PICKING TI-LEAF ON WHITE

   Growing up, my older sisters practiced hula, a traditional dance form in Hawaiian culture. My sisters would hula for community functions, school performances, and other festivities in our home town of Hāna, Maui. For every performance and uniform my sisters would have to gather natural material, one of which was Ti-leaf! And of course, who should be the one to “help” my sisters but their poor little brother. For all the performances and all of their uniforms “we” would gather hundreds of ti-leaves from our backyard. Picking ti-leaf became a normal chore for me.

I did not dance hula, but for those who have, they know the work it takes to do it. The protocols, the correct way to gather, and more importantly how NOT to gather. This design displays the ti-leaf gathered and fanned to show the shape of the leaves and also the stems. The stem is the area you pull to pluck the leaf. It is also the part that connects the leaf to its stock and back into the ‘āina. This design goes out to my sisters and to those who continue to gather materials from the ‘āina without the “help” of their little brothers.