Visit to Home!

Again, I have not posted to this blog in quite a while and I apologize to those of you who follow me.  Time has moved so fast these last few months.  But today I thought I would post about two weeks out of the time since I was last here.  That, for shame, was way back in February, four months ago.  I’m not even going to say that I’m going to do better.  I did that last time and it didn’t seem to make a difference.
     Anyway, the two weeks I am referring to was in April - specifically April 18th to May 1st.  I went to Hawai’i for a two-week vacation after nearly five years of being away.  Fortunately, it was during the time of the Merry Monarch - a hula competition that happens every year with hula halaus (schools) worldwide.  Most of the worldwide was from “stateside” (continental U.S.) and Japan.  This highly anticipated competition is attended by thousands.  Beside the actual competition; the food and crafts are amazing.  For someone like me who has been away from that for years, it was mesmerizing to hear the chants and the beat of the ipu heke (gourd drum with a top section). Seeing the different halaus perform took me back to a time when I was young and agile enough to be able to do those beautiful hulas.  Not only did I partake of a feast for the eyes and ears, but also a feast for the “tummy.”  Food that I have not enjoyed for years.  It was all so ono (delicious) and I made sure I had everything I had missed.  Surprisingly, I only gained a couple of pounds - Yay!!
     Let me
share a few pictures with you. 

Yes, men are also a part of a halau.  Their rendition of hulas are very powerful.

These were the Maori men from New Zealand - they were amazing.

The women were beautiful and so synchronized, as were the men.

Had to add at least one picture of family.

 

Isn’t that beautiful - of course I mean the sunset.  This is “ohana” (family).  I’m the one in the middle flanked by my nieces and sister on the right end.  I had such a wonderful time with them.  My sister came from Oahu (“off island”) and my niece next to her flew in from California with her husband.  We are at their timeshare in Kona, on the Big Island (Hawaii).

I had other pictures I wanted to post; however, I had trouble posting these so thought I'd quit while I was ahead.  Hope you enjoyed them.  Now I'm going to do some painting.

OMG…Found This Wonderful Photograph

I have come to the conclusion today that I have way too much going on simultaneously. I paint, I write children’s stories (strictly for my mo’opuna), I am writing my memoirs and journal through scrap booking, and I’ve added my blog…all of this so that my progeny will know those who have come before them. I believe that leaving a “trail” for those who follow you is very important. A large part of who you are is not only traced through your blood lines – but also through your upbringing, environment and events throughout your life that negatively or positively shape the person you become. When you get to my age you will come to realize that all that you’ve personally experienced comes rushing back, in some cases, like powerful waves pounding the beaches…sometimes like gentle waves whispering those memories as they wash over island shores.

Anyhow let me get to the fun stuff…this photograph I rediscovered today while scrap booking. The reason I even found this is because my grandniece who looks exactly like her grandmother (Glori in the picture below) wanted to know what her grandmother looked like when she was younger. Unfortunately, not as clear as I would've liked it to be.


All four sisters are pictured here. I’ve laid out names I could remember by their positions. Fortunately, I was able to crop photo to what I've posted below.

Gloriann and Leina'ala

Charlene, me way in the back (white lei on head)

I was a mere child and along with my three sisters, being Hawaiian young ladies, had to learn to do the hula. Our teacher was our Auntie Hilda (I think I mentioned her in an earlier blog)…anyhow she was a strict teacher, from the big city of Honolulu who moved to small town Kihei on the island of Maui after she married one of my uncles. Glori, the eldest, was IMHO beautiful. She had 6-pak abs; long, long legs; and “stacked.” When she was home from school, with her girlfriends from boarding school I was always in awe…but then I was the “baby sister” and anything my older sisters did I soaked up like a sponge. This event is called an Uniki, which is a graduation for hula classes. I remember that we did it in the VERY old Kihei Theater (I'm pretty sure it was the early 50's). Let me describe the theater; the screen was on the stage you see there and the audience sat on old wooden benches and bleachers on dirt floors. If you looked up you could see the stars. I remember being so nervous about performing and looked to my sisters for encouragement. At least this is the way I remember it...memories have a way of looking different through different eyes.

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Make A Joyful Noise - Continued

I'm sorry, didn't realize that it has been a while since I posted. Life gets in the way sometimes.

The word hula, the act of which is depicted in the painting below, literally translates as “dance.” As it is in so many other cultures, the hula was a religious ritual. Another translation of the word hula that I have read is…”a gift.” A gift to the gods in thanks for a reward of nourishment, both spiritual and physical. It is in the motions of the dancer that the offering was made. In other words, the hula was a way to communicate with the gods. The language of motion was not only sacred, but conveyed political, personal and profound views as well. As the word and concept evolved, the primary purpose of the hula remained the same…a means of communication. As a student of the hula, I was taught that the motions of the hula told a story. The story being told in the mele (song) which accompanied the dance. Sadly, the significance and importance of the hula degenerated into merely a form of entertainment for the tourist. In the past few years; however, a renaissance of the culture erupted into hundreds of hula halau (dance schools) being formed, not only in Hawai’i but in foreign lands as well. In the halau the kumu hula (dance teacher) teach the dance, culture and history of the Hawaiians/Polynesians to hundreds of eager students of varying ethnic backgrounds.

