UKRAINE-IN LENT

 

Why is the subject of the Pieta so meaningful during Lent? It allows the viewer to enter into and experience the suffering of both Jesus and Mary. It reminds us that Jesus and Mary both knew first hand what it is to suffer. Their union is visible, they are still one despite the loss. This is how we should approach loss and suffering, as a way to bring people closer together. 

In this image we see Mary as the focus as she mourns over the corpse of Jesus. In some works she may have the body on her lap or in her arms. This is a counterpoint to the Madonna and Child. Mary never abandons herself to her grief; she retains her composure, her serenity.

The image is as surprisingly serene as it is heart-wrenching, but also invites feelings of hope and anticipation.

It is why we have been so concerned for and with the people of the Ukraine in their plight. This relationship teaches us that  suffering is not the end- the resurrection is.

 (Icon: Lyubov Yatskiv- Ukraine)

PIETA- UKRAINE

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has caused tens of thousands of deaths on both sides and instigated Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. To commemorate, we start Lent with the theme of PIETA, and illustrate with the oldest known image of the Pieta in the Ukraine.

This Pieta is a Mosaic in Holy Assumption Pechersk Lavra Cathedra, in  Kiev Ukraine. It is the oldest Ortordox Monastery in Ukraine and Russia, dating from 1051.

(Photos: William Perry)

When we think of the term “Pieta”, most of us automatically call to mind Michelangelo’s famous Pieta in the Vatican, but  this Lamentation is an ancient theme in Christian art.

The word Pieta means “Pity” or “Compassion,” and represents the Virgin Mary cradling the body of her Son Jesus in her arms as He is taken down from the Cross. The image is often so poignant that we are invited to meditate on this moment of tenderness and grief  with Mary who sorrowfully contemplates the dead body of her Son which she holds on her lap.

The ability to capture the physical suffering of Christ and the emotional suffering of Mary is a sorrowful scene, but one that gives the promise of hope and redemption.  We continue our prayers for the people of the Ukraine that their sufferings may soon end. May the strength and serenity of our Mother be with her people in these dark times, and may they soon know peace.

A BISHOP MOURNED

 

As we start into Lent a Community mourns the loss of their Bishop, The Most Reverend David O’Connell, Episcopal Vicar of the San Gabriel Pastoral Region. 

 In his statement, Archbishop Gomez said Bishop O'Connell will be remembered as “a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother.”

 "He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected."

 "May Our Lady of Guadalupe wrap him in the mantle of her love, and may the angels lead him into paradise, and may he rest in peace."

THE WARMTH OF THE EUCHARIST

Having returned from Hawaii, just in time for Lent, I am reminded that we are in the middle of the three year Eucharistic Revival set forth by the bishops of our country to counteract the surprising fact that less than 40% of professed Catholics believe in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The poll was taken in 2019, just six months before the pandemic hit the world.  One wonders what the number of believers would be today?

                                          Sunrise over Mauna Kea- The Big Island  

Sitting in the warm Hawaiian sun which for me is so healing- having grown up in southern California, I suppose i have always been a sun "worshiper". Being back in the cold, damp Northwest, I long for warmer days, but know that the healing rays of Jesus in the Eucharist are far more effective that the brightest, warmest sun. The Eucharist nourishes, maintains and restores love in our soul. The Eucharist is the only way to keep our souls healthy. 

In receiving the Eucharist, we bring our helplessness and pains to Jesus, asking Him to touch our body and our hearts, to give us the strength we bear what we feel we cannot of ourselves. We ask Him to touch our woundedness, our weaknesses, our infidelities, our sin, and all that keeps us from a relationship with Him and His graces of joy and love.

This Lent I shall try to focus on all the graces daily given from receiving His Body and Blood, and pray for all who do not believe in  the healing warmth of His Presence.

TALKING IN HAWAII

 When I was growing up, we always had some species of talking bird, but the one I remember best, was Fagan, my Father's MYNA BIRD. In gleaning information about this species, it seems like the world would greatly  benefit if all mynas were kept in captivity, as much as I hate to see any species caged.

This bird, also known as the Common Myna or Indian Myna, is one of the three most invasive bird species in the world. (Starlings and red-vented bulbuls the other two).

