I have never been all that inspired to have fine things hanging on my walls. Fine art, paintings, pictures or whatever- clutter for all intensive purposes.

All that changed with this piece now hanging in my office. While I was in Hawaii earlier this year I found this and had to have it…

While walking the streets of Lahaina in Maui, I heard this tap tap tap. Tap tap tap, tap tap tap in this alley between tourist traps. There sat this guy perched on an old 5 gallon bucket; tap tap tapping away. Dean Huhane was his name, here he was making Tapa and pausing to educate and tell us tourists who wandered down his alley all about this old art form that's still done today. A Polynesian art form that uses mulberry plants hammered into a paper form and then using inks from mangrove plants to render pictures. I was in awe. Tattoos on paper! Shapes, tones, subtle lines with bold shapes all hand drawn by one guy. Patience and tension in his hands. Pride in his eyes. Lasting art and not some crappy t-shirt. I had to have it.

Finally after moving in, and getting it framed, it's on that wall and I am so happy I paid what I did to have this thing.

Yeah, not into art per se but this is pretty damn cool. This takes me right back to those February days in Maui… Going back, sooner than later. Maybe Dean will still be tapping these out? I sure hope so.