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Here is a fun Hawaiian style Christmas poem for you to enjoy.

Was da night bafo' Christmas,
and all ova' da place
Not even da geckos
was showin' their face.

Da stockings was hangin' on top da TV?
('Cause no mo' fireplace in Hawai'i)
Da kids stay all crashed, my old man too.
They leave all da work for you-know-who.

So me, I stay pickin' up alla their toys,
When - boom! - outside get only big noise!
I run to da window, I open 'em up,
I stick out my head and I yell, "Eh! Whassup?!"

And then, I no can ba-lieve what I seen!
Was so unreal, you know what I mean?
This fat haole guy get his reindeers in my yard!
And reindeers not housebroken, you know, as' why hard!

But nemmind, this Christmas, so I cut 'em some slack.
Plus, had uku pile presents pokin' outta his sack!
So I wait 'till he pau tie up his reindeer,
Then I yell out da window, "Huui! Brah, ova hea!"

An' I tell 'em first thing, when I open da door,
"Eh, Hemo your shoes! You going dirty my floor!"
He take off his boots, he tell, "You know who I am?"
I go, "Ho! From the smell, must be Mr. Toe Jam!"

He make mempachi eyes and he go, "Ho, ho, ho!"
By now, I stay thinking this guy kinda slow!
He look like my Tutu, but little less weight,
And his beard stay so white, mo' white than shark bait!

He stay all in red, specially his nose,
And get reindeer spit on top his nice clothes!
But him, he no care; he just smile at me,
And he start fo' put presents unda-neath da tree.

I tell 'em, "Eh, brah, no need make li'dat,
And watch where you step! You going ma-ke da cat!"
Then, out from his bag, he pull one brand new computah,
Choke video games, and one motorized scootah!

He try for fill up da Christmas socks too,
But had so much pukas, all da stuff went fall troo.
When he pau, I tell 'em, "Eh Santa, try wait!
I get plenty leftovahs, I go make you one plate!"

But he nevah like hang, he had so much fo' do;
Gotta make all them small kids' wishes come true.
So I wave 'em goodbye, and I flash 'em da shaka,
And I tell 'em, "Mele Kalikimaka!"

When he hear that, he stop and I telling you true,
He go, "Garans ball-barans! Merry Christmas to you!"

On July 6th we celebrated our one year anniversary on Maui. It's hard to believe it's been a year already.....and they said it wouldn't last, LOL. Many people asked me how I was going to deal with Island fever. I said, Island fever, what's that? It seems some people think living on an island would cause them to feel confined or claustrophobic. I think that would be true for those who don't get out and explore the world around them. Maui has a lot to offer. There is so much to do here I doubt I'll ever be bored or feel confined.

These past 12 months have been very productive and busy. Just three weeks after arriving here I got my miniature paintings into a gallery on Front Street in Lahaina. As it turned out Village Galleries ( http://www.villagegalleriesmaui.com/ ) is the oldest gallery in Hawaii. At about that same time I also sent an email to Lahaina Arts Association ( http://lahaina-arts.org/ a non profit organization dedicated to teaching art to children K-12 ) to offer my help. The president of the organization called me after she went over my art school website with a fine tooth comb. After a hour on the phone with her I was asked to join the board. I was voted in as a board member in September, then became vice-president in January 2013. last September my miniature work was excepted in the Gallery at the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua. I have also re-opened my art school in Lahaina and have enjoyed meeting and teaching new students.

Learning to live on an island is not hard at all. Especially here on Maui. There is so much beauty that surrounds me it's hard to decide where to look. The ocean views are spectacular and mountain views are some of the best in the world. And the clouds, OMG the clouds, are amazing! I love studying them every day. Oh and rainbows, I can't forget to mention them. We see rainbows everyday on our drive home from Lahaina to Napili where we live.

One of the best parts about living on Maui is I get to ware shorts and flip flops everyday, seven days a week, 362 days a year if I want to! Yep, no more snow for me. I have put on my tennies just once since living here and that was so I could ride on a Segway ( http://www.segwaymaui.com/ ), which, by the way, is a lot of fun.

