Why I'm Leaving Hawai'i...

Oh my yessss, folks, believe it or not my time on this fabulous lil island has come to an end. But it’s not a reason to be sad at all! Far from it! There are many more exciting adventures on the horizon - Yay:):):)

If you’d like to read a bit about my thought process while coming to this decision, as well as my next adventure plans, check out my latest Birds of a Feather newsletter here where I dive in a lil deeper on my prospects as an artist here vs the mainland. And if you generally like to be in the know about big news coming from the Nest weeks before my YouTube or Insta fam make sure you subscribe to my newsletter here where you’ll also get a more personal peek at this working artist’s life in ways I don’t necessarily share publicly…

If you didn’t see my recent vid all about my life on O’ahu these past four years check it out here.

It has not been an easy decision, but it is the right one and after every mind-expanding, worldly, beautiful, or transcendent experience I remind myself not to be sad that it’s over, but to be happy it happened.

I love you, folks! And I can’t wait to take you on so many more adventures with me!!

10.18.2019

Camping on Top of a Mountain!

23 intense hours on a ridge including one wild whipping windy wet night on the edge of an insane precipice of the Ko’olau mountains!

On my most extreme adventure to date with my twinsie Emsy we decided to hike the Mau’umae ridge to the Ko’olau summit, camp for the night, then turn right and hike the hairpin mother mountain to the next ridge offshoot, Wiliwilinui, which we had staged a car at the end of.

Trails as narrow as your foot!

We made it about halfway through our journey and had to turn back at the Lanipo peak because the trail ceased to exist. We tried busting through the vegetation for a few minutes to see if we could pick back up on the ridge on the other side, but considering that’s how hikers disappear we decided to play it safe and go back the way we came. Good thing that only added two hours to our plan that day, for a total of just under 9 hours hiking in two days.

We started our journey on Wednesday with the warm afternoon sun hiking up into the white-out clouds, then as evening approached and got chillier we reached the summit where the wind is always stronger. We were able to get the tent set up and change into warm clothes before snuggling in while feeling our tent get whipped around like there was a full grown man jostling it from the outside.

We didn’t want to carry too much weight in our packs so we opted for multiple clothing layers rather than blankets or sleeping bags. Unfortunately the tarp under our tent didn’t quite keep the rain from seeping in the bottom so about mid-way through the night we both found ourselves with chilly wet pants. We half-slept til morning with the rain luckily abating and the sun welcoming us with a view looking down upon practically the entire island.

After a light breakfast we set off to climb the Ko’olau range, which has been a personal goal of mine, and let me tell you that is one skinny ridge line! Whew! The trail is mostly directly on the tippy top of the ridge with plenty of it being less that 1 foot wide. There are lots of bushes of ferns surrounding the trail which give you a sense of security, however the rooting can be deceitful. Certain areas can look like a good place for your foot but can really be disguising a hole that could send you straight down the side of the mountain under the shrubs should you place your weight in the wrong position. Needless to say this Birdie had no problem utilizing her 3 points of contact continuously. As we made our way back to the car on Thursday the sun was really blazing by noon and those last two hours sent us shimmying to get back into the shade.

All in all the journey was muddy and brutal and super intense in all of the most wonderful ways and I am so grateful to have shared this experience with my adventure sister Emsy ...because who doesn’t love to torture themselves with a good challenge, right?!

10.16.2019

My Life in Hawai'i

Welcome to my happy Hawai'i life!! I am so excited to share my cute town, favorite hikes and beaches, and plenty of adventure hula hooping with you today!

I've been on O'ahu for just under four years, and while it certainly feels like home at this point, there is still so much of the island I'm still discovering. Although I have always been an outdoors person, living here has taken my love of the natural world to entirely new heights.

Enjoy this lil snapshot of Hawai'ian life and if you haven't yet, go ahead and add O'ahu to your bucket list - you will not be disappointed!!

