March News

I have two paintings in a group show this month in Sewall's Point, Florida!

Details: Art Associates of Martin County Annual Member's Art Show

The exhibit will be up for the entire month of March

The opening reception is Friday, March 7th from 5-9pm. There will be music, food, and wine

Awards Presentation is 6:30 pm

Location: Palm Room

Harbor Bay Plaza

3766 SE Ocean Blvd.

Sewall's Point, FL 34996

Big Riggin' With Large Marge

We moved from the farthest corner of the country to the other right before two major holidays. We traveled a total of 6,157 miles from Hawaii to San Diego to New York and finally Florida. We had to unpack, buy a car, and find work all over again. Then my laptop needed to be sent in for repair. Then it was returned with more damage than it started with so I had to send it for repair a second time. So here we are three months later. My laptop and I are finally sorted out and I'm finally able to write this post...

After wandering around the planet and then living on Maui for two years we decided it was time to move on again. So we packed up our things once again and just like we did when we left New York, we sold whatever couldn't fit in a suitcase. Considering we entered Hawaii with just two backpacks between us, it is amazing how much we managed to accumulate in such a short space of time–bikes, surfboards, bodyboards, snorkel gear, stand-up paddleboard, art supplies, easel, clothes, car–everything was sold and somehow we even managed to make a profit. We were especially lucky in selling our car because rather than having to rent a vehicle until we left Maui, the nice man who we sold it to allow us to keep it until the day we left. He even drove us to the airport! 

Our little "Jellybean" car loaded up with boards

We left Maui in early November and flew 2,535 miles to San Diego. We spent yet another night sleeping in the airport. I use the word "sleeping" very loosely because there wasn't very much sleep happening due to the overnight construction and blasting music in the brightly lit and overly air-conditioned airport. That is the not-so-glamorous side of traveling.

The next day at 5 a.m. we boarded our second flight and arrived in New York after a total of 18 hours and an additional 2,432 miles. Darren went to our storage locker in the Bronx to go through our belongings to see what remained after Hurricane Sandy. However, after living without any of it for two years we've learned we don't really need it and most of it can be replaced. We had planned to be away for a few months rather than two years so it was like digging up a time capsule with 44 cent stamps and boxes of winter clothes and boots that looked alien to us after living in Hawaii. 

Large Marge taking up an entire parking lot

Then we loaded up a massive yellow Penske truck which we affectionately named Large Marge. The rental company didn't have the smaller truck we had reserved so they gave us this 26' monster instead.

Goodbye snow! Hello Sunshine!

We said goodbye to New York and headed to a more tropical climate. Destination: Florida. Only 1,190 miles to go!

Little Kimmie and Little Darren like to ride in the cockpit. Here they are leaving NYC.

Of all the road trips we've taken all across this world, I have to say without a doubt that the drive on

I-95 from New York to Florida is the least scenic and most boring trip of them all. I have a lot of admiration for all of the truckers that make this trip week after week.

Since Large Marge was such a big lady, the trip took us two days. She struggled to make it up to 70 mph and Darren had to do all the driving since I could barely reach the pedals.

We took our time and stopped fairly often to smell the roses and take in the sights of the East Coast.

The last time I was at South of the Border I was 15 years old. I don't remember it being so creepy.

Maybe it was the dreary weather

...Or the carnival music playing to an abandoned carnival

...or these guys.

These two just can't resist a photo-op

This is a picture of our hotel room somewhere near the Georgia/Florida border.

"Creepy" was the ongoing theme of our trip!

Exhaustion won out over creepiness. However, this place was pure luxury compared to some of the places we stayed in Nepal and India.

The next morning we woke up to more creepiness. I'm not sure if these were vultures or crows feasting on garbage in the hotel parking lot. I just call them "creepy birds". 

We couldn't get out of there fast enough! Sunshine State here we come!

*We've been in Florida for three months now and so far so good. I'm looking forward to the next adventure!

January News

You can now buy my original oil paintings at the Art-Tee-Da Gallery in Historic Downtown Stuart, Florida. 

I'm so thrilled to have my art showing at another fantastic gallery!

Address: 307 Colorado Avenue
               Stuart, FL 34994

Phone: 772-600-5235

Web: art-tee-da.com

email: artteeda@gmail.com

Hours: Monday-Saturday 11am-6pm
           Sunday 11 am-4pm

House of the Sun

Once again I've been in transit so I haven't had the opportunity to post updates. It's a new year and I've moved to a new location. After two glorious years in Hawaii, we packed up again and moved on.

For my last post about Maui, I'd like to share one of my most memorable experiences. My best friend came all the way from New York to visit so I agreed to take her up to the summit of Haleakala to watch the sunrise. This activity would combine two of my least favorite things: waking up before the sun and enduring freezing cold temperatures. It's a good thing I am such a great friend and agreed to go because it was well worth the torture!

This certificate reads: I survived the 37-mile drive up from sea level to the summit of Haleakala volcano
(10,023 ft/ 3,055m) one of the greatest elevation gains in the shortest distance in the world!

We woke up at 2:30 am to start driving. As we got closer to the top, we were so close to the stars it felt like we could touch them. I've never seen this many stars in my life. At this elevation (10,023 feet) the sky looked more white than black because there were more stars than sky. Too bad my camera spazzed out and refused to take a photo. You will just have to take my word for it!