Taking an excerpt from an article written by Larry V. LeDoux for “Hawai’i” magazine.
“In the same way, mele (song) is both poetry and prayer – and often educational primer. In mele, language is essential. An old Hawaiian proverb states that, “In the word there is life. In the word there is death.” Words lend themselves to healing. Words lend themselves to destruction. This recognition of the power of language was and is vital to the Hawaiian artist, be he poet, priest or composer.

The mele had a significance to the Hawaiians which we – as members of a print-oriented culture – can never fully appreciate. In a culture with only an oral tradition, the olelo, or spoken word, holds a central place not only in communication but also in the transmission of culture. It was through chants that Hawaiians learned how to behave, how to plant, grow or harvest, fish or fight, build canoes or beat tapa, revere their elders, leaders and gods. Only through the chant could they learn how to mourn death, celebrate life, survive – and teach their youth as they had learned.”

What Mr. LeDoux does not mention here is a very important fact. It was also through chants that the genealogies of Hawaiian Ohana (family) were maintained. Each family had a primary person who was entrusted with the family genealogy, which was passed from one generation to another. Due to the fact that this was a culture with only an oral tradition, the importance of choosing the right person for this responsibility was paramount.

“Make A Joyful Noise”
Overall diptych: 31x24
Oil on stretched canvas

With this painting I am trying to bring the above explanation to the viewer. The olelo (spoken word) or mele (song) of the chanters, along with the movements and motions of the dancers, raise praises to the Almighty…always to His glory.

I’ve learned a lot doing this diptych. Firstly and most important is to make sure you have both sides ready for paint, (e.g. both sketched in) and that you have enough paint mixed, and making sure your values are correspondingly the same. As you can see in the above, I will have to make some adjustments. The story behind this painting is in the first post here.

Thanks for looking and your comments are most appreciated.

Make A Joyful Noise - Finish Part 1, Start Part 2

This is it…finally finished (with minor adjustments after it dries). If you recall back in my blog post of June 13, 2009, I gave the history of this piece. I witnessed this powerful event in 1992 and decided that someday I would attempt to paint it. I did a piece from memory last year and titled it “Reconciliation;” it did not reflect, for me, what I had in mind. It did; however, serve the purpose of conveying the message that Hawaiians turned from their gods and goddess of old to accept the one Christian God. I stumbled on the negatives of the photos, which I couldn’t believe I still had, developed them to be used as reference…coming up with what you see above.

“Reconciliation”

18x24 oil on stretched canvas
Available for sale

Now, moving on to part 2 of this diptych…here is the start.


That day on the rim of Halema’uma’u there were about 30 dancers, so you can just imagine the power that emanated from the chanters and dancers …SPECTACULAR. These three dancers symbolize those 30 dancers. The pose is in praise of the Almighty, their features are of myself and my sisters. In searching photos for features for the dancers, I thought why not use our features…we were, after all, hula dancers from the time we were kids into adulthood. Using our features, I thought, would make it extra special…a family heirloom…maybe!!

A little story behind that… growing up, it was expected that young Hawaiian girls learn to dance the hula. My Auntie Hilda was recruited for that job and was a tough taskmaster. There were five of us…four girls and one boy. The boy was the youngest (poor kid) and I was the youngest of the four girls. My older sisters were ruthless and harassed me constantly about my dancing ability. So much so that I grew to hate the hula, and vowed to develop into a better dancer than any of them were. Whether I was able to accomplish that would be a matter of opinion among the four of us.

I don't want to bore you with the progress, so I will post this painting again when totally completed, unless I hear from someone to the contrary.

Aloha until next time.

Make A Joyful Noise

“Make a Joyful Noise” is the title of the piece I am working on now. I started it quite a while ago, but put it aside because I was having quite a few challenges with the concept.

This is the history of this painting. As a staff member of “Aloha Festivals” on the Big Island of Hawaii quite a few years ago I had to be in attendance at an event that took place at the rim of Halema’uma’u Crater. The event was the Investiture of the Aloha Festivals Royal Court. An Investiture is a ceremony to invest with authority or right. A large part of the ceremony was the appearance of the Hula Halau O Kekuhi (dance school) chanters and dancers. The chanters were so emotional and powerful in their delivery of the chants that I knew someday I would paint that scene. But how do you paint that kind of emotion? It has proven to be a challenge. I’ll try to take you through the process.

This is the preliminary sketch

Then it was transferred in two separate segments to a 24x30 canvas with the aid of a grid.

And more detail added


At this point I knew it wasn’t going to work because I had two main focuses, chanters and dancers, vying for the spotlight. After receiving a number of suggestions from artists on my art forums I decided to set it aside for a while, about three months to be exact.

I have resumed this painting and will show more steps tomorrow