Adventures in Paradise 35

Adventures in Paradise 35

Kia Orana, everyone! Our excellent adventure continues with true confessions of a budding (no pun intended) ei maker. For several months now, we have greeted each new visitor to our island with homemade eis (leis) lovingly crafted by our friend, Mama Numa. Mama is an artist. She picks flowers from her own garden and sews them together, turning those already lovely blossoms into beautiful works of art. Our guests are delighted to be welcomed with a kiss on the cheek and the gift of one of those eis.

Mama is a widow and earns a little extra money by selling her eis. She supplies many of the travel groups who meet the planes with these eis and she is always happy to deliver special orders. For nine months, as we have welcomed visitors, we have depended on Mama to make her eis for us as well. Mama is so talented that she makes creating these special eis look easy. But, isn’t that what talented people do? They make something look easy, because they have superior knowledge and they have also taken the time to master their craft.

Knowing that two of my friends would be arriving soon from America, I had the brilliant idea to create my own eis to present to them. Oh, it would be wonderful!  I would get the chance to be creative, my friends would be so impressed and we could save a little money if I made the garlands myself. There was not a down side to this, or so I thought. All I had to do was pick the flowers and thread them on some string. How hard could that be and what could possibly go wrong? When I shared my idea with some of the women here, they just smiled and nodded their heads.

Not wanting the flowers to wilt, I “wisely” deferred my picking until late afternoon of the day before my visitors were to arrive. I had permission from friends to pick their flowers and I also made a stop at the church, where there were more flowering bushes, just to be sure that I had an ample supply of the white timpani blossoms. I carefully picked each blossom and gently laid them in a bag that I had brought along. Every so often, I would open the bag just wide enough to enjoy their fragrance. Perfection! 

I was halfway home when I peeked into the bag and to my horror, realized that most of my carefully gathered flowers were turning brown around the edges! Oh, no!! Being the great horticultural expert that I am, I assumed that this change could be attributed to the fact that it was a warm day and all that would be needed was a little cold water bath. So, I told Ward to step on it and get me and my bag home as quickly as possible. No sooner had we arrived home, that I had all my little beauties floating in my kitchen sink. Sadly, instead of reviving my treasures, I had destroyed them. The sink now contained a pulpy mass of transparent petals, with not a usable flower in the lot!

To make a long sad story a little shorter, I will just relate that I went to see Mama Numa, threw myself on her mercy and begged for a lesson on two in ei making. While relating my unfortunate saga, I noticed that she was doing what those other women had done before. She was smiling and nodding. Oh, and yes, she was also trying not to laugh. She now knew what my other friends had only suspected. I knew NOTHING about the art of ei making. I had discounted Mama’s years of experience. I had assumed that because she made it look easy, fashioning beautiful eis really was easy. Can anyone relate? Have any of you had a similar experience?

So, for the next hour or so, Mama tutored a very eager student in the art that had taken her a lifetime to master. I learned that one does not pick flowers in full bloom. They will quickly turn brown and wilt before you can do anything with them. Only the buds are picked. These buds are then placed in a bag with a few drops of water to maintain the moisture balance and refrigerated for a few hours or overnight. These buds will open just in time to be strung and will not turn brown for a day or two. I also learned that immersing the flowers in water is the worst possible mistake to make. The water destroys them. They lose their stability and their color. The leaves fall off and unless you can think of a good use for stems, you are doomed. I learned that the fullness of the ei is regulated by how closely you trim those stems. The shorter the stem is trimmed, the closer together the flowers are strung and the fuller the ei. I learned what kind of thread to use and what sort of needle should be employed. I learned to sew some of the buds through their centers and others through the stems sideways, for an added artistic flair. I learned how to tie off with a special knot that would bear the weight of the flowers as the ei was worn.

Then I was taught an amazing lesson in how to look past the obvious and see potential and possibility in all sorts of plants. It had never occurred to me that you could fold large petals into smaller ones to create drama and diversity and add color. I was stunned to find that you could strip a large green leaf into nature’s version of curling ribbon! This ribbon was then wrapped around fresh herbs and sewn into the ei as well. Ah, so this is what made them smell so heavenly! I was taught where to find wild basil and how to incorporate it into the eis along with the flowers. As an eager student, I was beginning to appreciate the vast experience of my teacher! The two of us were also bonding in a new way, brought on by a mutual experience.

So, I made two passable eis for my friends and I was proud of my efforts. I now appreciate more fully Mama Numa and her creativity. Creativity is not a learned skill, rather it is a gift.  But I will get better, because I want to learn and I will practice what I am learning. Isn’t that what makes a good student, after all?

Those smiling, nodding women, knowing before I did, that I would encounter disaster, made their own eis and delivered them to me so that my friends would have a very warm welcome. Thanks to all of them for their thoughtfulness. Mama even made two of her own eis for us to share. They were truly friends in need. We can now laugh about all of the mistakes that I made when I thought I knew “everything”.

So, having spent another week in paradise, I have learned at least one lesson. It is actually a life’s lesson that I keep having to relearn. I have been reminded that people who do things well, have worked hard to make it all seem so effortless. To all of the teachers, artists, musicians, public speakers, writers, gardeners, chefs, and other accomplished people that I know, I want to tell you how much I appreciate your talents and your efforts. You are examples to me of what being creative is all about. It is equal parts, desire, hard work and the love of what you are doing. You have made it look easy when in fact, it is just the opposite. I suppose that a life well-lived would fit into this category as well.

So, as always, we are happy and trying to work hard. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate the examples that you have been to us and the lessons that we have learned from each of you. I am certainly a work in progress, but I am trying to learn another of life’s lessons. I am learning that it’s ok to ask for direction from someone who knows much more than I do.

Love, Ward and Susan                     Elder and Sister Belliston, serving in the Cooks

Mama Numa and her student

The red leaves were folded to make smaller flowers. I made the two white eis.

Waiting for our friends

Ann Harbertson and Chris Judd. Chris and I have been friends for forty years and Ann was a former student of mine. We taught together in Davis County.

Another happy ending. See you next week.