Friday, September 8, 2023

Kai and Hōkū Explore: Food of Hawaiʻi

 Three activity books of Kai and Hōkū Explore: Food of Hawaiʻi - are completed! Collaboration with The Food Basket - Hawaiʻi Islandʻs Food Bank, these free activity books are available from dabux.org (keiki Corner)🖍

You can learn all about healthy produce in Hawaiʻi: grow them, taste them, cook them, and color them. Fun stickers are included.😊







Saturday, June 3, 2023

Keiki summer art camp

 It was a fun week of summer art camp for keiki at my studio!🎨😊 We explored painting, drawing, mixed media and paper mâché🍍🐦🌻🐳🐬 a busy and fun week!

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Keiki after school art

My keiki after school art is in the 9th year!🖍🎨😊

The theme on the 4th quarter was "Spring in Hawai'i"; we learned Hawaiian plants and animals and their habitats: 'i'iwi bird, ʻohia lehua, nēnē, ʻohelo berry, happy face spider, humuhumunukunukuapuaʻa and more. Here are just few pictures of amazing work of keiki!

Thank you so much for Waikoloa Elementary School!




Thursday, March 16, 2023

Spring Break Art Workshop for Youth

 Aloha🌺 

This week I am so honored to teach Coloring Book Project🖍 at East Hawai'i Cultural Center (Hilo, Hawai'i) for keiki ages 8 to 14. Our goal is to learn about our native plants and animals of Hawai'i, and create a coloring book together to spread awareness for sour special 'āina🏝

I created these coloring pages for your keiki to learn and cherish these animals and plants, mostly endemic (exist only in Hawaiʻi).  E mālama ʻāina kākou!

Mālama coloring pages

Thursday, March 9, 2023

New Book! Tūtūʻs Secret

Aloha🌺

My new book "Tūtūʻs Secret" is here! Written by Gloria Blum, published by Island Heritage. The book I will remember illustrating with fond memory. I received this manuscript a few month after I became tūtū (grandmother) myself and illustrated while my husband and I drove to see her weekly to south Kona. Driving more than 3 hours round trip each week, the view and feeling of south Kona became the inspiration for this illustration. I wanted to illustrate many Hawaiian native plants and animals to communicate Tūtūʻs memories from Old Hawaiʻi, kind of the feeling I still get in south Kona. 

When I first read the manuscript, I wanted to wove and celebrate the kaloʻs life cycle in my illustration (even that was not actually written in the story). I wanted to use growing kalo as a symbol of ʻohana. I wanted to illustrate the tūtūʻs wisdom that is passed on to her moʻopuna (grandchildren) still live in them and they can live the wisdom and pass on to the next generation, just like how each kalo makua (parents) plant produce many keiki plants..I hope keiki will notice a little kalo planted by tūtū and Lani in the story keep growing to the last page full of multiple kalo.  Mahalo ke Akua.

Tūtūʻs Secret



Sunday, February 26, 2023

Book event and signing for my new book Tūtūʻs Secret

This weekend, I attended e book event/signing at Basically Books, for my newest illustrated childrenʻs book Tūtūʻs Secret, written by Gloria Blum, published by Island Heritage.

I met the author Gloria her husband first time, and reacquainted with many other people there! I felt so honored to participate in the event and shared the story, my illustration process with like minded people.

Mahalo nui loa for the people who hosted this event and everyone who attended. I really appreciate it for your aloha!