It was really hard working on these pots but we worked really diligently. This was the table for those with less experience (the others went straight to the wheel). We built up with coils and I am working on my very lopsided pot alongside Lisa' sister Susanne, who made a lid for hers since she will use it to make kimchi.
This was the end of the first day, which is why I've wrapped my pot so it doesn't dry. Day two was so hot! I was really wilting but we had fun decorating in the late afternoon. My pot and slip were not dry enough to do good inlay but I was able to add a few animals (turtle, snake, and duck) to the lip of my pot, which Donkey Mill will bisque and then Lisa and Kevin will have to live with my pot before we decide next steps. I'm happy for it to go back to the land and know not to get attached to the first pot but it was a great experience.
Once all the workshop excitement ended, we eased into a one big outing a day kind of week, which was a good balance. While I would have loved to never look at my email/computer, I had enough headspace to not worry about it as much as at home, and two really smart people to bounce ideas off of (I turned down two teaching gigs for 2023 this week and it was much easier to do it while in a very spacious capacity). One of my favorite visits was to Beach 69, which is another location for unexploded ordinances. I didn't realize there was so much military training on this island where they left all this crap behind for locals to deal with.
Many of the places where the water meets the land are rocky but this is a wonderful beach because of all the natural shade, big trees, and how quiet it is (less tourists).
This is turning the other direction from the last shot. The rocks here remind me of Jeju Island in Korea.
The sandy area further down has amazingly clear water and while I could only get my feet in, it was amazing to see this driftwood. I assumed humans were making sculptures but Lisa reminded me that the tide was super low and so this is usually all submerged, just how the trees fell and/or died/washed up.
Then we drove a bit further to access Puako bay between private homes (all beaches are public and have to have access even if it means cutting thru private property). Lisa knew there would be turtles and aside from these two there was one more on the black rocks to the right (outside of the frame). Sunset was magnificent.
The next day we went to the summit of Maunakea. I felt a little conflicted about doing this because of all the issues around constantly building on and trampling over sacred land, but was so curious about the experience.
I didn't really understand from below, where it was cloudy, that we were rising up past the clouds.
I had also heard already about the way everyone needs to drive on this road so as not to destroy the car (this is more scary on the way down as you should not use brakes, otherwise you could burn them out and then lose control of the vehicle).
Since Kevin and Lisa had already done this trip before, he knew to pop the hood to help the car cool down as we prepared for sunset with a dinner spread and blankets in the back of the vehicle.
This is the other side of the summit, which was colder in the shadow of the giant observatory.
We also left early so that parking would be easier and we wouldn't get stuck behind a line of cars. Same for the way down.
I had ordered a down coat just for this evening and was grateful for it along with the tea that Lisa brewed and packed. On the way home we stopped at a recreation area to look at the stars, which were thick, more than I've seen maybe ever (at least in my memory). We could even see the Milky Way. While looking for a dark area, we ran into a guy who was driving out of a closed road. He said this was his first day at work but that he went to lay down and stargaze!
The next day, Lisa drove us out to the Hilo side and it was remarkable that I could remember the road and scenery from my last trip in Feb 2018. On that trip, I also got to visit Roslyn, who took my hanji class at PBI in Michigan way back in 2016 or so. I had obviously not remembered this giant bamboo grove, though! But I'm glad I was able to see it now after learning a lot more about bamboo last year in Korea.
Lisa got lots of doggie love from Shoshie (bottom left, pregnant) and Sammy.
The vacation home/studio has an incredible ocean view and we saw the wauke (paper mulberry, same plant we use for hanji making) that Roslyn had growing outside.
She has them growing right next to the studio and they've started sending out runners (you can't see but there's one right near the building to the right and she put cones around them so the guy who mows doesn't cut them down. She said they grow better in the greenhouse,
which was full of so many goodies! The wauke is in the back right and she told us about how she had them in pots and then they started to get out of the pot and root right into the ground underneath! She made a beautiful lunch for us and my favorite was the pesto quinoa with basil from her garden.
We looked at her orchard, which includes this coffee tree, and saw so much abundance with fruit trees that had seedlings growing all around from old fruit that had dropped and seeded. There were giant trees that she said she planted when she first moved there, and it's amazing how large they've gotten (then again, I don't live in a warm climate, so this kind of growth is always incredible to me). One huge one is a neem tree and she once had visitors from India tell her she cannot cut it down as it's a sacred tree.
We checked on her pool, which also has the ocean view. Afterwards, we headed to town to see Hilo.
I wish I had known about the mochi at Two Ladies during my last visit! But Lisa kept us well stocked throughout; I don't think I've ever had so much consistent mochi in my life. I was surprised to really enjoy the one with oreo cookie filling, and was glad to try the ones with fresh fruit inside.
We were sad that the pho place we wanted to eat at happened to be closed that day so instead we had Korean. Even though it was hot, I had jjamppong (partly because the jajangmyeon has pork, which I can't eat anymore). We also missed seeing a lovely ceramics gallery by just about 30 min but it was a beautiful day, strangely not rainy or cloudy.
The next day we stopped at
Cipriano's Kitchen for a gorgeous lunch. The lilikoi tea was lovely and Claudia was so excited to share the specials with us. She had a band around her forearm near her elbow and said it's ravioli elbow. I could relate, since I have jiseung elbow (all the same as tennis elbow).
She sold me on the ravioli, which I rarely get. Often the foods that cause me to react back at home don't destroy me when I'm in other places (especially countries that have more strict rules around food—animal husbandry, farming practices, etc.). That served me well here!
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