9th Annual Moleskin Show - Spoke Art POW! WOW! HAWAI'I

“Cultural Enlightenment” 8x10″, Acrylic and Ink on Moleskin Paper, 2019. Spoke Art’s 9th Annual Moleskin Project group show at POW! WOW! Hawai’i in Honolulu's arts district. I was really struck by the persimmons on trees covered with snow last time I was in Korea in December. Persimmons are considered a symbol of the importance of cultural education in the upbringing of children, because the trees are propagated through grafts instead of from seeds. More culture and tradition is being lost with every generation as Koreans move further from their Confucian roots, embrace more western culture, and suppress their self expression less. It’s an interesting dichotomy of keeping tradition while allow for individualism, much like the ripened fruit on the barren branch in the winter snow.