Unleash you imagination and set it free.

Everything I create starts with one simple idea and always ends up taking on a life of its own. I have many hobbies that bring me great satisfaction, but I am the happiest when I can take a plain shelf sized piece of wood plain or stained (makes no difference.) Then get out my scissors and my glue gun and let my imagination take off running.

I am originally from Hawaii, and I love the ocean and all that dwell beneath it. When I create what I like to call my "Living Murals,) I seem to tend to always create either a reef scene or a seabed image. I take old fishing nets and deconstruct them, I take old shell necklaces and pieces of different colored moss and skillfully glue them here and there. I take different pieces of lace and make them look like shells. Sometimes sand and treasures are added along with the sea life. A splash of color, some more deconstructed shells and now we have something to work with. Step back, hmmm a little color here and then the coral. I could use the entire piece as it is, but it is more fun to break it in pieces and add a little here and there to make the reef come alive. The excitement starts to build as I can see it all starting to come together. Some seaweed and strategically placed shells and perhaps a corner of an old barnacled anchor, add some seaweed and moss and perhaps a clam shell and what you have is a slightly shrouded anchor that maybe has been on the sea floor for many years and is now part of the vision for my Living Mural. You can add small shelves and put small bowls of real Beta fish with small tea lights, and you have a masterpiece in the making.

The beauty about the ocean and reefs are that you can never add too much. A live reef is not concerned with whether or not anything clashes. Everything is just what it is. Sea Urchins of many colors, flora, and fauna, you name it, and it is there. Somehow it all goes together and looks great. I love to create life like ocean scenes. You would be surprised what you can do with different textures of material. Snip, snip, and you have a shell or a fish or disguise it enough and leave the viewer wondering at just what it is. Look again and see the admiration shine from their ever-wondering eyes.

I always get asked, "What made you decide to make this one or that one?" My stock answer is simple, "I breathe a little life into my creations, and they sprout wings and take on a life of their own." The only advise I would give someone is, "Don't be afraid let the creativity flow. Free your imagination and express yourself. The ocean is alive so don't be afraid to take risks, be bold. When you step back you will know when to stop. Lastly, just remember that this is your baby, and you don't have to play by anyone else rules, you just have to let the piece speak to you and you will know what to do."

Every piece I create is different. A small shelf for my grandson ended up being a buried treasure scene with no room to put things. I quickly added some lights and a remote to make the lights blink or not and now we had a custom made, one-of-a-kind night light in lieu of a shelf. Another time I deconstructed a small wall piece, took my scissors, and cut and shaped some material that resembled sand added a little bit of glue in splotches and added some real sand on the top and now instead of a blah wall piece we had a cute little bathroom shelf. A small wooden suntan chair with a bit of faded paint and it was a day at the beach.

When I am dead and gone my children and their children will still ooh and ahh over the creations that their slightly touched grandma made way back when. This hobby fills me with great satisfaction. I never know what I will end up with.