What a Relief! Chapter 4: But First...Cherries.

There was a pause after "Ladies in Waiting" in early June. I guess you could say this lady was waiting for inspiration to strike. I'd planned on one more in this series before I begin larger sizes and switch to oil based inks. I had a few subjects in mind but no eureka moments. I continued to wait on "the one" until while on an evening walk in early July it was revealed. 

For about 5 years I was the event director for the Holualoa Coffee and Art Stroll where local coffee farmers were hosted by Art Galleries and storefronts for coffee tasting. For another 5 years I assisted on a coffee farm, walking down the rows of trees in every season and witnessing the whole pain-staking process of what it takes to get that dark rich pour of happiness in your cup every morning. 

2/3 of Americans drink coffee but I wonder how many know what coffee beans look like before they are roasted or even that they are inside fruit? 

The ripe fruit are called "cherries". They look a little like crab apples but oval. Wait, do you know what crab apples are? They look like table grapes but not translucent. They grow off the branches of the tree in little clusters and while they ripen they change colors. Many Many colors! Kona coffee beans do not ripen all at once and one branch could have many color/ripening stages on it. This is one of the reasons hand-picking is crucial here. Beginning with green, they begin to change to peaches, pinks, reds, yellows, magentas and wines. The cherries are hand picked when they've changed to the reds but not too dark. Inside each cherry are two beans that look just like a roasted coffee bean only they are ivory. The cherries skin and pulp are removed, and the beans are dried, then the hull/parchment is removed revealing a green bean which is then roasted. 

I composed from several photos I took, but one branch in particular was showing nearly ALL the colors. And I'm all about ALL the colors. It showed the beginning to the end in all it's coffee cherry glory. And with that I found "my one". 

Though in black and white, they did look like a branch of 'Boobs"

I began with a green, a bit bright, a bit lime. 

Next I tried a metallic gold, and this was my first time to use a metallic. It placed as my branch brown as I didn't want to use brown and stood in for the yellowish green of the fruit. 

Layer 3 was going to be a peach but it came out brick orange on top of the metallic, and also filled in parts of the green veins of the leaves, which I was not excited about. I decided I needed to finish the leaves and carve them out before the red and red adjacent mixing began. Layer 3 was switched to the dark green and I tried (also for the first time) masking off the cherry section with a piece of parchment paper. 

To get back to the red family, I began layer 4 with a light peachy pink. 

Followed by bell pepper red. 

 

Then Scarlett red...the "pick me pick me's" of the group.

And ending with layer 7, a deep merlot. 

The cherries just past their prime but they are still hanging on. 

After it was finished I laid them out to dry for a couple of hours on long pieces of recycled costco boxes that are laid across my dad's table saws, then I hang them up doe a couple of days. If I go straight to the hang, I've found they curl and it takes much longer to flatten them out later. If I leave them flat, the wind will eventually blow them to the dirty ground, OR and much more likely, one of the wild cats will walk across them, leaving kitty pawprint evidence. 

I choose not to do a full green background of leaves and yet the white was looking unfinished to me. I didn't know how to finish so I put it on pause and started carving a new piece. 

My "oopsies" on the sidelines.

I came back to it in August and had the idea of faint, more shadow-like branches. Since this is a reduction print there is no block left, so I transferred the designs to the back of a previous block. I traced the branch of cherries over first so I'd know what space I had to work with. I came up with 3 different ones and the placement.  I placed my pencil branches face down on the block and rubbed the graphite on. That was when I realized how much carving I'd need to do to keep only these 3 tiny branches.

With fine lines, it's very easy to slip and tear them off. Flooded by excitement when this did not happen and I was also able to cut very tiny cherries. I fell in art love with these tiny branches but I was having a hard time with the color choice. I started with black, nope. Very dark green, nope. Then I changed directions with a Mint green...nope. The tones were all wrong. Frustrated and all my "test ones" used up, but I refused to be defeated. I wanted these branches to work somehow and everything was saying no no no. I put the piece on pause again. 

