I finally got back to Oahu after 4 months of Canadian winter and everything was magical again. The drive to the North Shore (which I usually ignore because I'm in mid afternoon traffic) seemed so beautiful and bright...After months of getting used to the gray and the mysterious historic misty muddy beauty of Canada, Hawaii was like a Pantone chart of colours or a photoshop world where the saturation was turned up to 100.
After sleeping off my jetlag, my friend Conner and I went over to Cholo Steve's place who has a pool (skate kind) in his backyard. (the one in the painting below). He's the guy in the picture skating. He bought the original painting so that was sweet. Plus Jay Adams,was the one taking the picture in the painting, I got to meet him and he's been my ultimate skate hero since I started skating! I didn't know I was going to meet him that day and coincidently I was wearing my "Jay Adams" shirt (blue plaid like the one he wore on the poster of Dogtown & Z-Boys). I wish I could go back in time to the day I bought it and started wearing it so I could tell myself "Hay guess what, 8 years from now you'll be wearing that shirt when you meet him in person!" Made my whole trip. 
The next days was a shark dive tour organized as a belated birthday present.  It was one of those activities that I just never did because it was a tourista thing, but after an unbeleavable half hour in the water with 20-25 16 foot Galapagos sharks, I was convinced.  I went to the Wyland gallery right after to set up for the weekend's show and it was really exciting to get my new work up on the wall! I finally got my own full wall all to myself!  I've been working hard for a long time to make happen and it was nice to take a moment and enjoy the result!
Show time was the Saturday of Easter weekend and i was nervous as usual.  I was there early and it didn't take long to fill up.The art party was also the after party for the Tidal 9 Women's Pipeline Pro. There were a lot of pros from the contest and I was nervous to circulate, but pretty soon the awesome girls at the gallery were getting me talking to people.  (I'm not good in crowds, I get shy).  I even got to talk to Rochelle Ballard, who I've seen around the North Shore for ages but never had a good reason to introduce myself.  I used "hay, I'm a Piper Girls ambassador too!" as my excuse and pretty soon I was talking it up with a long time hero!
I had another show in Waikiki, which was a bit last minute and not very well advertised.   I didn't put much hope in the results of the show, but it was actually pretty good!  While it may not have been advertized, you can always count on Waikiki for walk by traffic.  I stayed over at the Wyland hotel and after a couple post show beers, ended my long standing Karaoke virginity.  The chosen song was America by Simon and Garfunkel (a tribute to a country that has given me so much magic).  It seemed like I was just settling in and it was time to fly back to Canada (sadly, the authorities only gave me 2 weeks this trip, which still happens every once in a while as a result of an over-stay years ago).  It was expecially tough to say goodbye to my hanai family this time because my visit was so short, but it also gave me big incentive to get in line at the US embassy when I got back to Canada and file for the proper papers so I can stick around and make art!  Meh, enough of that boring stuff...
I got back to Toronto in the middle of a wind storm and slept for 16 hours.  I woke up just in time to get to my next show at The Bait Shop Gallery, a wicked art gallery with a half pipe in it!  The show was a display of 20 different artist's work on skate decks for sale to benefit the Princess Margret Cancer Hospital.  I got to meet some art heros and got some really nice feedback on my deck. 
Although it's sad that the shows are over for now, my favorite part of the end is the beginning.  I'm now excited to get back to my studio and start the whole process over again!

I'm spending my last 5 days in Canada in 65 degree wet rainy springtime mudpuddly weather and I kind of love it.  This is the first year I actually spent most of the winter in Canada so I paid my dues to be able to watch springtime unfold.  The rich brown mud and dead grass will soon be sprouting with the green shoots of the brightest most fragrent flowers of the year.  I've tapped the last of the maple trees and have been boiling all weekend to make maple syrup.  For those who don't have a chance to enjoy this process, the maple trees are tapped for the early spring sap which is clear and watery with a slight sugary taste.  That is boiled down until 96% of the water has evaporated (an all day process) and what's left is a dark amber coloured liquid that tastes great on pancakes!  If you boil it down too much, you get maple sugar, which is great on ice cream. 
Although the syrup could be purchaced at the grocery store for much less than the time it takes to make... there's something magical about the process.  What I like the most is the feeling of connection I get to the people who enjoyed the land before me by following this ancient springtime ritual.
In 5 days I'll be drinking young coconuts and enjoying guava butter on toast, but until then I'll be having a great time mucking around in the wind and rain looking around for signs of spring.

Here is my interpretation of sap collecting:






For those who are in the area, here are some upcoming shows:


WYLAND NORTH SHORE- ALL GIRL'S SURF ART SHOW- APRIL 11-12

Wyland Gallery, North Shore in Haleiwa will be holding a women's surf art show in conjunction with the Tidal 9 Women's Pipeline Pro. SHINN along with other female surf artists will be around the gallery on the 11th-12th, painting, meeting, greeting and...eating. If you're in the area, stop by to check out the new work and snag some pupus.

*JUMPING FLEA- CHINATOWN BOARDROOM, HONOLULU - APRIL 1ST*

Along with a select group of surf artists, SHINN is proud to have been chosen to paint a custom ukelele for the JUMPING FLEA show at the CHINATOWN BOARDROOM GALLERY. The show will be up for the month of April.

Show Dates
April 1st - 25th, 2009

Opening Reception
Wednesday April 1st, 2009 6 - 8 pm

Gallery Hours
Tues. - Sat., 11am - 4 pm

Chinatown Boardroom
1160 Nuuanu Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
808.585.7200
www.chinatownboardroom.com