The kukui tree, its flowers, leaves, and nuts are symbolic of enlightenment, leadership, knowledge, wisdom and education. The nuts are often strung into lei. They are rich in oil. When strung together they can also be burned to function as a torch or candle. In this print the kukui nut cords stretch up and down. When lit, they burn from one to the next. Each nut is both a seed and a light. The burning of the nuts one by one symbolizes the passing of knowledge and light from past to future generations in an endless continuum. Wise leaders, educators and loved ones share that light and pass it onto us in turn that we may do the same for the next generation. The symbol of Hawaiian King Kalakaua's reign was ke kukuioiwikauikaua: the kukui torch that burns at mid-day. Inspired by the monarchy era, the symmetry, color palette, and feeling of this pattern are both a nod to Victorian, quilt, and kapa design work as well as a Hawaiian sensibility and depth of meaning.
- David Shepard