Desiring to finish in August, I pulled out the yellow, blue and black once more. And I prayed for a green. As I began mixing this time, the right green came. hallelujah! 

"But first...Cherries"

7 Color Layers Plus 1 color Additional Block / Edition of 27

The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival events begin November 6th -15th, 2026 with a Parade downtown Kona at 6pm. Followed by Miss Kona Coffee Competition, KTA Recipe Contest, Concerts, Barista Training, Latte Art Showcase, Half-Marathon, Cupping Competitions and more. 

The Holualoa Coffee and Art Stroll is November 7th, 2026 9am-2pm 

It totally worked, like totally - DIY Corsage with Scrunchie and Tropical Flowers

 I'm in the midst of composing a new relief and though the flower is clearly a vertical, the best bits are comprised in the middle. I'm struggling in the decision to work it as a landscape instead. When pencils aren't leading to yes yes yes, I take a pause. I'll catch up on some little things that have popped out of the creative recesses recently. 

My friend Mary's 80th birthday was last month. Knowing she'd be throughly garnished with leis and undoubtably a flower crown, I had the idea to make a corsage. I have made leis, flower crowns and boutonnieres but never a corage. On the way home from buying floral tape at the local hardware store (we don’t have a craft store anymore) I had the idea to make a scrunchie for the wrist part. Immediately following that thought, using the removable top of the cardamon spice jar I just finished off as the "frog". Supplies:

I cut a strip of fabric from the Sarahs Handmade Christmas project leftovers. I had elastic left from the custom mask making of 2020. The hardest part really was building the time machine to get me back to 1987.  After I sewed the rad fabric and turned it inside out, it was time for this like major safety pin on the end of the elastic strip to pull through the totally tubular fabric followed by sewing the ends together. And I had a stretchy bracelet for my fresh bouquet. 

I picked a number of little flowers from the garden. The big white ones (white ginger) though super delicate were used because they are also super fragrant. You smell that flower before you see it. They were the biggest gamble as the little stems are like tissue paper. At first it seemed like this was the best idea ever. But after wrapping the stems they no longer fit through the holes...so I started over and wrapped them after fitting through the holes which - double duty - prevented them from falling out the top when you turned it. Bitchin! However...I couldn't reach all of them without damaging others....I needed some glue. The only glue I could think of that dried fast was the hot glue gun. My mom was convinced that would cause the flowers to immediate wilt or fall apart. The internet read it would only work with a low heat gun and NOT straight from the gun. Ugh, that’s bogus and gag me with a spoon. But I figured the internet is never wrong and I should follow it blindly. Psych! I needed it to come straight from the gun and that gun was high heat, possibly “industrial”. Therefore, I proceeded to glue the crap out of it and it totally worked. Like Totally. Human 1 - A.I. 0

I planned to sew the plastic froggie to the scrunchie but I'd glued up all my holes, lame, soooo I glued that on too. Hey, It only needed to look rad for a few hours. I popped it in the fridge until we left for the party. I'm happy to report it made it to me putting it on her wrist! :) And an hour later it was still on..mostly. Not all the ginger petals made it through the dancing portion of the evening but I didn't expect them too. This is why they use roses and babies breath...much hardier stems to wrap. Happy Birthday to the totally Bodacious Mary! 

While pulling out the left over elastic, I looked through my leftover assortment of mask fabrics. Mostly whimsical because…2020. As my hair gets longer and longer, and outside gets hotter and hotter…it's put up more and more.  Maybe I need a scrunchie for "when I wash my face". Because it totally reminded me of the Ron Livingston episode of Sex and the City. I could have picked something understated and try to force chic something that's just not, in ANY fabric but I went another direction. It knows that it is and it's confident about it. Birdie was very interested in the scunchie making and watched every step very carefully as if she was going to make hers next. 

