Day Ten: `Awa

 

Pencil drawing, `Awa

Early Polynesian voyagers brought the `Awa ("bitterness") plant to Hawaii and it grows abundantly in my hometown of Kaneohe, Windward Oahu, and other moist lower areas on all the islands. Called Kava or Kava Kava throughout the Pacific Islands, `Awa can be made into an herbal remedy that helps anxiety, insomnia, and other ailments.

`Awa was important to the ceremonies and cleansing rituals of Ancient Hawaiians. A favorite offering to the gods, chants recall how the gods Käne, Pele, and Kanaloa, were famous `Awa drinkers. 

Missionaries who came to Hawaii in 1820 discouraged the use of the intoxicating plant, but in recent years interest in the historical, cultural, and alternate medicine aspects of `Awa has resurged.

Day Nine: Kiawe

 

Pencil drawing, Kiawe

The first Kiawe wood seedling was planted in 1827 by Sacred Hearts Father Alexis Bachelot next to the Cathedral Catholic Church in downtown Honolulu's Fort Street Mall. Legend is he brought the tree from Chile.

With a large trunk and gnarly branches, Kiawe is a mesquite tree of hard, long-burning wood used for smoking meats and BBQs. Most importantly, Kiawe works great slow-cooking kalua pig in the imu.

Day Eight: Two Milo Seeds

 

Pencil Drawing: Milo Seed Pods

The Milo is an interesting tree, its botanical name, Thespesia populnea, means “divine." A member of the hibiscus family, the bell-shaped Milo flower is pale yellow with a maroon center that blooms for just one day, then closes and becomes a seed pod as shown in this drawing. 

The pods dry brittle into papery capsules, opening at maturity, releasing about seven seeds that grow quickly and easily. Lamp oil has been made from the seeds.

The tree thrives on sandy coastal and volcanic soils and has a curved trunk and a large 30-foot spread that creates shade, windbreak, and shelter.

Ancient Hawaiians carved the beautiful dark heartwood of the Milo tree into canoes, food bowls, poi calabashes, platters and dishes, tools, and utensils. Milo wood remains easy to work with, has a smooth natural finish, and is durable.

Day Seven: Laua‘e

Pencil drawing, Laua‘e Fern

Common Is Uncommon

From Oceania to green Hanalei
the common Laua‘e fern
transformed to pe‘ahi of legend
our halau bends
to gather this spirit
for our hula kuahu and lei
as fragrant as sweet maile
kissing ankles, wrists, heads.

Joyous Laua‘e fingers
understand the dance:
ka makani, ka la, ua.
life, moon, aloha

For you, Beloved,
Common is Uncommon.

Together, we perform
this timeless ritual:

Our Chant--
sky and earth
heart to heart.

 @mscator 11.9.21

Day Six: Koa "Leaves"

 

Pencil drawing, Koa "Leaves"

"To be a warrior is to learn to be genuine in every moment of your life."

Chogyam Trungpa

Imagine this-- the Koa tree only grows in Hawaii and Koa wood is the most beautiful wood in the world. "Koa" means fearless, warrior, brave, like King Kamehameha the Great who unified the Hawaiian Islands with swords, canoes, and paddles created with Koa.

Koa is revered, the wood of Hawaii's birth and history. Inside Iolani Palace, the home of the Hawaiian monarchy, the Grand Hall staircase is made of Koa.Duke Kahanamoku rode the Waikiki waves with his 114-pound Koa surfboard.

Today, musicians know that a ukulele or guitar made of Koa will have tonal magic. The wood grain of Koa is exquisite and expensive. And unique. Whether furniture, crafts, carvings, or jewelry each piece is different in color and grain.

Day Five: Mushrooms Growing on a Ti Stalk

 

Pencil drawing, Mushrooms Growing on a ti stalk

Living

This life
it takes all
that you have.

And what do you give it?
Everything.

@mscator 11.7.21

Day Four: The Uluhe Fern

 

Pencil drawing, Uluhe

Precious Uluhe

Hawaii's uluhe fern,

righteous protector of Pele's rainforest,

Growing steady in Laupahoehoe.

Coiled frond, an energy swirl
shooting, reaching upwards

climbing

holding, hugging, caressing

soil and sky.

Independent Uluhe, 

Thick blanket for pali and aina

Healing aloha,

roots deep, trailing

wild in the cool rain.

Precious Uluhe,

adventurous

harvester of tomorrow.

@mscator 11.6.21

Day Three: Kukui Nut

Pencil drawing, Kukui Nuts

When my Dad travels to the Mainland, representing Hawaii's Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), he brings a kukui nut lei for the people he meets with as a token of aloha.

This is just one of many usages of the versatile Kukui, which means "candlenut" in English and is the state tree of Hawaii. Called the "Tree of Light," the oil of the kukui nut kernel has a high oil content that is highly flammable and is a natural source of light when lit.

Planted in gardens as a shade tree, the silvery-green leaves of the kukui flourish in the Hawaiian sunlight.

"Art is not to throw light but to be light."
Kenneth Patchen

Day 2: Dry Hau Flowers

 

Pencil drawing, Dry Hau Flowers

The hau is a very special tree. Native to Hawaii and a member of the hibiscus family, hau spreads throughout the islands as a prolific shrub or wild and protective coastal bush. Hau is tough and resilient.

Historians say the hau seeds and cuttings were carried in canoes to Hawaii in ancient times. The naturally-curved, pliable branches of the hau softwood were used to make the vital canoe outriggers for transportation, exploration, connection to nature, and so much more.

Amazingly, the plant is also resistant to salt. Hawaiians transformed the hau bark into thick rope for strong nets which held strong in the ocean water. Net fishing, from shore or canoe, is the heartbeat and strength of our island heritage.

The hau flower is a sacred miracle, a spark of life, and a symbol of the human spirit. Its life tells us the story of our fragile, brief lives. With heart-shaped leaves, the five-petal hau blossom unfurls a yellow color at first light, turns orange in the afternoon, and dies dark orange by moonlight.

"From sun up to sun down."

 (mai ka la hiki a ka la kau.)

Hawaiian Proverb

Day One: Kualoa from Waiahole

 

Pencil drawing, Kualoa from Waiahole

I have a new project-- I will be creating a pencil drawing a day. 

Let's start with a drive to the small community of Waiahole, located on Oahu's windward coast. Green Waiahole Valley is rich in Hawaiian history, with fertile land, watered by the heavens, and where taro, the staple food, flourished and nourished. 

From Waiahole, I sketched this view of beautiful Kualoa ("longback"),  which is kissed by the area's rich Ka'a'awa Valley, sacred burial caves, cattle ranch, and soaring Koʻolau Mountain Range. 

With such breathtaking vistas to soak in, it is no wonder that dozens of Hollywood films have been filmed here. I explored the area extensively during my boy scout days, and remember the rich Hawaiian folklore and maybe even heard the drumbeats of the night marchers on full moon nights. 

"Drawing is not what you see but what you must make others see."

 Edgar Degas