I was named a recipient of the 2019 Joanne Benton Educators Explorers Grant from the Wilmington Educational Foundation!
This grant provided me the opportunity to study in the beautiful state of Hawaii during the summer of 2019 where I explored several different islands and took in the amazing native and modern art. Contemporary Polynesian art holds true to it's roots and cultural traditions with a new and innovative spin. It is also one of the most brilliant and exciting areas of modern art today.
I visited some amazing galleries in Maui and Oahu as well as Lanai and spoke with many different artists both native Hawaiians as well as those who chose to settle in this beautiful oasis. My journey took me to villages and cities and atop volcanoes and so much more. With a stop in San Francisco on the way home we took in even more amazing sites and artistic inspiration and saw some incredible jelly bean mosaics at the Jelly Belly factory!