Mynas pose a threat to biodiversity, agriculture, human interests and damage ecosystems. They out-compete native birds for food and nesting sites and they are aggressive, displacing other species.

In cities and urban areas they nest in gutters and drainpipes, causing damage to building exteriors.

This species of myna so common in Hawaii, is a native of India and Pakistan and a member of the starling family. I find them a handsome bird with the yellow patch behind the eye and yellow legs. They are gregarious and pair for life.

But the most interesting thing about them is perhaps their ability to reproduce sounds, including human  speech when in captivity. They are very intelligent birds and can learn up to 100 words. They are only 2nd to the gray parrot in copying human speech. As  my Mother found with her talking birds, it takes repetition and patience- a lot of patience.

HAWAII'S ELEGANT PREDATOR

 As much as I love to see the stark white CATTLE EGRETS with their livestock, as we drive by the vast green pasture lands of the Big island, I read they are nest predators, stealing eggs and chicks of native birds, namely the Hawaiian duck (Koloa), Hawaiian stilt (Aeo), Hawaiian moorhen (Alae ula), and Hawaiian  coot (Alae Keokeo).

Yes, they do keep the flies, ticks and insects down, but there is more to the story. The egret, native of Africa and Asia, were introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in 1959 by the Board of Agriculture and Forestry, in conjunction with local cattle ranchers to try and combat flies that were affecting cattle herds. Flies were responsible for low weight gain in the cattle as well as damaged hides.

The original intent was to use the birds as biological control agents, but instead these birds have joined the long list of introduced species, that having failed their original objective, have caused a bigger problem, ie. disruption to indigenous fauna.

Since 2017 the cattle egrets have been culled, and while this elegant bird provides a service to the livestock, its relationship to endemic species remains problematic.

As we drive we can see the elegant birds with the dark cattle, by the dozens, and sometimes they are seen on the back of horses, donkeys, goats, and even sheared sheep.

PINK BILL

 

This morning while walking in the garden, I spotted two  birds I knew but had not seen in almost 60 years. The  JAVA SPARROW is another one of those birds whose name does not denote the species. It is actually a finch, not a sparrow, and what immediately  draws ones eyes to the bird is the bright pink bill. There is also a distinctive white cheek patch on the black head.

Another name for this bird is Java Rice Bird, as it does comes from Java (and Bali) and lives in the rice fields. They are also found in grasslands, meadows and urban areas.

While native to far realms of the world, it can now be found everywhere, as it has been  favorite cage bird, which of course escapes into the wilds. In the USA, they are found in Hawaii.

This bird is another example of those estrildid finches (remember that word from the African Silverbill?) and while seemingly small, it may be the largest species in the estrildid family.

It is known to be a gregarious bird, usually in flocks, but what I am seeing here now, is mating season, hence many birds in pairs.

These birds have appeared in Chinese art from Ming Dynasty and 17th Century Japan. Unfortunately, they have been considered an agriculture pest due to rice cultivation in far east, so have been hunted and eradicated and are now considered a critically endangered species, with about 10,000 left.  I was most fortunate to see them again!

Japanese print- Hokusai (1760-1849)

ANOTHER HAWAIIAN NON-FINCH

 

Another little bird that is commonly found in the yard here, is also called finch but in truth is not. That bright yellow bird, mostly found in pairs, has a saffron colored crown, and is referred to as the SAFFRON FINCH, but it is really a tananger. The female is slightly paler, so it is hard to tell them apart.

This bird is found all over South America, but was introduced into other areas, such as Hawaii, when they, like so many of the colorful birds here, escaped from cages.

Introduced to the Big Island in1965, the bird loves short grassy areas along the coast, as well as open lawns. Sometime it is referred to as a canary but is no relation.  Tanangers come from the New World and canaries from the Old World.

Photo- Clive Daelman

BACKYARD BIRDING IN HAWAII

One of my favorite birds, I see daily in the yard here is the AFRICAN SILVERBILL. A bird as common as sparrows at home. It is a small estrildid finch. These small passerines are not true finches as we know them, like our purple finch, goldfinch, etc. but are rather birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. Other birds I see here that are in this category are munias and mannikins.

It is by nature a bird of dry country- which is why it thrives in Hawaii, yet lives by the dozens in the lush yard here.

