Asmat Mask

Posted on April 19, 2009

I do not believe in gambling or in the stock market…well maybe yes if I would have money to burn.

But I truly believe that there are treasures out there for one to scoop up, provided one

is knowledgeable in the field in question, and keeps his eyes and ears wide open.

In my time studying the canoes of Oceania I also gain knowledge about the culture

and traditions of the people building those vessels.

So when visiting an antic shop on Oahu a few days ago my eyes were immediately

attracted by a dark stained wooden mask lying on a chair. I took the mask in my hands

and realized immediately that this is an old mask, and not a contemporary sculpted one.

I asked how much? Well, I’ll give it to you for $ 20.00 said the shop keeper. I handed

her the money.

I knew of course that the mask in question is an old Asmat ceremonial mask dating to

1930-40, and therefore extremely valuable. The Asmat tribe is notorious for head-hunting, residing in West-Papua (Irian Jaya).

The Asmat people are considered the best wood carver of the stone age, creating intricately carved canoes, including model canoes that they

 

Back on the “block”

Posted on April 11, 2009

Was it writers block or busy doing other things? I believe it’s a bit of both.

Anyway I am back on the block after a sabbatical lasting a few months.

I really like this word “sabbatical” as it translates with “Forshungsurlaub”

in German, which really means a vacation of studies and research !Well, this is

exactly what I have been up to ever since bailing out the water from my flooded

workshop.

Never short of work been commissioned to build model canoes of Oceania, I

also spent much time and effort building up my photo albums on Flickr.com and

Picasa.com. Both albums are similar in content and run under the username <hawaiiancanoes> Most recent photos do illustrate 2 very beautiful surfing canoes

and a Samoan one man fishing canoe been auctioned at Niketown in Waikiki.

The Hawaiian canoes were quite old, carved out of Koa tree logs.

Need a workout ?

Posted on December 15, 2008

If living in Hawaii is a dream for many, dealing with flash floods and landslides is not what most people think about our islands.

It all happened very fast, just a few days ago on December 11^th at 5.30 AM.

The heavens opened up to torrential rain causing extensive flash flooding and a landslide

just on top of my property.  Within minutes a river of mud, rocks and other detritus run

into my sloppy backyard and towards my front gate. I did not realize that the mud and branches will get stuck at the gate and therefore stop the proper flow of the mud and water. The water level rose so fast that in no time it runs into my workshop, flooding machinery, lumber, templates etc.

Towards 10.oo PM the rain stopped and it is only than that the extend of the damage

caused by the flash flood became apparent to me. My yard was filled with 2 feet of mud.

my pick-up truck was stuck in the mud, so was another car, my drive-way was busted

and the roots of a gigantic Albizia tree were laid bare.

First thing first, I immediately started to pump out the one foot of water that had flooded

my workshop and installed fans and heaters to dry some motors . But clearing the mud and rocks will take days. I guess that at the rate of 2 hours a day this will be a good and

cost free workout. Want to join ?

Writer’s block

Posted on June 13, 2008

A famous author said that having a writer’s block is either when one is thinking to much of himself or when having nothing to say about oneself !
My reason for not writing here, lately, had more to do with what was happening on the political front of our country. You see, having to make a living during day time, I could not wait to sit in front of the TV at the end of each day to listen
to what all those political pundits and so called experts had to say about some politicians and other political pundits and experts. Actually I have to admit I let myself be endoctrinated, brain washed, lied to, made to hope , to curse, clap my hands, stand up and cheer, and so, no wonder I very quickly ended up with a total writer’s block, feels like a kind of a hangover by the way, unable to even write a check to cover the gas bill…
The party is half way over…and the big mesmerizing speeches are already part of history.
Its time to resume my work and write my own humble little stories.

