Hui Life
Hui life in lovely Moloka’i, where I was recently looking at a large photo of waves with such presence! Rikki Cooke and his camera seemed to capture every color of the sea in which this island is cradled. His print washes the front wall of the cabin in sea-green blue, leaving me to wonder if this may be the next color to show up on my brush when I return to my paper in the afternoon. And if so, how will I ever mix the colors right to capture this sensory experience? Doubt follows so quickly on the heels of excitement!
The Hui Ho'olana in the middle of Moloka'i in the middle of the Hawaii Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is a rather special place! Once a colonial plantation for pineapple it is now a restoration site for native Hawaiian flora and a retreat center with spectacular views and a great venue for workshops with visual themes. It was a setting perfect for Stewart Cubley and his 25th annual Painting Experience Workshop on Moloka'i.
Here's a little taste of life at the Hui on Molokai and the path leading to the painting yurt. Someday I'll find clips for the inside of the painting space but for now enjoy the red dirt trail and notice the sound of the bird near the end. It was one of my favorite sounds. He starts out slow with a set of chirps and then seems to get more frantic at the end. Every time I heard him I smiled to myself because it became a kind of ear worm for me and I heard him like a 3rd grader in the back of the room frantically waving his hand in the air and saying "tea--cher! tea-cher!! teacher!!!" until it would then drop off like the child who has given up trying to get her attention.
This is a land of many strange experiences, like escorting a moth the size of a robin out the door of my cabin the first day and a few days later having an inch-long baby gecko crawl out from under the one incomplete spot remaining in my painting. It was as if to say:
“It ain’t over until the fat lady sings. Paint me in that space that remains. Who cares if I’m goofy? This is process painting after all!”
Such mystery is sometimes the nature of completion while engaged in process work. As soon as he was painted, complete with his harness and wings, I felt the settling mantle of completion. I thought, "there, that's it! Done."
Speaking of goofy, my attention was also continually taken by strange vegetation. I took many plant photos to inspire my nature journal activities while I wait for my spring flower subjects to arrive back home in my as yet very chilly northwest environment. Rocks, roots, trees, and sea--all offered curious perspectives to my unknowing eye.
Look close at these curious swan's neck agave and see how in the texture of the spike or cone of upward growth you can already see the pattern of future leaves, as yet to unfold, thickening and beginning to individuate from the central trunk of the cone. I learned from Auntie Jeanne that these agaves grow only one flower at the end of their 10+ life span, but it's an enormous swan song.
Auntie Jeanne's Hawaii Nature Journal seems to have brought me to my last topic for this lengthy blog--nature journaling. I was so preoccupied with new friends, painting, and so much eye candy that I did not stop and sketch very much on this trip. During my first few days on the shoreline at the classic old-school Hotel Moloka'i I did a few walks and gathered ideas. Below is a sketch of what I think is a kind of hibiscus, though the flower was quite different from the kind I have seen in gardens. I've included a few photos of the plant growing on the shoreline in a sheltered cove where the hotel was situated. For those interested see Reflections for discussion of the kinship I see between Process Painting with its component of following the energy and not knowing and Nature Journaling with its continuing observation and curiosity about what is in front of our senses.
Finally, I will leave you with this link to a talk on sustainability. The Hui has a central mission of stewardship towards the land and its native flora. Slowly a small, dedicated team that works this land has gathered its history and built nurseries of native plants to nurture the soils and the forest towards health. They have gathered the knowledge of elders and healers to better understand the rich healing properties of the plants they foster towards a sustainable forest. The following Ted talk, though by a leader on Maui rather than Moloka'i, speaks to the significance of this issue quite beautifully and why stewardship and sustainability are so vital to the planet we share.