It is a tame bird, which is why it lets me pick it up when it flies into the sunroom and can't find its way out. It is also sociable, living in large flocks, which accounts for the great numbers found in this yard.

They feed mainly on grass seeds but I also see them with the fluffy seed masses that fall from the ornamental palm trees in the yard.

THE EXAMPLE OF SAINTS- A PRAYER IN HAWAII

Bishop Larry Silva of the Diocese of Honolulu (which includes all the islands), gave the people this prayer for the Covid-19 corona virus pandemic, which we prayed Sunday:

Dear God of all the living, you sent Your Son Jesus to heal us from illness and sin. We turn to His healing power in this time of anxiety over the pandemic of this potentially deadly virus.

St. Damien and St. Marianne Cope dedicated their lives to the service of those who had an infectious disease. St. Marianne said, "I am not afraid of any disease", because she was confident of Your power to save. At the same time, she took prudent precautions of hygiene to assure that she and her Sisters would not be infected.

Let us learn from this example to put our trust in You to save us from the ravages of disease and take prudent measures to prevent spread. Guide us to know when to isolate ourselves from the possibility of infection, but never let anyone be left without care and concern of others in the community.
 

As our Diocese of Honolulu has been dedicated to the Divine Mercy, we pray with confidence "Jesus, I trust in You."  Saints Damien and Marianne pray for us!

'OHANA IN THE CHURCH

 When one is in Hawaii long enough one hears the term 'OHANA, which is the term for family. Not only does it mean blood-related but also adoptive and intentional, which includes neighbors and community.

The root of the word 'oka refers to the root or corm of the taro plant which is the "staff of life" in Hawaii.  The word is imbued with loyalty,  support, compassion, and love. It is a great honor to be part of an 'ohana and it means you will never be forgotten or left behind. We actually have no equivalent word in English

One feels the 'ohana in the Church here, perhaps more than in large Churches on the mainland. The Church here seems to be more united into the family of God, and this could be because the Hawaiian people have not yet forgotten the true meaning of family.

The Church incorporates the true meaning of ALOHA- a way of life in harmony, balance and treating others with love respect, trust, and support. Is it because life is slower and people take more time to savor life and friendship?`````````````````````

Whenever I return here, and it has been five years, I am treated as a member of the 'ohana in the church. Last Sunday we went to the windward side of the island for Mass, with the priest who had been pastor here my first three visits. He now has three small parishes, two of which are missions. The one we attended has about 40 parishioners. Even though I knew no one, I was immediately  incorporated into the 'ohana.

Then this past Sunday we went to another small church, which was not only celebrating the Mass, but also the feast of the parish's patroness, Our Lady of Lourdes. Again  the priest and people accepted me as one of their own acknowledging my place in the Church as a religious but also a member of their family.

'

Our Lady of Lourdes, Hanaka'a

HAWAIIAN ARTIST AWARE OF LOST TREASURES

 The artist DAVID K.HAYES, whose art is special for reasons beyond its beauty, was born and raised in Hawaii. He graduated from St. Louis High School in Honolulu and received a BA from  University of Hawaii in 1985. 

His great love of cross-country backpacking and exploration of  much of Hawaii's most remote places has given him the  knowledge of native and introduced species.

He is fully aware of the impact on flora and fauna of introduced species, which has altered ecology of the islands over centuries.

He captures a species interaction within its established environment.  He calls his work "widlfife art". He aims to portray the uniqueness and diversity of the  Hawaiian ecological system.

I find his work amazing, as not only are the birds so finely painted, but they are captivating in the context of their home.

Pictures:

Top- Hawaii creeper (in doing these Blogs I try to place only birds found on the Big Island)

Bottom:  Poster of the lost birds of Hawaii- I am trying to track down one here in Waimea.

RELATED FRIENDS- HAWAIIAN ROOTS

 While I have been birding in Hawaii in the past 8 years with several guides, I have one who is a good friend and whose family we have known for 45 years. His Mother gave us our first Highland cattle- two bred females.  While born and raised in Hawaii, the family still has farm property in the San Juans.

The other day, in the midst of howling trade winds (I see now why so many have gone mad in the tropics), THANE PRATT and his wife Linda came to get me from their home in Volcano- a four hour round trip. We saw few birds due to the high winds, but had a great visit.