Studious Birdie

Renaissance Birdie

What a Relief! Chapter 3: Marica x3 and Ladies in Waiting

What a Relief! Series (so far) on display at Kohala Coast Fine Art, Hilton Waikoloa Kings' Shops, Big Island Hawaii FB Page / Insta

Welcome back if you are following along in this art journey. If not, here are 

Part Two  and  Part One .

I wanted to create a hibiscus next but not a typical red, yellow or white. There's a very strangely colored hibiscus in my parent's neighborhood. It's enormous and in shades of lavender blue and sherbet orange with a fuchsia center. She's extra and a perfectly odd choice. I also wanted to try carving out the background to change up what I'd done so far with flowers. 

After carving out the background, I started with a bright lemon yellow followed by orange.

Very early on this was reminding me of the Brady's set and the daughters late 60's early 70's wardrobes, and it was quickly named "Marcia Marcia Marcia".  Next color, bubble gum pink. 

Final Layer of the flowers before the leaf colors. The periwinkle blue or lavender blue (dilly dilly). I was a little scared at this point that perhaps I had made an ick color scheme mistake. 

But when the avocado green saturated into it, I loved it yet again. 

Going through my photos for this one I somehow missed documenting the mixing of the two green layers. I think I was rinsing my tools in the sink when I remembered. Shoot! 

"Marcia Marcia Marcia"

6 Color Layers / Edition of 11

The next block began in another composition in May and titled "All the Single Ladies" with a carved out background and each flower apart. I liked the colors but not the ladies apart, it was just too much negative space around them. It no longer looked like a reduction but separate carvings put together. So "All the Single Ladies" became "Ladies in Waiting" in June, I started over with a new block and new composition, I added their leaves and put the ladies together in a garden. Because aren't we waiting together? I'm not all by myself, I've got ladies around me and extra foliage now too. 

I began with the torch ginger as it has white lined petals. And PINK, which I realize now that some close shade of this had made it into every relief accept "In Florescent". 

Orange was next because it's a key color in the Parrot Beak heliconia. I decided to trim the Caribaea Heliconia as well. Sure the one in our garden is trimmed in yellow but...artistic license. Also because I was omitting yellow on this one. 

The third layer was bright red. Now this shouldn't be the next layer because it's difficult to cover and I had a lot of layers to go. However the Torch, being trimmed in white, will fill in with all the other colors making red difficult later, so it was a judgement call. 

Because I just shot myself in the foot, color mixing wise, by using this bright, I just cut my finger with my fancy Japanese carving tool Red. I actually did do that on this one, my FIRST cut and thank God it was not the deepest. Quick rinse, peroxide and waterproof Band-Aid and I was back in the wood working room with a sharp blade in hand. 

I decided to go with Mint Green next which kind of gave me a blank slate for the next two greens... Also I really like this mint green. It will make a more best supporting role in a future piece. And let's be real, probably alongside pink. 

Art Deco Green and Kelly Green. 

I never do this one-handed! ;p

The leaves and stocks of the Torch leaves are a deep wine purple. 

Think Malbec. I realized I'd be shooting myself yet again if I went with it next but I needed the background color to be last and I needed a wine red (think Pinot) to be after the purple because of the big Anthurium and the Torch stock. 

THIS WAS A VERY COMPLICATED ONE.  

Much like Marcia 3X at this stage I thought...ought oh. As much as I like Wine, I was not liking it in this piece. Totally feeling Jan. I mixed up several colors that absolutely did not work with this red being beneath it. So before I got too frustrated, I stopped, cleaned all my tools and slept on it. The next morning I looked at my test ones and didn't like any of them. I prayed about it and waited for a knowing. There were no tests ones left to experiment on. I wanted a dark green for the background but the previous greens had not covered the red. One even made it very close to the previous purple. But even though it appeared like it would not work, I tried again, mixing up a very bright green then adding a smidge of black. 

