Honu (Sea Turtle)

As a working artist in Hawaii, it is very likely that your portfolio includes a honu. If you didn't start out with one, eventually someone will request it. So it's kind of a benchmark of your existence in the local art community.

To be fair, honu (Green Sea Turtle or Chelonia mydas) are part our island fauna. They inhabit the waters surrounding our Hawaiian islands and are often seen basking on our shoreline. Honu were not always so present in Hawaii. In the 70s and 80s, local turtle populations became critically low, depleted by turtle hunters seeking their meat for soup and their shells as trophies. Activists campaigned on their behalf urging locals to "Save the Turtles." Almost two generations later, turtle populations have slowly recovered enough that we can experience the enchantment of seeing turtles on the beach. With a life expectancy as long as 80 years, honu are symbols of longevity, wisdom, and tranquility. The partial recovery of a species that was on the brink of extinction represents one of the rare successes of humans as stewards of biodiversity.