The Ocean Is Talking, Are You Listening? Or how marine debris has co-opted my life

Aloha from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where I have been doing my best to not drown in my attempts to raise awareness about the issue of marine debris. “Well, I don’t live near the ocean, so I can’t do anything about this,” some may think. The answer is YES YOU CAN, the Blue Planet needs you! Whether cutting your plastic use, educating others, or supporting artists and activists such as myself, know how much I appreciate your help in these efforts.

And special thanks to my friends and family who are engaged with me on a regular basis. I couldn’t do any of this without you.

In this post:

1. The Surfrider/Kauai Society of Artists “Washed Up” show is on through June 28 — my low-res portraits are posted here for sharing
2. Bootstrapping conservation efforts — if you don’t do it, who will?
3. Find your peeps and make a difference — little things can add up to big things

And, of course, art updates are included here too.

I’m a Washed Up Artist

This is my second year participating in the annual Washed Up marine debris art show, co-sponsored by 40-year-old Surfrider Foundation (the Kauai chapter) and the 49-year-old Kauai Society of Artists. For anyone on Facebook or Instagram, you can tune into each organization’s feeds for ongoing coverage, but here’s my stuff, from the horse’s mouth and all.

First, I’m proud of the portraits — which will hopefully get people thinking about the ugliness and danger of marine debris — and I’m proud of the collaboration with local 12-year-old model/talent Hi’ilei Berg. I was tentative about showing the darker side of marine debris, let alone asking for anyone to join me in crafting the message, but Devi Berg and her daughter totally got it. It was really important to me to bring in youth, because, you know, today’s youngsters will get to contend with more of the future than I will at this point.

And then, I’m proud of my hermit self for putting myself out there for a live workshop crafting marine debris pendants (it was a little bumpy doing the hot wax in this scenario, I’m not gonna lie), and for making the show reception afterward when I really just wanted to be at home on the couch with the cat.

My thanks to Dennis Fujimoto at The Garden Island for coverage, and to Scott Yunker at Kauai Now — he wrote an informative and educational piece, which you can check out here.

Please, share these images to help raise awareness of marine debris and wildlife entanglements. That’s why I did them. And if you’d like to purchase one of the metal prints in the show, please contact me.

“How Would You Feel?” Because wildlife injury and death from becoming entangled in marine debris would be 100% preventable if people — particularly commercial fishers — didn’t pollute the ocean. What to do? Stop pollution, and clean up what’s out there.

“Little Trash Shack.” One of my favorite areas to hike looks like this all the time now. The shoot took place this past winter so I could clean up the beach with Surfrider Net Patrol afterward. Last I checked a couple weeks ago, it’s back to its sorry state.

“Marine Debris Shoot 2024: Rogue Wave.” Hi’ilei wasn’t at all phased by being wrapped in debris and then being hit by a wave. You need to be brave and have a sense of humor to tackle these issues.

My concept sketches for this year’s Washed Up work.

“The artist got herself to the reception even though she was toast.”

My Washed Up engagement activities, including a board that shows debris I collected during Net Patrol and the ecofriendly alternatives (including bamboo replacement heads for electric toothbrushes). On the right is a closer look at my nametag. Last year’s tag had information about a monk seal pup that was intentionally killed on Oahu. It’s sad that there‘s an ongoing need to message about protecting Hawaii’s endangered state mammal. Again, all of this is 100% preventable, but it requires education and collaboration.

LEFT: Surfrider’s Carl Berg (monitors water quality on Kauai), Scott McCubbins (from Net Patrol), yours truly. RIGHT: Artists Marionette Taboniar, Monika Mira, yours truly again. Kauai has a wealth of smart and talented people doing their best to right the Earth ship.

If No One Else Is Doing It Maybe You Should

I want very much to use ellipses here, but I understand younger people don’t like them. Don’t leave anything to chance. Be brief (and don’t use semicolons either apparently). So allow me to point out that Team Kaufmann not only developed a trifold brochure about wildlife viewing and marine debris, but the brochure is now part of the downloadable resources on my Google Drive, all of which are outlined in the post at the top of my blog.

I have a few hundred brochures printed and am working to get them into hotels and businesses. My thanks to the Grand Hyatt, which has taken some and is printing them off too. This is how good things happen!

If You Think Nobody Cares, They Actually Do

All of this conservation work that I’m doing was unplanned, it really did “call” to me after I moved to Hawaii. It wasn’t easy at first to get used to all the ignorance, stupidity, and/or cruelty out there, but once I tapped into best-fit scenarios for myself personally (namely, working remotely and leveraging my creativity), I was able to better manage the protective shield that you sometimes need to do this work. And I started meeting amazing people also doing good work, and that’s been instrumental in grounding myself.

Plus, it’s all really true: More hands make lighter work. Join the movement for positive change, whatever it is. No act is too small.

My therapy group: Surfrider Net Patrol. I’ve made an executive decision to take a day off this week to recover from the show. On the right is a picture of the Grand Hyatt’s Manager of Hawaiian Culture, Moani Tolentino, and her family members, who made marine debris pendants with me.

LEFT: Because of the Washed Up show, I’m now connected with Tara Coyote, author of Kaimana the Hawaiian Mermaid, among other books. Tara’s main objective for writing this title was to educate children and their families about how precious our ocean ecosystem is and how we humans impact its fragile environment with our overwhelming issue of plastic pollution. The book is based on the true story of a sperm whale that washed up on the coast of Kauai in January 2023, choked by garbage in its stomach. Like me, Tara aims to create positive solutions and a sense of hope for the ocean environment and future generations. RIGHT: My husband Matthew’s been busy with Red Cross, the Hawaiian Monk Seal Response Team, and Surfrider’s Ocean Friendly Restaurants program, and he was inspired to create this t-shirt to teach about safely viewing monk seals. If you’d like to purchase one, please get in touch.

“Talking Points” (left) is a new print I’ve just released at Haloa Gallery & Studio in Lihue. Images like these are making me ask myself whether I want to do another calendar release. If you think you’d like a Hawaiian monk seal calendar for 2025, let me know. It’ll help me decide.

Got arthritis? Let it show. Or, me signing prints on my dining room table. The sunflower painting in the background is one of mine from a long, long time ago.

I’ll be back at the Beach House craft fair this month, though I don’t know which date! It’s either the 16th (which is on my calendar) or the 23rd. Welcome to Kauai, where Mystery Abounds.

As my maternal grandmother used to say, “That’s the hot poop from here.” Thank you for reading, and I welcome hearing from you.

Gratefully yours,
Amanda