“Hōʻola Hou” art print

The Hau Kuahiwi flower was previously listed as “extinct” because it was no longer found in the wild. However someone or some people, collected seeds from a plant when it was endangered and propagated it and now there are a very few in the wild. At an art camp we got to see one in the wild!

It is a stunning flower in the hibiscus family. It’s curved and folded with so much texture and personality. However what is so cool to me is the “senescence”. I just learned this term from Dayna (Laulima Nature Center) at the art camp.

It’s the process of aging for the plant. In this particular case the flower petals start off a light greenish color and the stamen are bright red and shiny bauble like. As it ages the petals change to a red ish purple color all the way to a purple maroon color. The stamen change too, they appear to dry out and change to a warm umber like color. 

I’m not at all an expert, these are just things I have learned from others and observed myself.

These little beauties have a lot of character, color and textures. I wanted to capture all the lines and edges and ridges. I especially wanted to capture their senescence.  And really showcase that change that they go through. Hoʻōla Hou means, revive, a healing restoration of life.