Despite it being August, one of the hottest months on Maui, the temperature at the top was frigid so pack some winter clothes if you want to add this to your Maui itinerary. 

We are above the clouds at this elevation. 

And here comes the sun. No captions needed.

Despite my loathing of pre-dawn rising and cold weather, this actually turned out to be one of my favorite Hawaii activities. 

Please check back soon to read about my 5,000-mile journey across the United States...

Get Ready For Halloween!

I recently teamed up with Tales-of-a-First-Grade-Teacher to create these Candy Corn graphics for a  fun Halloween Craft and Writing activity. 

This is a great Halloween activity to do with your class or with your own kids at home. 

Your students can cut out the masks and mustaches and glue them onto their candy corn. The graphics come in color as well as black & white line art so that they can color them in themselves.

It also comes with three different writing activities for grade levels Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades. 

You can purchase the 15-page printable activity for only $3.00 at Teachers-Pay-Teachers

If you just want to download the graphic (without the writing activities) to make your own Halloween decorations, you can purchase them for $2.75 from StudioKWN. You can also purchase this funny...I mean... Scary Ghost as well!

                                      

Thanks to the 1st-grade students at West Gate K-8 in Saint Lucie, Florida for sharing their Candy Corn creations. They did a fantastic job!

Happy Halloween!

Studio Clearance Sale

This gypsy artist is moving on again so don't miss out on my Studio Clearance sale. Save 50% on your purchase of $100 or more until October 15th

Visit StudioKWN and use Coupon Code: FALLSALE

This offer excludes custom orders and painting commissions

Wo Hing Museum Chinese Moon Festival

Chinese Moon Festival

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Chinese Moon festival is on the 15th day of the eight-month (or between late September and early October in the Western calendar) when the moon is at its brightest for the entire year. It occurs close to the autumn equinox when yin and yang are in perfect balance. This year it landed on September 19th which also happened to be our wedding anniversary. My husband Darren and I went to the Wo Hing Museum to celebrate our perfectly balanced special day. 

The Chinese symbol Wo means "harmony" and Hing means "prosperity". The Wo Hing Society was formed by Lahaina's Chinese immigrants around the turn of the 20th Century to provide its members with a sense of community and mutual support in a foreign place. It functioned as a religious temple and social gathering place.

In exchange for a little volunteer work, we were taken on a special guided tour of the museum by Dr. Busaba Yip, who in my opinion might also be the most joyous person on Maui. Her excitement about the Moon festival spread like a virus to her visitors.

Inside the temple, you can view a collection of rare Chinese artifacts along with memorabilia of the Lahaina Wo Hing Society. On the second floor, we visited the altars to Guan Ti and other guardian gods. 

The cookhouse displays the old cooking woks, steamers and other utensils used by Wo Hing Society families. 

It is presently used as a viewing room where you can watch films of life in the Hawaiian Islands by Thomas Edison shot between 1898 and 1906 as well as segments of the film "Finding Sandalwood Mountain" featuring Wo Hing Society members.

The Moon Festival at the museum lasted three days and included Chinese food, arts & crafts, presentations by Dr. Yip, Knot tying, Qigong, a farmers market, Erhu performances, and of course moon cakes!

The Wo Hing Museum is located at 858 Front Street, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

The hours are 10am-4pm, Saturday-Thursday

1pm-8pm on Fridays

Phone: 808-661-5553

August News

Back in January, I wrote a post about my mentor and friend Tom Sgouros who passed away on December 17th, 2012. There will be a retrospective of his work held at Rhode Island School of Design's Woods-Gerry Gallery located at 62 Prospect St. in Providence, RI.

Drawn to Paint / 1944-2012 will be on exhibit from August 24th through September 26th. 

A reception will be held on September 18th from 6-8pm

Iao Valley State Park

In Hawai'ian, 'Iao (pronounced EE-ow) means "cloud supreme" 

Iao Stream

Iao Valley was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1972

Iao Needle

Located in Central Maui just west of Wailuku and home to one of Maui's most recognizable landmarks, Kuka`emoku (the Iao Needle), an erosional feature which rises 1200 feet from the valley floor. For the best view of the needle, visit in the morning as it is often obscured by cloud cover later in the day.

The park is 10 miles long and is 4,000 acres of lush landscape and easy hiking paths.

There is a 0.6 mile paved pedestrian path that leads to the Iao needle viewing point and provides a scenic lookout with expansive views of the valley.

Aside from its natural tropical beauty, sacred Iao Valley has great historical significance. In 1790 it was the site of the battle of Kepaniwai where the forces of Kamehameha I conquered the Maui army and ultimately changed the course of Hawaiian history.

Families can also take a rainforest walk or explore interactive exhibits at the Hawaii Nature Center, which is also located within Iao Valley. 

Also within Iao Valley is the Kepaniwai Park's Heritage Gardens. Since 1952, they have memorialized Maui's multicultural history. Scale models of ethnic buildings and gardens representing the immigration of Hawaiian, Filipino, Chinese, American missionary, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese cultures are the park's highlight. 

There are restrooms and picnic tables in the gardens as well so be sure to pack your picnic basket!

Iao Valley is located at the end of Iao Valley Road (Highway 32). It is open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The entrance fee is $5.00 per car. There is no fee for Hawaii residents or for walk-in visitors.