Named for foundation and growth. "Kumu" has a range of meanings in the Hawaiian language. Envisioned late one night at the start of 2020, this piece came to life from a very personal perspective -- being hapa Hawai'i/hapa haole, leaving Hawai'i as a pre-teen, returning to it as a young adult, and navigating a changed community. 

We realized this design in February 2020. The segmented oak vase was built layer by layer and turned on the lathe, before we ebonized it with a natural rust and vinegar solution. A climbing lei adorns the blackened figure from base to lip. It was formed with hand selected, shellacked wood shavings from our studio workshop: mango, koa, wattle, monkeypod, maple, teak, and silky oak. The beveled natural oak base is free floating beneath the sculpture.
 
Dimensions: 10" square x 13.5" tall