Saturday, June 21, 2014

Tapa Cloth Graces

A   L   O   H   A !
 Tap Tap Tap. . . 
These Hawaiian Ladies are 
manufacturing Kapa Cloth. 

“I was tired of seeing
 the Graces
 always depicted as
 beautiful young things.
 I think wisdom comes 
with age 
and life 
and pain. 
And knowing 
what matters.” 
                   Louise Penny










Pounding out mulberry bark 
to make the cloth


I hole ‘ia no ka i‘e i ke kau o ka lā.

The time to cut designs

 in a tapa beater

 is when the sun is high.

[Do your work 
when you are at your best.]

                                 Hawaiian Proverb














The carved sticks 
that print the patterns

" When 'I' 

is replaced with

 'We', 

even 'Illness'

 becomes 'Wellness'. " 

                                     Malcolm X.










 Drying & inspecting 
the printed Kapa

" To fulfill a dream, 
to be allowed to 
sweat over lonely labor, 
to be given the chance 
to create, 
is the meat and potatoes 
of life. 
The money is the gravy. 
As everyone else,
I love to dunk my crust in it.
 But alone, 
it is not a diet designed 
to keep body 
and soul together. "
                          Bette Davis,
                                                    The Lonely Life, 1962  






Read More About Kapa 

Here


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Thanks For Visiting, Friends
                                 Warmly, cloudia

16 comments:

eViL pOp TaRt said...

Thank you for this interesting essay on an aspect of Hawaiian culture. And exquisite statues -- the sculpture had a remarkable vision.

rupam sarma said...

Greetings from Assam, India
~ Happy weekend ~

Brian Miller said...

huh dont know if i have heard that malcolm x quote...ha...i like...

hope you have a wonderful weekend..

aloha from va

Grand Crapaud said...

Great sculptures! The Three Graces or the Three Fates?

TexWisGirl said...

how beautiful.

Charles Gramlich said...

I really like the quote about the Graces. Me too.

Cloudia said...

Thanks,Dears!

Commander Zaius said...

I think wisdom comes with age and life and pain. And knowing what matters.” Louise Penny

Oh boy, I have found that to be very true.

Teresa said...

Super cool! When I was a kid, I had a book about a girl of old Hawai'i who learned how to make kapa cloth. It was one of my favorites.

Kay said...

These statues remind me a lot of the beautiful statue in front of the Hawaiian Village. They are gorgeous!

Elephant's Child said...

As I approach (rapidly) cronedom this post speaks loudly to me. Love it.

William Kendall said...

Beautiful craftmanship in the sculptures!

Rita said...

I had never heard of Kapa Cloth. Beautiful statues. :)

Merlesworld said...

Lovely statues as statues go but they are always young and thin, maybe we need some fat old jolly ones .
Merle............

Adam said...

cool statues

Cloudia said...

Thanks so much! ♥