The next 12 months are starting out as busy as the last. I have an appointment to show my work in a third gallery, Kaukini Gallery ( http://kaukinigallery.com/ ). This one is in Kahakuloa, a small Hawaiian community in the West Maui Mountains. A beautiful gallery in a beautiful location. And later this month I'm flying home to Tahoe for my son's wedding. I haven't been back to Tahoe for over 5 years. It will be nice to see my family and friends.

Well that's it for today's blog. I hope you enjoyed reading it. OH and check out those websites I mention above.

The image shown here is Kahakuloa Head.

I'll be making my first trip to Florida in just a few days. My daughter Michel lives there and is getting married on May 11th. I get to travel with my youngest daughter Monique and her family. We leave Reno on Monday for an 11 1/2 hour flight. I'm excited to meet my new son-in-law and see where Michel lives and works. But before leaving Reno I get to spend a day with my oldest son, Joshua and his family. We'll be visiting my parents as well. This is my first trip off the Island since we moved here and I know I'm going to miss it.

The 21st Annual Celebration of the Arts

March 29 - 30, 2013

I'm very excited to be a part of this annual event. I'll be demonstrating miniature painting on Friday and Saturday from 1:30 to 4:30.

Celebration of the Arts has gained recognition around the entire state and beyond as the premier cultural and and educational experience available for visitors and kama�aina.
Village Galleries will host a special Celebration of the Arts exhibition in the gallery. You will be able to meet gallery artists presenting painting demonstrations and many complimentary �hands-on� workshops on Friday and Saturday all day from 10:00 a.m..
Artists and Hawaiian practitioners will gather from across the state to share their expertise and thoughts on what makes the Hawaiian Islands and their culture so unique. Art, music and hula workshops are to be experienced daily.

The Celebration Luau will have the finest traditional foods, complimented with tasty contemporary dishes and desserts. For Celebration Room Packages, call 800. 262. 8440

celebrationofthearts.org



CELEBRATION OF THE ARTS

MARCH 29 & 30, 2013

VILLAGE GALLERIES � ARTISTS SCHEDULE

Betty Hay Freeland: Poster/Print Signing
Friday: 11am - 1pm & 2pm - 4pm

FRIDAY March 29, 2013 (will start after Opening Ceremony) 11a.m. - 1:45p.m.
1. Cindy Conklin � Hands-On Kapa Inspired Watercolor
2. George Allan � Oil Painting with Palette Knife Demonstration
3. Macario Pascual � Hands-on Mixed Media
4. Rich Kenny � Hands-On Maui Watercolor
5. Frank Andrews � Hands-On Petroglyph Art
6. Kathy Long � Hands-on Graphite Drawing Techniques

FRIDAY March 29, 2013 2pm - 4:30 p.m.
1. Darice Machel � Hands-on Mini Acrylic Paintings
2. Joe Fletcher � Hands-on Oil Painting
3. Carleton � Oil Painting Demo + Hands-on Drawing
4. Beth Marcil � Hands-on Mixed Media
5. Shauna Morrison � Hands-on Jewelry Making
6. Ellen Levinsky � Hands-on Feather ART
___________________________________________

Betty Hay Freeland: Poster/Print Signing
Saturday: 11am - 1pm & 2pm - 4pm

SATURDAY , March 29, 10a.m. - 1p.m
1. Beth Marcil � Hands-on Mixed Media
2. Shauna Morrison � Hands-on Jewelry Making
3. Macario Pascual � Hands-on Mixed Media
4. Frank Andrews � Hands-On Petroglyph Art
5. Linda Whittemore � Hands-on Print Making
6. Kathy Long � Hands-on Graphite Drawing Techniques

SATURDAY, March 30, 1:30 - 4:30p.m.
1. Darice Machel � Hands-on Mini Acrylic Paintings
2. Carleton � Oil Painting Demo + Hands-on Drawing
3. Joe Fletcher � Hands-on Oil Painting
4. Ellen Levinsky � Hands-on Feather Art
5. Rich Kenny � Hands-On Maui Watercolor
6. Winnie Wagstaff � Celebrating the art of N. Robert Wagstaff

Schedule subject to change. Please call gallery to confirm 808-669-1800
villagegalleriesmaui.com
For Schedule of Cultural Presentations and more information visit...
celebrationofthearts.org or call The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua 669-6200

I made up my mind and decided to create a gallery on my website for my miniature paintings. I just uploaded about 30 images to start with. I'll be uploading more soon. The paintings in the gallery are not for sale because most of them have sold already. Please take a look at the " Miniature Painting" gallery.

