Aloha all! It’s been a whirlwind trip on Maui so far. The greatest part of this trip is my sister Maya met up with Ann and me and our good friends Jon and Amy from the Bay Area came for the show and to see the island.
The exhibit is beautifully presented in the Schaefer International Gallery at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center thanks to Neida Bangerter, Jonathan Clark, Adam and others. The large space was divided into two large spaces, one for the Haleakala photos, one for the other national parks. Lots of space for people to move around and look at the photos. It’s so great to see the photos up on the wall.
There was a very nice opening reception for the exhibit Saturday evening. I was presented with three beautiful leis- a very long one made from tea leaves from our friend Amy, an incredible one from Neida and the gallery and one of interlocking paper from Barbara, a docent at the MACC and a member of the local Buddhist Temple.
I did three gallery talks so far. A day before the opening I spoke with the gallery volunteers about the work. They were all curious and asked many questions. I did a short talk during the opening reception. On Sunday I teamed up with Haleakala National Park ranger Theresa Fernandez who provided really moving Hawaiian stories and words for what people were seeing in the photos.