In 2005, three of Jamie’s works were accepted into the Honolulu Academy of Arts “Artists of Hawai‘i Exhibition.” Of 300 artists statewide, only 27 were selected. When her original silversword painting was purchased by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, her commitment to painting Hawaii’s endemic plants was, at that moment, “validated and supported—my life’s purpose realized.” In her Ka‘u cabin, she’s still looking in new directions. She adds little dabs of sandcolored paint to the petite hinahina she’s working on. Little pointillist thrusts texture the beach at the bottom of the watercolor. “I want a little bit more deepening of the colors so that the inside comes forward. I’m going to darken the leaves around gradually, getting lighter towards the center. It’s all about layering with watercolors....letting the richness slowly emerge through gradually darker washes.” Jamie Gilmore’s brush strokes resonate with the geometry of the ancient plants, the brushes used by daring scientific silversword seed-savers, and the exaltation of life in the multi-species effort to regenerate Hawaii’s native flora. Hardy, hard-to-find “true natives,” who have survived on-island longer than anyone, are patient, resilient and steady—traits needed to adapt in the thrall of evolution. These treasured plants, illuminated by the brushstrokes of the watercolorist, make a picture that tells more than a thousand words: they share nature’s time-tested wisdom. ❖ • Find Jamie on Wednesdays and most Saturdays at the Na’alehu Farmers Market (weather permitting) and see her work at Elements Gallery in Hawi, North Kohala • Other event listings and original work, limited edition giclée reproductions, and greeting cards can be found at www.gilmorearts.com
• Hawaiian Silverswords are protected by state and federal law. Anyone who takes plant material—seeds, flowers or small plants—from their habitat is subject to heavy fines. Report infractions to www.fws.gov/endangered. • If you come across a flowering Silversword with seeds ready to fly, contact the Volcano Rare Plant Facility at www.Hawaii.gov/dlnr/dofaw/rpc/rareplants Hawaiian, common & Latin plant names of a few endangered natives: ‘Ahinahina (Hawaiian Silversword): Mauna Kea Argyroxiphium sandwicenses; Mauna Loa Argyroxiphium kauense; and Haleakala Argyroxiphium macrocephalum
Hinahina (Beach Heliotrope): Heliotropium anomalu ‘Iliahi (Hawaiian Sandalwood): Santalum freycinetianum Ma’o hau hele (State Flower of Hawai‘i, the Hawaiian Hibiscus): Hibiscus brackenridgei
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• Purchase Native Hawaiian plants at Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, Captain Cook, & Aikane Nursery, North Kohala
Naupaka Kuahiwi and Kahakai (Mountain and Coastal Naupaka). And so the story goes...... Two devoted lovers sparked jealousy in Volcano Goddess Pele. She wanted to separate them and their love. Chasing after them, one lover retreated up the mountain, the other to the sea. Pele’s youngest sister, Hi’iaka, felt compassion for the couple and disguised them as naupaka plants. And so the two separate species were born: the mountain, naupaka kuahiwi (shown at the top in the image) and the coastal: naupaka kahakai (at bottom). The distinctive half flowers left to symbolize the separated lovers—as if ripped in two.