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Are there spirits in Hawaii? Do they share our homes? Our bodies and minds?
Are they out there somewhere in the basalt stones and in the trees, watching
and approving or disavowing our actions?
Here in the islands everyone listens to ghost stories. They're part of Hawaiian folklore and its traditional religion. And although I am a modern woman in many ways, I am sure there are spirits moving in and out of my circle all the time. They're my ancestors, and the beliefs of my ancestors. For those who are open to them, they touch every aspect of life, and for the most part they are guides and guardians. "Spirit Art" doesn't necessarily imply ghostly images or some sort of "voodoo". It is a collaboration of my spirit with all other things, and especially those I am shaping into art. For lack of a better word, I suppose you could call the character surrounding things, "aura". Shaping things into sculpture is merely a matter of transforming them until they match the atmosphere they are already generating. I
never feel more connected to those spirits who can't be seen or touched than when I
experience the art I am producing. Every sense and all my being is focused
on each project. Everything is woven together, like a
lauhala
mat that ties us all to each other in time and space. That's why those who have gone before
share in my creations. You, too may look at my art and say, "Oh, I know that!",
or perhaps "It's so
primitive, yet it touches me where I live." If that happens to you, I know
that somehow another piece has been added to the warp and weft of my life.
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