Arts opportunities pop up in the most unusual places. In our Hawaiian hometown of Pahoa, almost all stores and restaurants feature local art. In the Aloha Outpost, an internet cafe, the art is African in theme and done (I think) by the owner. Malama grocery store features large posters of various types of palm trees and reproductions of vintage postcards. The cafe downtown has some hippie art--fitting as Pahoa is indeed a Hippie town.
On Friday the 7th we attended the opening reception for a miniatures display in Hilo. Dozens of
artists created eclectic and magnificent exhibits. Some favorites were the Little Grass Shack by Lee Manoni-Steiger, Twas the Night Before Christmas, Humpty-Dumpty (pictured) 
and the Princess and the Pea, all by Carol Hocker, and the Snow Maiden by Dorena Bennett. Another favorite, though I didn't get the artist's name, was the Ugly Duckling as Cinderella. The best part of this exhibition was downstairs, where a room was dedicated to children's art.Not an art exhibit per se, but seriously cool was the Pahoa Christmas Parade. It was kicked off by the community band playing--they were wonderful--and followed by various floats and exhibits. The only thing marring it (besides an excruciatingly long wait in the rain for it to start) was the fact that, as it is an election year, several floats were dedicated to political hopefuls.
An unexpected artform came from our neighbor, Fish. He is Samoan, has lived on Big Island most of his life, and is a very skillful fisherman. He also weaves wonderful and very functional baskets out of palm fronds. We were given one filled with avocados from the numerous plants on his property (those things grow like weeds). We also met a young woman in Hilo who weaves bowls of palm fronds. We now have two of them as well.
The theatrical offerings on Big Island never cease to amaze me. Two and a half years ago we saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Akebono theatre in Pahoa. This year we saw The Eight: Reindeer Monologues at the Kope Kope Espresso Cafe in Hilo. This production, in the very intimate setting of the tiny cafe (great mochas!) was performed by the Hilo Community Players. It was a highly disturbing and very funny series of monologues which try to unearth the truth about allegations that Santa has sexually harassed Vixen as well as other reindeer. Particularly notable was Mark DeMoss as Dasher, a by-the-books company man dedicated to "The Eight;" the very delightful and funny Dancer, portrayed by Keiko Suda, who told of her hiring, her dismay at reindeer not getting time off for Hanukkah, should it fall on the 24th, and how reindeer are brilliant dancers; and Cupid, the only openly gay member of "The Eight" played by Jake McPherson, a hilariously catty gossip with stories that would curl your hair.We spent one Saturday at the Hilo Farmers Market attempting to sell my paintings and our family crafting favorite, seashell ornaments. We had very little luck, but did meet some fascinating people in the process. A woman named Linda makes beveled glass boxes filled with sand and shells. These beautiful little gems are a great piece of Aloha to take home. There was a mother/daughter team next to us that wove mats, purses, and flowers out of coconut fiber. The teenaged daughter was also a phenomenal singer, and entertained us with Christmas carols and songs accompanied by her 'ukelele. It was a poor sales day for everyone, but a fun adventure.
While I was on island, I mad a few new paintings specifically for the house; one giant 20"x30" painting of anthuriums, and one 9"x12" painting of Lobster Claw flowers. Real tropical flowers are almost as wild and fantastical as my favorite subject, the fantasy flowers. And I have been working on black backgrounds recently, which is a great effect.
Yesterday we took a drive through Volcano. This lovely but tiny town reminded me a little of Trinidad, CA. For such a small place, it is rich with art and artistic offerings.
I'll write more of my Hawaiian adventures in Art soon.
Love,
Tina
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