Last year I made 12 quilt motif-style designs, modernized in my own way, focused on native plants, and in memory of my Nana Chun. She along with all of my grandparents always encouraged my love for art!

At her funeral last year, my sister and I made nine lei out of mini crown flower. We drove around Maui with our Mom, picking from wild trees. We cleaned the flowers, and then my youngest sister and I spent the afternoon and evening quietly stringing the lei. My mom helped us clean-up and busily tended to things around the house. Our other sister checked in on us and kept us company, enjoying the moments we’re all together, since it’s become a less common event over the years. And my dad napped with Myla before heading to his night work.

There was something calming and special about this quiet afternoon, it felt like a hug after returning home. The next day, we gifted the lei to relatives, and hung one on my Nana’s photo. During the service, my sisters and I shared memories of my Nana, and my two other cousins joined us to dance a hula. This was special because my Nana really valued her relationships with her sisters, raised us cousins like siblings, and taught us the importance of taking care of one another too. It was a celebration of life that my Nana would’ve loved! Even if it was a sad reason to gather, it was happy in a way too.

Gathering as a family and sharing stories, and all of us were in the same place again. It was much like stringing a lei. Each of us, and all of our stories, make our story and legacy. There can be bugs, you can prick your finger, but you keep going. And in the end, something beautiful remains!

These designs are inspired by the mini crown flower, regular crown flower, styles of lei, and how they attract butterflies! In my new neighborhood, there’s a single mini crown flower tree on our block. Kids from the neighborhood come to collect its leaves to watch caterpillars grow! I did a bag design for Ewa Elementary in 2023, and I recall the kids calling their crown flower tree, “the butterfly tree.” I aimed to capture all of these memories and lessons in these designs, emphasizing the colors and what they are commonly recognized for too. A few of the designs are inspired by my Nana and my fiance’s grandma’s quilts! Can you spot the similarities?