I have been painting miniatures for close to 20 years now. They are fun to do and sale really fast. I post them on facebook and have sold a few on there. Today I was asked if I have them on my website. I've been debating about putting them on here for a while now. I haven't in the past because I don't make prints of my miniatures. I sale them through two galleries here on Maui. I set aside two mornings a week to paint them. I can do between 4 to 6 of them a week. If I were to put them on here it would be strictly for show due to the fact that they sale so fast. I guess I can just post them here in my blog and not on the website, like I do on facebook.

The miniature painting in this photo is 4x4 inches, painted with acrylic on stretched canvas. This size painting sales for $70. shipping is $5.

The 2013 "Gianna Mitchell 4 The Luv Of Arts" is an annual fund raising event. All the proceeds from this event goes to two Maui non-profit organizations, Lahaina Arts Association www.lahaina-arts.org and Ebb And Flow Arts www.EbbAndFlowArts.org. This year it has been my pleasure to work with the organizer of this event, Allison Royce, as her assistant. The event takes place on April 27th at Longhi's (a well known restaurant on Front Street in Lahaina). There will be live music, a silent art auction, a raffle and a special multi-media performance by two of Ebb and Flow young entertainers. The students in Lahaina Arts Association's "Out Reach" program created non-objective art posters for this event. I put together 4 art lessons/projects to be used by the teachers and I provided the poster paper for their use. All the children in the classes were encouraged to participate. The idea behind the poster project is to be part of the live multi-media performance. The posters will be set up on easels on the stage/dance floor, an interactive improv performance will take place by the young dancer and a musician of Ebb and Flow. The dancer or musician will pick one of the posters to use as a visual for a three minute improv routine. They will continue to choose a poster and preform to each one. We will also have the audience participate by making posters during the event.

I'm also donating the painting shown here for the silent auction and I've decided to give 100% of my profits from print sales of this image to the cause. Anyone interested in buying this print just click on the image below.

If you want to know more about either of these fine organizations just go to the websites I posted.

Since arriving here on my new island home of Maui, I have painted and sold a lot of my miniature paintings. The fun thing about these little gems is I paint my daily life here. Everyone I've done has been painted from a photo I've taken on my iPhone. The one shown here is from our day trip to the Kula Botanical Garden on New Years Day. The size of my miniatures range from 2x3 to 6x8 inches. Each one comes with it's own easel.

I photograph everything and anything that catches my eye. Not all the images I take make it onto a canvas. I weed through 100s before deciding on one to paint. Most of the ones that do make it on to canvas I do while sitting in front of Village Gallery's gift shop on Front Street in Lahaina. For those of you who are familiar with Front Street you know what a historic old seaside town it is and know it is an artist haven. At least for some artists. On the days that I paint in front of the store, I get to meet and talk to lots of happy vacationers. People come from all over the world to visit the Hawaiian Islands. Some come by ship, some by planes and most of them are having the best time and can't wait to come back to visit.

I love my new life here. It's what I've worked so hard for many years to get to.



Please note, the painting in the photo has sold and is no longer available.

All my miniature paintings are painted on canvases I stretch. I find I can control the quality and use different types of canvas, rough or smooth, raw or primed. When we moved to Maui I discovered shipping costs from my art supply sources more then doubled. My dad came to the rescue, as he so often did when I was a child, and now makes all my stretcher frames and miniature easels.

In the picture posted here I'm working on my inventory for the next two weeks. My miniature paintings sale pretty fast so I have to keep up..

This letter from Elizabeth, a young student of mine, pulled on my heart strings. It felt good to hear from her and learn about her life since I moved. The spelling of my name was a joke she made to get my attention in class. Seeing it written in the letter brought back found fun memories. Being her "Hero" is a big responsibility, I hope I can live up to it. It's been seven months since we moved from Chico California to Maui. Life here is really good but I miss her and all my wonderful students. I wish I could have brought them all with me.