Lunel's New Lava-Inspired Art

Lunel with two new canvas of her abstract art.

Those of you who know me well, also know I am a compulsively creative person.  So... leaving Humboldt County to retire in the Puna District of the Big Island would mean leaving one kind of inspiration for an entirely new landscape and inspiration! It is hard to be an artist here in Hawai'i and NOT be inspired by this vital living land!

For three years I have been working on our property with some rather unusual "art tools" --my o'o bar and pick ax as I am learning to create with a brand new medium -- LAVA!! The curving lines of lava, and the colors of the landscape are coming through in a brand new, bold and colorful way.


I have entitled this set of images Moku Moe'uhane "Island Dreams" because the energy of the 'aina (land) works on and through me in a rather dream-like way. Everything here is always moving -- charged with energy. These images are my response to that movement and energy.

Lava Meets Ocean!

Once upon a time....

On a beautiful moonlit night (July 26th) in the wee hours of the morning (1:15am) the lava flowed down the pali and into the ocean -- once again.

Like our post mentioned a few days ago (7/15) lava in the Puna District of the Big Island of Hawaii has been flowing for decades -- NON STOP!! However it has changed directions a few times.

Local residents have been waiting for this night for many months as Kilauea lava, flowing through the Pu'u O'o fissure has been making its way to the ocean. On more level land, it moves slower and spreads, but when it approaches the pali (cliffs) it moves rapidly.   Here are some stunning photographs taken by our neighbor Kris Burmeister.  There is also a link to more information on the flow.  CLICK on any photo for bigger view! Enjoy!

LINK to Lava News

First Tropical Storm DARBY

Original Path Forecast

Makes our island look pretty small!!  (NOAA photo with thanks)

Revised Saturday 7/23  YEP -- it's that time of year again;  It is officially hurricane season and hopefully we won't have a season like last year with over a dozen BIG tropical storms dancing around the islands.  We recall one week in particularly where there were THREE super storms, all hurricane force, encircling us. You can't be sure so it is best to be on the safe side and well prepared.

SAT:  Three inches of rain last night with brunt of storm to hit today. Forecast now is that it will travel right up the island chain --- UNLESS our "storm crunchers" Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa break it up before it heads northwest -- which they have done before..

Final Revision: Meteorologists were excited to document this storm as it is only the second time (since statehood) a hurricane has directly hit the Big Island --- AND scientists could document how the sheer factor of the volcanoes DID in fact disrupt the storm, lessening the blow to the island chain.  YEAH BIG ISLAND!!!

DARBY...our first big one this year should be hitting Saturday, so Friday was the day to get the mowing done, check for loose lawn chairs, empty flower pots, tarps and such.  Phil even went out to put a few more simpson hurricane braces on the underside of the flat carport roof -- just to be on the safe side.

Our local NextDoor conduit of news and information just had a list of things to do -- just in case (thanks Heath.)

• Secure potentially "flying objects" - garbage containers, hanging plants, furniture, umbrellas.
• Stack and secure building materials like roofing, and plywood
• Fill up your vehicles, top off your gas cans.
• Run your generator if you have one.
• Have some extra cash on hand.
• Fill gallon jugs with water -- freeze them for use in the refrigerator and/or freezers.
• Check your propane tanks -- fill them so you can at least cook ont he grill.
• Make sure you have flashlights handy -- with good batteries.

Pu'u O'o at Kilauea Volcano

Penny took thiese photo just two nights ago

Flow activity in 2014 vs 2016

Revised 7/26:  UPDATE!  In the wee hours of the morning around 1:15am, lava has once again returned to the sea...

People who don't live on an active volcanic island cannot entirely comprehend the awareness we live with on a daily basis. It gives new meaning to "life on the edge" because here, the "edge" (ka'e) is always changing quite literally.  Lava flows and destroys, but from it grows new land and new life.

Here in the Puna Disrict, lava continues to flow from the Pu'u O'o vent of Kilauea and has been for 30 years!

All of us "Punatics" on the Big Island of Hawaii were grateful that two years ago the flow stopped within a few yards of our Pahoa Village! The lava has since changed directions and has returned to the previous area of flow, more directly south toward the ocean.

Penny -- up close and personal!