And Hallelujah, it covered the red! And Finished, 9 colors later. The most layers of any of my previous reliefs...so far. 

      "Ladies in Waiting"

         9 Color Layers / Edition of 22

Gallery BTS…Laying the framed collection on the floor to arrange the wall layout. 

What a Relief! Chapter 2: In Florescent She Carried a Torch

I was born smack dab in the middle of the continental united states then catapulted to the world’s most remote island chain. Such was the bold contrasts and experiences I fought against in my youth and gravitated toward as I got older. As a photographer, I learned the art of composition. As an art restorer and resin jewelry creator, color theory. Culminating in the adventure into one of my favorite collected mediums, the block printmaking process of relief. And the challenges and surprises of reduction reliefs. 

What a Relief part two… 

While walking the mastiff around the property in my pajamas in the early Am mist I stumbled upon my next subject. And I had to begin immediately. This has been the beginning of each process so far. I see something and I have to carve it that moment. There has been no “hmm I’ll think about it”.  I see it and start that day. 

What had captured me was the lily white and cream bloom of a monstera and the bundle of fruit beside it. If you haven't tasted the corn on the cob looking fruit of the monstera, it tastes exactly like pineapple and banana mixed together. Some fruit flavors shouldn't be mixed together.

The hooded part is actually called “the inflorescence” which holds the spadex of tiny blooms. Inflorescence, from Latin inflorescere “to come to flower, to begin to bloom”.

I began by carving the hood then the spadex. The first two colors, cream and lemon yellow were barely visible on the paper. 

Next I carved out what would remain lemon yellow and inked up a lime green. 

I carved out what would remain light green then inked up a sky blue.

 

Dry time in between layering color.

Next I carved out the background and inked up a kelly green. I was quite ecstatic with these colors. Kind of amazing all the colors you can create from just using blue and yellow. 

After Kelly, I mixed up a darker version for the 7th and final layer. But after sitting with it awhile I decided to embellish the spadex with a little painting. You could see the different layers really close up, but hanging on the wall it looked like a white circle in the middle of the monstera leaves. It needed a little oomph. I added some shadow and detail to the spadex.

Title “In Florescent”

  (“bursting into bloom”).

7 layers of color Plus embellishment, Edition of 11

The torch ginger was always going to be part of this series. When you cut a flower and carry it, it’s hard not to run and pretend you're carrying the Olympic torch. We have two patches of torch ginger on the property. Gorgeous and dramatic are all stages of the 'Etlinger Elatior' named after a botanist and the Latin word for ''tall'. Creative like our wild cats Mama Kitty and White Foot.

Every petal is outlined in white, it was made for carving. London and I discovered Pink ones on one of our adventures last year. Barbie pink. They didn’t look real. And apparently they also come in white?!?! I haven’t seen those in person yet. 

Though some ginger are ornamental, these are actually edible, comparable to lemongrass. I don’t think I’ve tried them. They are popular in Thai cuisine though so maybe I have and just didn’t know it. I also read a case study in the National Library of Medicine where they found extracts from the white one stimulated collagen production and wound healing and extract from the red had a number of anti-aging effects. Incredible! 

And who of you by worrying can add one hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothes? See how the lilies and wildflowers of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin wool, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory and splendor dressed himself like one of these. Matthew 6:27-29

After carving out what would remain white, I mixed up a fruit punch pink. 

Only a portion of the buds would be pink then it was on to red…strawberry? Or perhaps Supergirl red. 

I now had to switch to greens but throwing a bright green on top now would not be a pretty mixture so instead I tried sage/army green first, since the stocks have some. 

Now I could switch to bright green for the surrounding foliage. 

I thought about doing all greens but then created this fabulous blue somewhere between an Azure and Cerulean and said yes.

Title “She Carried a Torch” 

8 color layers, Edition of 11

Next up "Marcia Marcia Marcia" and the currently in progress "Ladies in Waiting". Art is imitating life. Come back soon!