Here's a vid detailing my art studio set-up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_KhZ6C8gAo

And a popular vid of the old bungalow with the outdoor bathroom I used to live too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtqz0-jvfw8

9.20.2019

Solo Hike on Kapalama Ridge

I enjoyed a super epic 7.5 mile solo ridge hike for the first time in a hot minute. It was beyond exhausting and quite muddy, and conquering three false peaks before hitting the cloudy apex definitely brought the tiniest bit of frustration… but pushing yourself uphill in both the sun and the rain through sheer will and determination, simply for the glory of the challenge, is very nourishing to the soul and psyche. I’m grateful for every day I get to spend in this beautiful environment

8.7.2019

Plein Air Ridge Painting

I spent a marvelous day last week relaxing and painting on the gorgeous Aiea ridgeline here on O’ahu accompanied by one of my closest sister artists, Zee, who also created the beautiful bouquet tattoo on my leg and the Celtic knot on my finger. It was a truly special and rejuvenating day… one of my favorite things about Zee is that we create art whenever we are together:)

6.26.2019

Spoleto Fest in Charleston

Earlier this June I had the pleasure of attending the Spoleto performance arts and music festival in Charleston, SC. It’s a 17 day event that’s been happening annually for over 35 years which encompasses international and regional performers and musicians that are truly mind blowing. Some of the best creatives in the world come through to share their talent!

I got a few snippets of some of my fave performances as well as some vids of Charleston’s best galleries. Hope you enjoy joining me on my artsy adventures!

And if you’d like to see some fun photos of the trip pop over here.

6.15.2019

Visiting Charleston for Spoleto Fest

I’m having a blast in my good old hometown of Charleston, SC for Spoleto which is a long running international performance and musical arts festival that showcases some the most incredible talent the world has to offer. Lucky me - my mom and I love doing the events together and she insisted on flying me to town for our tradition of arts indulgences!

Here’s just a quick sneaky peek, next week I’ll have a fun lil travel vlog for my YouTube channel as well as more pics here on the blog. Go ahead and pop your email below to make sure you don’t miss a thing!

And can you believe the size of that flower in my friends’ garden?!?!

6.5.2019

First Time Plein Air Painting!

I had a truly magical journey into the jungle with my sister artist Zee this weekend., followed by relaxing and playing with some paints I brought along in a clearing by the head of the hike.

I cannot believe this was actually both of our first times painting from nature. We enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous hike through the jungle admiring a variety of ferns, listening to birds calling back and forth right over our heads (which you can hear in the vid below!), and gasping over the brightest greens you can imagine.

We are super excited to do more artsy adventures together and I can’t wait to practice more live plant painting with my gouache paints!

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Now enjoy some incredible jungle bird calls:

4.10.2019

Traveling to Walla Walla

Had such an amazing time in quaint Walla Walla, as well as roadtripping to Spokane, WA for a fantastic Dale Chihuly + other glassmakers exhibit, and a surprise Cody Trepanier show of his monumental Arctic paintings that looked so frigid you could almost get a chill in the gallery.

Walla Walla was quite booming around 1900s-1920s so the architecture was classic and full of personality.

Plus a few jaunts through the woods in nearby Oregon rounded out the trip perfectly. Such gorgeous wilderness to behold!

Can’t wait to come back and play in the PNW again!

4.3.2019

Nude Hiking :: Part 2 (NSFW)

This may seem an odd place to share this adventure, but I have come to look at my blog as a bit of a journal so sharing this incredible experience with fellow art lovers like you seems somehow fitting….

Hopefully you caught this very special blog post from a few weeks ago featuring myself and two of my favorite sister artists hiking a super high ridge line on the Westside of O’ahu. All of the ethereal photos in that post were by my fellow nude hiker and professional photographer friend Stephanie Stein, but today I wanted to share the other photos from that epic day - the ones we snapped on our cell phones while eating lunch, taking photos, and just generally frolicking around.

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As I’m sure you can imagine, this was one of the best, most invigorating, and somehow transformative hikes any of us have ever experienced. To quote Emsy as she was climbing ever higher to stand proudly on teeny ledges jutting out over the valley below, “I’ve never been so naked in my whole life!”

In this artist’s humble opinion, being comfortably naked is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Too often in modern consumerist society we are told about all the imperfections that buying random products can solve without being lauded for who we are naturally.

I mean, it makes sense. It’s hard to sell bullshit to people who are content.

So that’s why it’s ever more important to find joys in our own ways in our own bodies. It’s hard to feel sub par within your body when it makes you feel powerful and exhilarated!

So if you can, try and find an unusual place to be naked soon! Whether you try a naked hike like us, decide to find a secret beach where you can sun your buns, or just sip some tea and read next Sunday’s paper in the buff in your backyard, taking a little time to be naked in nature will make you feel like a whole new person. Would love to hear your experiences in the comments!

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PS. If you’re curious, we hiked in regular clothes until we felt nicely secluded then disrobed and continued on. We also learned that at least shorts are needed on the way back down or else one must be prepared for a very grass-tickled bottom during steep descent areas ;)

2.27.2019