Polynesia – Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings

From the Hands of Joseph

The tiki and bowl in the photo are the works of master carver, Joseph Vaitete of Ua Huka, one of the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. Ancient Marquesan art had all but disappeared from the islands to museums and private collections, and Joseph was commissioned to reproduce some of wooden artwork from photos in booksContinue reading “From the Hands of Joseph”

Polynesian Dream

Thoughts are never very far from those islands so distant. Tikis guard memories of people we have met and friends we have made. We will return. #Polynesia #tiki

Tapa Art

Per yesterday’s post (see: https://eskildoodle.com/2023/06/07/tapa-and-mulberry/) we have some Polynesian artwork on tapa from French Polynesia. The tapa was made from the inner bark of a paper mulberry tree, similar to the one we walked by yesterday in our own neighborhood. The top image shows a stylized drawing of the honu or sea turtle which hasContinue reading “Tapa Art”

Tapa and Mulberry

Squirrels and birds could be seen carrying off the ripe fruit from this tree along our walking route. They seemed to be enjoying it, so I just had to find out what it was. A brief internet search quickly revealed it to be fruit of the paper mulberry tree. Native to Asia and Polynesia, itContinue reading “Tapa and Mulberry”

Emerging from Stone

In 2019 while we were staying in a bungalow at Rohotu Fare in Bora Bora, we saw a Polynesian man, William, sculpting a large stone near the entrance. He was cheerful as we admired his work which was just beginning to take form. He had done other stone carvings on the site as well andContinue reading “Emerging from Stone”

Clearly Crystal

Try to imagine salty water as clear as a swimming pool covering tens of square miles, decorated with sand, corals, clams, and fish of all colors of the rainbow. The imagination will surely fail to even begin to grasp it all; if it could it would be unbelievable. Just a few days of swimming, snorkeling,Continue reading “Clearly Crystal”

Sunbeam and Silhouette

The Sun’s last rays, like fingers clinging to the edge of night, poked between trees and through a window to illuminate bottles and silhouette a wooden dolphin. The middle bottle had witnessed more than a centuries worth of sunsets in the central American plains, while its two companions had seen nearly as many. The dolphinContinue reading “Sunbeam and Silhouette”