Hey, here’s a special treat: You get to “carve” your own pumpkin here! No hassle, no mess. Just draw with your mouse. Who says you have to make a traditional pumpkin face? I made a jack-o-lion… So, go on… make a face! And have a safe and happy halloween…

I’ve revived this image for use as an avatar on Verla Kay’s Blue Boards, a discussion board for children’s book writers and illustrators. This illustration is part of an old illos series on Miss Mary Mack, which I describe in greater detail in an old IF blog entry from January 2006.

Responding to a recent inquiry for a book project requiring a retro, 50’s sort of look, I referred the potential client to my most current online portfolio. I had forgotten all about this image (which has been collecting cyber dust in an old art folder). This image is very retro, don’t you think?

I like to think of my art style(s) as having a personal look or slant. However, the potential client’s 12-year-old daughter perused my portfolio along with her dad and at one point, she exclaimed that a particular illo looked just like “clip art”! According to her dad, she was offering a huge compliment. Ha!

Fall harvests usually consist of apples or pumpkins, but according to my calendar, it’s time for a harvest of hula.

Na Lei Hulu’s fall production is here! (See show details below.) After months of rehearsals, Kumu Patrick Makuakane presents a colorful collection of stories and songs interwoven with hula numbers performed by Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu at Saturday’s opening show. It’s like one humongous lei descending upon the city of San Francisco.

So this is why I’ve strayed away from “blogland.” Much work and preparation goes into the show, especially in the weeks before the opening. It’s truly a labor of love from scores of people, not just on-stage, but behind the scenes–costumes, leis, lighting, tech, photography, graphics, promo, publicity–you name it, someone has lent their kokua (help, assistance).

Na Lei Hulu is a nonprofit hula dance school and company dedicated to sharing Hawaiian culture and art, and it does so in a unique way. This year’s show, O’ahu, Confessions of an Island, features a world premiere run of new dances highlighting the inside scoop on O’ahu. Sure, O’ahu is known for the Waikiki scene, the bustling city of Honolulu and the International Airport, but there’s lots more to discover about Hawai’i’s most-populated island. Na Lei Hulu shares a “secret” or two about O’ahu for two consecutive weekends, from October 20 to 28 at the Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco. Photo above shows hula brothers from the Thursday class.

Watch out for publicity about Na Lei Hulu in the papers and on TV. This week, we were on KGO’s The View From the Bay. Here is the video clip of the TV spot–featuring clips from past shows and an interview of Kumu Patrick by Nick Smith, while Manny and I danced in the background. We taped this at Mission Dolores Park which is usually filled with people and dogs. But on that day, the huge lawn stood empty and a nearby playground sat quiet. It was overcast and drizzly for most of the afternoon. Typical SF fall weather, thought not much different from the misty rains of the Ko’olau mountains of O’ahu.

For the first time, Na Lei Hulu is including a show for young audiences in its Palace of Fine Arts lineup. Hula For Families will show on Sunday, October 28. A shorter, action-packed version of our main production, it will present hula in a fun, informative way at a reduced family rate so that you can bring the kids! Edutainment, anyone? Find out more here.

About the Photos: The top image displays the Pali of Nu’uanu, a part of the Ko’olau range. In the group photo, Manny, myself, Jason, and Kahala dance hula on stage at the Palace of Fine Arts. The bottom photo depicts a chief (Herman) with a “newborn” baby (Kiele) at Kukaniloko–one of the many stories told in O’ahu: Confessions of an Island. All photos except for mountain image by Lin Cariffe.

UPDATE I 10/23/07: We’ve been reviewed by SF Chronicle Dance Correspondent, Rachel Howard. She said a lot, perhaps more than I want my family to know because I want them to be surprised when they see it on Sunday ;-)! However, one can’t complain about comments like this:

The company’s kumu hula (leader), Patrick Makuakane, chatting as always to the audience between dancing episodes, says he’s acting as an evangelist for that tourist-ridden island’s deeper history and enduring beauty. But of course, he’s also an evangelist for hula itself - and damn if the most casual attendee won’t be converted by his beguiling company.

Check out the full article here.

UPDATE II 10/24/07: Another review about our first weekend ran in the SF Examiner. This excerpt sums it up:

…presenting a wide range of genres, appealing to the audience with authentic respect for Hawaii’s spiritual heritage, but tickling funny-bones the next minute, then putting on a glitzy Las Vegas showstopper act.