Kilauea Volcano on the island of Hawaii has been "actively-active" since 1983. It’s in the news today because it’s created a new path of eruption, disrupting lives and claiming homes.

I first experienced the majesty of Kilauea in January 2000, during my first trip to the islands.

I painted this oil of my friend Kit at the volcano after that first trip.

Watching lava move across the land is like watching an otherworldly life force. The energy is palpable, HOT, magical, and very, VERY alive.

Pele in "She Walks the Earth"

Five volcanoes make up the big island of Hawaii. Kilauea is the busiest of the three active volcanoes.

You might wonder why anyone lives on or near an active volcano. The answer is not as simple as you might think.

Pele as "Birth of an Island"

The islands have been inhabited for about 1,500 years. (Westerners first arrived about 240 years ago; we’re the “newbies”.)

Generations of families have grown up on all of the islands. This is HOME to them. This is not their first rodeo — or their first volcano-induced evacuation.

You might as well wonder why people live in northern climates of WI or Canada or the heat and bugs of the Deep South or even in North Korea.

We are people of the lands that call to us, that welcome us, the lands that we know and love; often the lands where we grow up.

The people living on Hawaii Island have a strong, sincere reverence for the land and the sea they call home.

Time and again I’ve heard those displaced by the volcano accept their fate with dignity, faith, and an understanding that most would find astonishing.

"Pono"

Most indigenous cultures understand that the land doesn’t really belong to us.

Madam Pele (the goddess of the volcano) shows her hand by continuing to create this land before our very eyes and in our midst. She has exclusive rights and we must accept her creative whims.

The Art of Aloha Creative Cruise this August will stop in Hilo for a day before sailing around the southern tip of Hawaii Island to dock in Kona the next day.

Pele claimed most of the southern tip of Hawaii Island awhile back. Those of us on the cruise were hoping to see her spill into the ocean there. None of us want to see homes ravaged by lava.

We have room for two more people on this very special island cruise. If the islands are calling to you, please act today! Click HERE

I promise a trip you’ll always remember.
The Spirit of the Land is tangible here.

If you want an infusion of creativity and trust that we will continue to survive and even thrive during any upheaval in life, this trip is for you!

A trip to the “Big Island” of Hawai`i is always exhilarating, and my July trip was over-the-top amazing!

Each of the Hawaiian Islands has its own personality. Like siblings in a family, no two are alike.

Hawai`i Island is the largest of all of the islands. In fact, all of the other islands would fit inside of it (as if that were possible).

Hawai`i is rugged, rural, majestic, and home to the most active volcano on Earth.

Two exhibits on the Kona side of the island prompted my July trip.

Tiffany DeEtte Shafto is doing a great job presenting my art to a wider audience. She hung my art at both The Four Seasons Hualalai and Henderson House at the Shops in Mauna Lani.

I stayed at the Four Seasons for one night and Ohmygoodness there are so many reasons it is consistently rated the BEST resort in the world!

The beauty, luxurious accommodations, sumptuous grounds, the happy, friendly people, the yummy food, much of which is grown on the resort and the island, are all top notch!

This is the view at dawn from our cabana at the Four Seasons Hualalai

It is paradise on steroids!

Teaching a watercolor class at the Four Seasons was great fun and very rewarding.

Me, Jeanette, & Mike in front of my painting, "Miles from Nowhere", at Henderson House

I am thrilled to have my abstract paintings hanging in the showcase design environment of Henderson House in The Shops at Mauna Lani.

Me and Rebecca Snow relaxing in the middle of a long, exciting day at the Four Seasons.

Rebecca Snow, my friend, fellow artist, and studio-mate, joined me on the trip. It was her first time to Hawai`i Island so we stayed a few extra days with my cousins Mike and Jeanette in Captain Cook.

Mike gave us a tour of their orchard of bananas, oranges, tangerines, mango, avocado, Kona coffee, Ulu, and Pamelo. Jeanette’s healthy meals gave us a delicious respite between the hectic exhibit schedules.

We rose at 2:30AM on Saturday so Mike could drive us to the southern tip of the island to see the glowing Kilauea caldera and watch the sun rise on Mauna Loa. It was breath taking!

The energy of life renewing itself is evident all over the world, in every backyard. That same energy feels amplified on the Big Island.

The contrast of birth/renewal and death happens simultaneously all around us. Our lives become that much sweeter when we realize it’s up to us to pick up the reins and make each path our own.

Putting things off does us no service. Living life is a verb. Creating a life that matters is actionable.

Let’s all take the action we need to take today to make the most of our time here on Earth!

We are meant to continue to grow, becoming more of our REAL selves here on Earth!

Sometime in the last month I reached some sort of limit and declared that I want more sweetness in my life.

That’s when I realized that I must be sweeter!

Be the sweetness you want to feel, right?

"Puppy Love" ©Patrice Federspiel

What does it mean to be sweeter in the world?

What does it feel like to be sweeter?

Sometimes sweetness is an overt action, like buying a coffee for the person behind you in line, or giving a driver easy passage to merge in front of you on the highway.

Other times it’s more an act of omission.

It’s sweet to be patient when the person in front of you at the checkout counter is counting their change.

It’s sweet to NOT roll your eyes when faced with anything you see as utterly ridiculous.

It’s sweet to not speak when speaking only serves as a volley in a useless, unnecessary argument.

It’s always sweeter to give everyone — including yourself — the benefit of the doubt.

"Seriously" ©Patrice Federspiel

Choosing sweetness isn’t always easy, and it certainly isn’t always at the top of my mind.

Still, sweetness is my new barometer; it's the antithesis to anger and resentment.

I want to live in a world of kindness and sweetness.

Just think, we get to choose sweetness with every breath, with every action, and with every non-action that we take.