"In the beginning, according to Hawaiian mythology, Po was a vast, empty land, a dark abyss where only one life form, the spirit of Keawe, dwelled," shares Heidi. "His spirit was the single light shining in that darkness holding the energy of creation. In this vortex of darkness and emptiness, Keawe opened his great calabash and threw the lid into the air where it unfurled into the huge canopy of blue sky. Then, form his calabash, Keawe drew an orange disk, hanging it from the sky to become the sun. This was the beginning."
The process of collage takes Mary’s work into a new dimension. The use of Mary’s hand painted papers and additional hand made papers from around the globe create interesting texture and exaggerated movement in these collages. The effect is a visual cross between painting, mosaic and block printing. Light and color and shape taking flowers and water and landscapes to the edge of abstraction and back again.
"This work is part of the Gathering Maile series which celebrates the abundance and variety of our Big Island rainforests, rich with so many endemic species found nowhere else in the world. The work captures the moment of generational ceremonial ritual — hiking into the rainforests, like the Pu'u o ‘Umi rainforest above Waimea, before special occasions to gather flowers and greens for lei making. This is a time honored tradition. However, the Gathering Maile series also gently invites the viewer to learn about the devastation of the Ohia Lehua rapid death fungi and its impact on the severe maile shortage. Conservationists are asking people to choose a different lei for most of special occasions." - Heidi Buscher
"Anaeho'omalu Bay, in one telling of the mo’olelo (story), was named after young princess from Puna who made her way across the island with her sister, Puako. They both settled at the places named after them. This work is part of the Purple Mountain series–a study of the mauka to makai ahapua’a on the Big Island of Hawaii. Anaeho’omalu, or “A Bay” as it is commonly known, inspired this work with the mountain in the distance." - Heidi Buscher
"Two great stones once stood in the valley of Nu‘uanu on Oahu. These were said to represent the goddesses Hapu‘u and Kala‘iola. The goddesses were known to possess mysterious powers; they were guardians of Nu‘uanu Valley. “Akua no ka pali,” gods of the precipice”
"Travelers embarking on the journey over the treacherous Pali pass stopped to offer gifts of food, lei and kapa to Hapu‘u and Kala‘iola, seeking their protection and blessing for safe passage. A favorite lei offering was made of the sweet smelling pala palai fern. Parents would bury the piko of their newborn babies at these stones to ensure protection of their precious children." - Heidi Buscher
"An old legend tells of Maikoha, a farmer who lived in Nu‘uanu Valley. At that time, people of old did not have kapa to clothe themselves; they bore the driving rains of Nu‘uanu without the benefit of kapa as protection. Upon his death bed, Maikoha grew weary of the cold. To his daughters he foretold a plant that would grow from his grave. He instructed them to use this plant to make kapa from its inner bark. As prophesied, the wauke plant grew from his burial place. Maikoha’s daughters followed his guidance and learned the ways of kapa-making. From this, the wauke plant spread throughout the islands and the methods to make its bark into the finest kapa were learned. So renowned was his gift of wauke that Maikoha became known as the chief ‘aumakua of the kapa makers: Maikoha, the Kapa-Maker’s God." - Heidi Buscher
"The ocean shapes our perceptions; we are oriented to her, to the mountains, mauka to makai. Opuhala is the Hawaiian goddess of coral. She appears in mythology sometimes as a woman, and sometimes as a coral reef. According to legend, it is a shell from Opuhala’s reef that Maui makes his famous fishhook to draw together the islands.
Mohala i ka wai ka maka o ka pua – (Unfolded by the water are the faces of the flowers.)" - Heidi Buscher
The process of collage takes Mary’s work into a new dimension. The use of Mary’s hand painted papers and additional hand made papers from around the globe create interesting texture and exaggerated movement in these collages. The effect is a visual cross between painting, mosaic and block printing. Light and color and shape taking flowers and water and landscapes to the edge of abstraction and back again.
The process of collage takes Mary’s work into a new dimension. The use of Mary’s hand painted papers and additional hand made papers from around the globe create interesting texture and exaggerated movement in these collages. The effect is a visual cross between painting, mosaic and block printing. Light and color and shape taking flowers and water and landscapes to the edge of abstraction and back again.
The process of collage takes Mary’s work into a new dimension. The use of Mary’s hand painted papers and additional hand made papers from around the globe create interesting texture and exaggerated movement in these collages. The effect is a visual cross between painting, mosaic and block printing. Light and color and shape taking flowers and water and landscapes to the edge of abstraction and back again.
Cyanea macrostegia is known formerly from Lāna`i but now found only on Maui. Dark velvet purple-black curved flowers emerge from this rain forest tree. The nectar of these unusual flowers and the orange berries are food for Hawaiian forest birds. These palm-like trees with paddle-shaped leaves are evocative of a pre-historic jungle. The species is now only found in a healthy and diverse rain-forest. Lobelioids are one of the most spectacular examples of island evolution in flowering plants with curved flowers matching the bill of their bird pollinators. - Melissa Chimera
Hand-painted paper collage, framed in black with museum glass
37" h x 26" w | 30" h x 22" w artwork
The process of collage takes Mary’s work into a new dimension. The use of Mary’s hand painted papers take a new form in this series looking at the simplicity of color.
Hand-painted paper collage, framed in black with museum glass
37" h x 26" w | 30" h x 22" w artwork
The process of collage takes Mary’s work into a new dimension. The use of Mary’s hand painted papers take a new form in this series looking at the simplicity of color.
Hand-painted paper collage, framed in black with museum glass
37" h x 26" w | 30" h x 22" w artwork
The process of collage takes Mary’s work into a new dimension. The use of Mary’s hand painted papers take a new form in this series looking at the simplicity of color.
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