May 2024 at the Gallery
Volume 15, Issue 5
Experiencing The Indonesian Lembeh Strait
Through The Lens of Tom Carey
Recently I made my fourth trek to Indonesia and my second to the fabulous Lembeh Strait. The Lembeh Strait is located between the northern tip of the main island of Sulawesi and Lembeh Island. This ten mile stretch of water is a bustling seaport area, with the port city of Bitung being central to commercial activity in the straits. After more than 24 hours of airports and planes between Kailua Kona and the northern city of Manado, I traveled by car and boat to get to the NAD Dive Resort (yes, that is its name) on Lembeh Island.
On arrival, I was greeted by the general manager, Yoda, a cute little Pug dog with a big personality, and his second in command, Sam. Sam actually runs the place, keeping the 15 room resort in order, along with the dive
guides and staff.
The diving in Lembeh is known as “ muck diving “ because it is not beautiful lush corals and clear water, like other parts of Indonesia. The bottom is dark volcanic sand infused with algae. Loads of amazing and interesting critters call Lembeh home, such as nudibranchs, frog fish, squid, cuttlefish, shrimps, sea snakes and eels, just to mention a few of the resident sea creatures.
Mother's Day
is a great opportunity to gift local art.
This Month's Featured Flora: Monstera
In some places, monstera is cultivated as a tropical and exotic house plants. Here in Kona, it thrives well enough to be commonly used as ground cover over lava rock and be considered "mildly invasive." Indeed, if not kept in check, it can sprawl and climb trees.
Also called the Swiss cheese plant, many but not all of the 59 species of monstera actually sport the iconic fenestrated leaves. As well, many but not all monstera species grow monster-sized leaves that are 33 inches wide.
Tamisha Lee uses glass to capture the semi-gloss "finish", fenestrated shape, and slight roll of the monstera leaf in more moderate sizes of 12 or 14 inches. Install a couple dozen of these on a wall (along with a few complimentary heart-shaped glass anthuriums) and voila! Tropics delivered!
KVA Welcomes New Member Artist Victoria Penfield
As difficult as it is parting ways with long time member artists like Kathleen and Bill Jaeger, we must remember what is front and center on our home page: KVA was established in 1987. It is the longest running artists' cooperative in the State of Hawaii. None of the original founders of KVA remain. That doesn't bespeak a high turnover of member artists. Some of our member artists who have been part of the co-op for more than a decade. It means that KVA is a remarkable entity in and of itself. We must celebrate the fact that KVA has helped each of us grow as artists, as well as others before us, and hopefully, many others to come, some yet to even be born. Member artists are chosen who can nurture and nourish the KVA Co-operative and contribute to its perpetuity.
On that note, we welcome new member artist Victoria Penfield. As you might guess from the photo, Victoria is a potter and ceramic artist, but her work is so much more than her designation. She releases the life that no one even knew was hidden in the clay. In her own words, "I was hooked when I cut that first mouth open and heard a sigh coming out of the sphere."
The faces, by the way, are called "karitas" and it is difficult to resist the temptation to collect them all. Besides "karitas," Victoria makes fish, vases, mugs, plant holders, and wall hangings. Read more about her and see more examples of her art on her portfolio page.
For me, besides the hundreds of reef fish, the Octopus is top on my list
with several species of the cephalopods residing in the deep. The Mimic Octopus is just that, it can mimic and morph into various shapes and colors of fish or other reef denizens to camouflage itself. In addition to the Mimic is the Wunderpus, known for its contortions and ability to take off flying through the water or dance along the bottom in a graceful ballet.
My favorite Octopus has to be the Blue Ring Octopus. There are at least ten species of Blue Ring Octopus known to exist. All are potentially deadly and the toxin has no antidote. Even though rare, it has caused death to humans in a few cases.
One dive for was especially lucky for me, when even with my aged and myopic vision, I amazingly found a beautiful Greater Blue Ringed Octopus, all by myself! Even the dive guide was surprised at my fortune. When they are at rest, the bright blue iridescent rings do not show, they are a dull brown overall. But, lucky me saw the little bugger, and I had lots of fun watching him display his awesome colors, and photographing him/her to my heart's content.
During my stay at NAD, we had unusually heavy rainfall, but it didn’t bother any of too much and we kept diving everyday. During my last night there, the rain came down in buckets, seriously. The resort and surrounding villages got about 12 inches of rain in 5 hours.
Only a few of the NADs staff were able to make it to work due to many landslides and roads washed out. Even Yoda almost floated away, but was rescued by his person Sam just in time.
The locals in Northern Sulawesi and Lembeh are the best. Even living in what could only be considered third world conditions, they offer up smiles and laughter to all. Hopefully it won’t be long before I can make it back to this part of Indonesia once again.
Thomas Carey invites you to come by and talk story and learn more about his travels, diving, and photography. He will be at the gallery on Wednesdays, May 8 and 22, and Fridays, May 17 and 31, 2024.