The flow has picked up recently and is now only about 1/2 mile from the ocean. When it hits the water, the spectacular show will only intensify as molten lava hit the cold water.

These photos were taken by our neighbor, Penny Overbeck showing how close you can get. It is traditional to make and leave ho'okupa (offerings/gifts) to Pele, being aware of both the destructive and creative forces at work. (remember you can 'click' on images for a close-up view)

Makali'i (Pleiades) Surprise

Our June adventure for Phil’s 75^th birthday offered us a lovely variety of sites, but perhaps none more surprising than unexpectedly meeting “Shorty” Bertelmann.  Shorty was actually an apprentice on the inaugural first voyage of the Hokule'a in 1976 as a young man. His passionate involvement over many decades includes many years of training and teaching. He was the celestial navigator for the 1995 voyage to Tahiti and Marquesas.  

"Shorty" President of Na Kalai Wa'a

The Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) and the journey of the “Hokule’a” has certainly made international news during their 3-year world tour using ancient navigational practices that were nearly lost over the last centuries.

Hokule'a world-wide tour 

This cross-cultural renaissance, begun in the 1970’s, has a quieter but equally valuable story here on the Big Island. Two paniolo (cowboy) brothers up in the expansively beautiful cattle country of Waimea wanted to be sure that the cultural heritage of celestial navigation continued to be taught.  “Na Kalai Wa’a” (The Canoe Carvers) was formed in 1993 as a non-profit educational organization by Clay and “Shorty” Bertelmann.

Although we had read this month’s issue of the Big Island’s “Ke Ola” magazine that featured a story about Makali'i -- we could not have anticipated our good fortune to actually meet “Shorty” and volunteers as they were working to retrofit the “Makali’i” (Pleiades) originally built in 1994. Phil and Shorty had a good talk-story and Phil's gifted him one of his hand carved fish.

"He wa'a he moku; He moku he wa'a"

(A canoe is an island; an island is a canoe -- or, on the sea the canoe operates as a whole community, sustaining its people as an island sustains a community.)

Read more about the Makali'i


(Photos shared are from variety of sources:  PVS, KeOla and Big Island Talk-Story)

Hill of the Whale - Pu'u Kohola

"Temple on the Hill of the Whale" (Pu'u Kohola)

One off the many impressive things we experienced on our Kohala District "holoholo" (walk-ride-about) in June was a docent led tour of Pu'u Kohola Heiau, one of the last major temples built in the Hawaiian Islands.  

This massive structure was constructed under the direct supervision of Kamehameha the Great from 1790 to 1791 as he became the first person to unite the warring islands into the Kingdom of Hawai’i. (This occurred at the same time that George Washington was serving as the our new nation’s first president.) Annual ceremonies and celebrations are conducted here following very strict protocol that includes songs, dances, chants and reenactments. 

Places we visited  in Kohala District on our "holoholo"

Adjacent to this gigantic structure (but not pictured here) are two additional temples (heiau.) Hundreds of years older, one is now submerged off the coast, and the other (at the base of Pu'u Kohola) is called Mailekini Heiau. Little is known about these two additional structures -- but the historical/cultural significance is the obvious link for the building which occurred during King Kamehameha's reign.

We also visited the valley where the rocks that built this structure were found -- the beautiful and distant Pololu Valley. Forming a human chain nearly 25 miles long, the laborers handed the required water-worn lava rocks one person to another up and over Kohala Mountain to this site. Estimates suggest that over 10,000 people were involved including all those who provided food, built lodging and assisted. Without the use of mortar, cement or other bonding materials, these skilled laborers placed these rocks in exact locations in order to meet specific building specifications received through a priest/kahuna.  

If you are interested, you can learn more through this LINK. To learn more...  

Phil's 75th Birthday

Phil had his 75th birthday on June 22, so we celebrated with a wonderful four-day excursion up to the north end of the island -- Kohala District and had such a good time. Here's a couple photos we took, just to give you a sample of the scenery. In addition to amazing views, we visited a number of cultural/historical places as well.

Above is a view from Waimea of Mauna Kea (wearing her colorful shawl) and below is a stunning view of Pololu Valley -- at the literal north side "end of the road."  

We'll be posting a few consecutive blogs about our "holoholo" road trip in a few days.