While I know Thane to be a very kind man, ornithologists know him as the author of the book on the birds of New Guinea. He is also a noted bird conservationist with a focus on the tropical Pacific, which includes islands far from Hawaii.

But the topic of this Blog is not his work but rather what a small world we live in.  When I first visited Waimea in 2015, I went to the local museum (The Isaacs Center) and soon discovered the director is the aunt of my sheep shearer, who lives on Orcas- the island next to Shaw.

Then our closest neighbor, their property is next to our upper hay fields, had a great uncle who was famous in Hawaii for his art, some of which hangs in the above mentioned museum. (Blog 2015- Howard Hitchcock)

Yesterday in speaking to Thane I asked when his ancestors came over from Massachusetts as missionaries, only to discover that our neighbor and he are related through those early ancestors. Both their mothers were born in Hawaii (as was Thane). What a coincidence if the two women knew each other? They were the same generation.

Painting: Howard Hitchcock- ancestor of Thane and Ned- Manoa Valley, where I used to live many years ago

MORE "FAVORITE" BIRDS OF HAWAII

 

When I started doing some of the artists of the Big Island, I kept saying, "this is my favorite", only to decide that I have many " favorites".  

One is JOHN D. DAWSON, who like me is a native Californian. Born and raised in San Diego, he graduated from the Art Center School in  Los  Angeles  (now the Art Center College of Art and Design).

He worked in advertising while doing his art and fortunately for us, he moved on to art full time.`````````

Of all the artists who work on this island, he is perhaps the best known having had major assignments from the US Postal Service (for 30 years), the United Nations, Audubon, National Geographic Society  & NG Magazine, University of Hawaii, etc.``````````````

He and his wife have  lived in Hilo for over 22 years.

Pictures:

Top- 'Apapane & 'I'iwi on Lehua (flower from the Ohi'a tree- food sourse for both species)

Bottom- Pueo

Would be interesting to do a  Blog of one species and see how different artists treat the same bird. I never tire of seeing how artists render their vision of the above owl.

BIRDS OF HAWAII- A FAVORITE ARTIST

 For me,  no one paints the birds of Hawaii quite like MARIAN BERGER, who lives and works in Volcano Village.  She was born in Limerick, Ireland. Her father was a meterologist who gave her a love of science.

She spent part of her early childhood in Alaska where she learned to love the great outdoors. From her mother she learned to love the arts.  

"I assumed that art was a natural part of life, a way that everyone expressed themselves."

She graduated from Humbolt State in California with a degree in wildlife management, moving to the Big Island in 1976.  She worked as a dental assistant and studied rats, but continued her art work.

She has had exhibitions at Volcano Art Gallery Center and has won many awards.

Pictures: 

    Top: Palilia- found only on the slopes of Mauna Kea in mamane-naio forest

          Middle: Hawaiian Crow (Alala)- now extinct in the wild- few left in captivity. 

                Bottom:  'IO- Hawaiian Hawk A symbol of royalty in Hawaiian Legend)             

                                                                              

 

DISNEY BIRDS?

 Another painter of colorful birds, tho I am not sure he ever made it to the Hawaiian Islands, was STARK (WINTHROP STARK) DAVIS.

Born in Boston in 1885, he later moved to Chicago, finally ending in California,  where he worked for Disney Animations Studios in Los Angeles and Burbank. (One of our neighbors when I was a child also worked in these studios).

Stark Davis was known for vivid, precise and imaginative works (one could not have worked at Disney in those early years without imagination) of birds, and some feel because of his work as a commercial artist and illustrator, he was not recognized as the fine, imaginative and original painter he was.

He is considered an impressionist as well as modernist (Art Deco). In later years he moved north to Morro Bay, dying in 1950.

SANDWICH ISLANDS BIRDS BY AN ENGLISHMAN

 Some of the earliest paintings of the birds of the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) were done by an Engkishman, FREDERICK WILLIAM FROHAWK. He was born in Norfolk in 1861        and showed an aptitude for drawing, as well as a love of natural history in childhood. He was mainly home schooled, but in his college years he contracted typhus, which rendered him nearly blind in one eye.

His love was butterflies and for over 20 years he bred every species in Britain. At one point he needed extra money and sold his collection to Lord Walter Rothchild for 1,000 pounds. This collection is now part of the Rothchild collection in the Natural History Museum of London.`

I cannot find when he came to Hawaii to draw the native birds but the books were in 8 parts, being published from 1890- 99.

