Stadium, but a kind gentleman on a speaker at the entrance to the stadium (not where we wanted to go) pointed us in the right direction.

Louise drove to the correct parking lot (not the “Kiss and Ride” 10-minute spots for drivers just dropping somebody off). Never mind, there wasn’t anybody in the parking lot so we had our pick of free space on the asphalt. The train was, shall I say, “Empty.” But because there were no other passengers, we had unobstructed views from the Waianae Mountains to the Ewa plain and beyond. The view was from a higher viewpoint than the view from a car on the highway.

We rode from one terminus to the other and back again—a round trip. We could have gotten off at Pearlridge shopping center or in Waipahu, a town we hardly ever get to, but we just wanted to experience the ride.

The fare? You have to buy a Holo card which is a card on which you load money to pay for your fare, and it’s good for TheBus as well. Cash or credit, either way, and then like the trains and other subway systems in the country, just tap your card at the turnstile and you go. I hope the Skyline sees more riders. It does stop at Leeward Community College and near Pearlridge shopping center.

Here is my photo album:

Be well.

~Rebekah


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Categories : Travel

My Hawaiian volcano collages

14 08 2019

LouisPohl A new exhibit of my art opens on August 27 and extends to September 27, 2019, at LouisPohl Gallery on Bethel street in downtown Honolulu. I’d love to see you at the reception on First Friday evening of September 6. Home-baked chocolate cookies!

News photographs of the 2018 eruption of Kilauea Volcano inspired me to create images in collage. I decided to go big and abstract like the feeling I have when I think of Hawaii the big island. My original collection included pieces depicting the captivating orange fire of Pele, and happily those pieces are now in private residences. The remainder of the tissue paper paintings is in comparatively quieter colors. For unity I have created a new piece entitled “Crater View” in muted tones especially for this exhibit.

Love, Rebekah


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Categories : About me, Fine Art, Travel

Mothers Day 2019–I kept my commitment

12 05 2019

 

When the pool is filled and the fountain spurts high, Thomas Square is even more of an oasis in mid-Honolulu.

Mothers Day 2019. I kept my commitment to serve the homeless and needy in Honolulu today. The venue was Thomas Square (photos below).

My friend’s hobby is to cook and serve a delicious buffet meal to the homeless on a fairly regular basis for free. Today she added a free store. The recipe ingredients and pre-owned store inventory are largely donated. She has a handful of helpers who pack, drive, unload, unpack, set up tents and tables, serve, and break down from about 9 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. It’s rough work. The venue might change from time to time, but her regulars find her by word-of mouth. 

In the morning Thomas Square is neat and tidy; public restrooms are clean, thanks to a dedicated City & County crew. However, the park that is one square city block and planted with mature banyan trees around a circular fountain gets a little trashed during the day, I noticed, and it looks like it’s a growing hangout for folks looking for a place to sleep at night. Before, it was refreshing to see the pool with water in it and the fountain operating. Today it was dry.

“Customers” waited patiently for the food and store to be set up and then were grateful, mostly, to fill their bowls and plates. Some looked disheveled. Some were very tired. Hot soup, several kinds of salads, a meat-and-rice dish, Greek dolmas, macaroni and cheese (Gouda with bacon!), yogurt, corn dogs, chips, cold tea and water—are you hungry yet?

For me, it was a rough day in terms of interacting with this particular public. It is not in my repertoire. I returned home to read that the homeless people in Chinatown made the front page of the daily newspaper again.

It’s too bad. I think I can do this only about once a year. God’s blessings to my friend and her regular team.

Thomas Square’s refreshing-looking lawn

Mature banyan trees

Shady spot

Old sign

Fascinating aerial roots

Thomas Square, with dry pool and fountain in the foreground


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The lei on display at Kapiolani Park

1 05 2018

HONOLULU—Every May 1st floral designers make lei for the Hawaiian Lei Contest sponsored by the City at Kapiolani Park. A horticulturist identifies the plant elements in the lei upon entry, and then organizers line up the creations near the parking lot between the park Bandstand and the Waikiki Shell.

The display opens to the public to view with the untying of a ti leaf lei around 12:30 p.m. after the Royal May Day Court sees it first.

Today I was first in line along with Evelyn who I just met. We are both lei makers, too. Although we did not enter anything, we came for ideas! Check out my images. You can practically smell the flowers, can’t you? The lei in the last photo in the series took the Mayor’s Grand Prize.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mayor’s Grand Prize is awarded to Melvin T. Labra for his wili style lei of ‘ohai ali‘i, palapalai, and kukunaokala.

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii!

~Rebekah


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Categories : Hawaiian, Travel

Ultra art in downtown Honolulu

7 03 2018

The second floor lobby at Pauahi Tower in Honolulu, at 1003 Bishop Street, is home until August 3 for a selection of original fine art by local artists.

The location is convenient for downtown office workers who might walk over during lunch hour for some quiet visual meditation.

The lobby with its high ceilings and window walls lends itself to large pieces. Consider that my “large” contribution of “Royal Archival Banyan” in oil is hanging in a beautiful koa display case.

Display case features both two- and three-dimensional works.

Glass case containing 2D and 3D art reflects high-rise downtown parking garage for a fourth dimension.

Unusual art that caught my eye were a collage by David Friedman, and three smaller pieces: a fish and a couple of decorated fishing floats.

Collage art by David Friedman

Spheres, one a former fishing float.

Fish

Windward Artists Guild and Wendy Roberts organized the exhibit entitled Ultra Exhibit I. Katherine Love was the curator.

For information about purchasing any of the art, please email Wendy Roberts at wag@windwardartistsguild.org

If you go: Alii Place parking garage has reasonable fees. Enter from the right hand lane of Alakea street between King and Hotel streets. Pauahi Tower is one block from Alakea on Bishop street.

—RL


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Categories : Fine Art, Travel

Coming home

14 02 2018

From time to time I like to travel off island from Oahu.

In November we went to New York City, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Baltimore. And last week we went to Austin, TX, for a destination wedding.

Equally exciting is coming home. I always book a window seat on the starboard side of the plane for aerial views of the island.

This time I was rewarded with a beautiful clear day for these fine resolution photos made with my iPhone6s.

Puffy white clouds

The Moku Lua off Lanikai Beach; Mokapu peninsula in the distance

Maunawili

Beautiful Koʻolau Range

HONOLULU!

 


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