La vie d’artiste

Posted on January 16, 2008

Every Frenchman would immediately visualize a multitude of pictures associated with those 3 words; la vie d’artiste.
Lets see; Monet in his black robe…the sunflower painting by Van Gogh…lavender fields..the game of the petanque…Absinthe…les cafes de Paris..Place Montmartre…Quartier Latin…Pigalle …Honfleur..Deauville…Gauguin..Tahiti and many others.
But what it really means is the artist’s life, whether poets, painter, musicians, actors etc and his lust for love, life and art. It also illustrates
somebody who is in charge of his life, free to go play golf or hike up Haleakala when ever it pleases him, free to be able to lay down his pencil or tool and “talk story” when been visited, free to work or have a lazy day, c’est ca la vie d’artiste.

Mayhem in Paradise

Posted on December 6, 2007

After the sunshine, the rain. In all my many years living in Hawaii, this is the first time, and I admit this readily, that I got scared. It all happened overnight, towards 3.00 AM. The wind suddenly picked up, doors started slamming, gusts of wind rolled down the valley like a thunder, whistling through the palm trees and our big albizia back in the yard. I could hear branches snapping off, empty buckets flying around the yard, and sheets of water falling from the black sky. The house was shaking. Blackout……
Where’s the flashlight, the emergency box. It was not the wind that scared me, or the thunder or lightning’s. But the visualization of this 110 foot albizia tree toppling over and falling over our house. It’s only a few days ago that I witnessed another albizia tree been uprooted by strong winds. The storm receded towards 4. 00 AM but the fright it created so suddenly would not let me go to sleep again until daylight, and when daylight came, things had moved, other things had come down and the entire valley looked like having been stricken by a hurricane. It became another long day in paradise without power, internet connection and what not.

A chicken story

Posted on October 6, 2007

The world is small. I had those 5 bantam chicks I needed to find a new place for because they consisted of 3 roosters and 2 hens, actually they were just 3 hens a day before but my neighbors hunting’ s dog made short, very short “schrift” of one of them….The 3 roosters were to much for my wife’s ear…who needs a good night’s sleep to be able to perform in her duty as a banker. I liked those roosters, especially Coco, the black one. Not so much Zebra, mind you, or Turkey. One of the hen was a kind of “silky’, fluffy white chick, very tame. I asked my daughter if she would not mind placing an add and some pictures about those poor hens and roosters onto Craigslist.  A la bonheur, it did not take long for my feathery family to find a potential Samaritan. What a luck considering that most roosters are ending their days in a fighting arena. Malia, I have to say, was the lady Samaritan, and if you ask me where she leaves I would have to tell you at some beautiful place in the mountains, surrounded by a goat, a miniature horse, many chicken, 2 belly pigs, and many other spoiled creatures. Malia lives nowhere else than in the beautiful, very sweet, romantic, selfsufficient little house my good friend John Gonczar build for his family in the Koolau Range. John left Oahu a few years ago and resides now near Seattle. You all know where John used to  and now Malia lives…its there where there is that large green pasture on the slope of the Koolau Range when you drive underneath the “Pineaple Road” bride on H2. Malia is the sweet and beautiful lady taking care of the elephant and other animals at the Honolulu Zoo.

Creativity or inspiration

Posted on September 19, 2007

Has it ever happened to you, when doing some carving, painting , even writing, that things flow just naturally in your mind or that your fingers do really what your mind wanted them to create.? I mean like the perfect brush stroke on a painting ? And it leaves you with awe at what you have just done so perfectly. It makes oneself very happy, extremely proud and somewhat amazed.

This happened to me a few days ago when carving an identical pair of what I call the funny faces of a Salomon Islands canoe, better known as nguzu-nguzu. I drew their profile onto the wood and cut them out to shape and sand. Wow..perfect. I was amazed.

Now, 2 days later I wanted to replicate those same funny faces and how come I could not do this anymore  ? I had to start 3 times until I got it more or less identical to the previous ones. It frustrated me and reminded me of something I read one day about the work of an artist painter “Its those first strokes that are the most inspiring”

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