Sakada (Pick Axe,) Sakada (Machete,) cut plexiglas, 48"x 48"

Traditionally, Hawaiian quilt makers look to nature for inspiration; local foliage, such as Ulu and Kalo are favorites. The tradition honors plant-life, but never the individuals who tend to our local landscapes, gardens, agricultural fields, or their related economies. As such, this project is meant to credit and make visible these historically invisible workers.

Terno (dress): yellow PVC sheeting, sequins, and beads. Barong (shirt) and trousers: plastic trash bag sheeting. “Hand bag:” rubber latex cleaning gloves, plastic bucket, feather duster, toilet bowl scrubber, hand-held scrubber. Portraits of vegetation: portrait frames, pressed marungay cutting and pressed patia cutting, adhesive.

The Hawaiian Heirloom jewelry style owes its island-based popularity to Queen Lili‘uokalani who received her first bracelet in 1887 at Queen Victoria's Jubilee in London. The terms I chose to 'cut' into these virtual bracelets comment on my experience as a local-girl returning to Hawaii after being away for many years: "Traitor," "S.H.A.M.E.," "Stuck," "Longing."