He died in 1946 in Surrey.

Paintings: Top- 'I'iw        Left-  Common 'Amakihi

MORE HAWAIIAN WOMEN

 

Amazing how many women painters after Madge and Cornelia have focused their work on Hawaiian women. No less talented then the  previous artists is PEGGE HOPPER, who brings her own style to this art.

She was born in Oakland, CA in 1935 and studied at the Art Center of Design in Pasadena. She then went to work in New York and later Milan, but moved to Hawaii in 1963.

She was inspired by photos of Hawaiian women she saw in King Kalakaua's collection at the State Archives. She saw in these women strength, totally self-actualized. She then started to paint them.

For years she had her own gallery in Honolulu, which she sold in 2019 at the age of 88. For me, her art is modern, fresh, vibrant, and yet portrays the dignity of woman.

And I think she loved cats!

HAWAIIAN WOMEN- IN A TRADITION

SUSAN MCGOVNEY HANSON was born in California, educated at UCLA and the Art Center School of Design (as did John D. Dawson) moving to Hawaii in 1963, where she lied on the windward side of O'ahu. (Our family kept horses over there- one used to reach it by going over the Pali from Honolulu.)

Susan, like Madge Tennent and Cornelia MacIntyre Foley, was noted  for her Hawaiian women.

"My paintings portray the strength, grace and gentleness of the Hawaiians honoring their culture with dignity and respect.

 She died in 2011 leaving a great body of work honoring the Hawaiian people and their life.

Paintings:

    Top- Ipu Sunset

     2nd - Wahine Wa'a

     3rd - Conversation in Purple

     Bottom- Trio Conversation

THE SPIRIT OF ALOHA

 An amazing  Hawaiian artist I just found, died in 2008 at the age of 62 of ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease.

PEGGY CHUN was diagnosed in 2002 at the height of her fame as a watercolorist. deciding this dread disease would not take over her life. A year after her initial diagnosis she could no longer paint with her right hand so started using her left. Another year passes and she can no longer use either hand, so painted with the brush held between her teeth.

Many years ago, when a pre-med student, I worked in the largest rehab center in the USA, and saw first hand how post polio patients did the same thing. One young man even used his feet.

When the disease had taken over and she was now paralyzed, Peggy used a computer program which tracked her eye movements.

She never stopped: you don't paint with your hands, you paint with your heart". Not only did she paint with the Aloha spirit, she lived it!

I especially love the whimsical quality of the bottom two paintings.

Middle: Day Off from the Dairy- Hawaiian Snorkling Cow (Bipi Whine) in Lahaina Town

Bottom: Dinner at Seven- Hawaiian Fish Feast- Marine Life Sea Banquet in

Lahaina

WOODS OF HAWAII & ARTISTS

 I arrived here just in time for the annual wood show.  My last visit was also wood show time.  The woods of Hawaii are special, but what some the artists can do with the wood is no less than magical!

There are more than 30 wood species on the Big Island alone. Ten of 14 world climate zones are here, so the variety of woods to choose from for artists is great.

The most used, and most widespread native Hawaiian wood is KOA (Acacia), the largest of all native trees,  found only in Hawaii. The word koa means also brave, fearless or warrier, from the fact the ancients used this wood to make weapons and canoes.

This beautiful, richly colored, reddish wood is similar in strength and weight to black walnut. The tree grows 20-25 years before it is useful.  In the wood show we saw the most gorgeous furniture, such as tables and chests, some carved, others plain and modern with an Asian flair.

As I said in an earlier Blog on the reforestration of Hakalau refuge, koa is being planted where lands have been damaged by decades of use by cattle. Koa is one a few Hawaiian plants able to germinate in grassland.

Other woods we saw in the show were Milo ( a shade tree found along the coastline), mango, sugi (known as Japanese red cedar), jacaranda (my favorite tree growing up) and monkey pod (like jacaranda, a flowering tree in the pea family).

Why, do you ask, am I doing a Blog on trees/wood? Because without the trees our feathered friends would have no place to live or food to eat and very talented artists would have no materials with which to create, and they are a part of the lush landscape of Hawaii.