This vibrant fine art piece captures the spirit of Mau, the great Polynesian navigator. Using traditional wayfinding techniques, he taught how to use the sun, stars, wind, clouds, swells and birds to cross the ocean without modern navigational instruments. He also shared his knowledge with the Polynesian Voyaging Society in the design and testing of the Hokolea, an ocean-going canoe that proved Polynesians had been successfully crossing the ocean for hundreds of years without instruments.
 
This painting has many navigational elements including Mau's star compass, the moon, the orange triangle Hokulea sail and a worn patina suggesting history and traditional knowledge passed down. 
 
For me, wayfinding is an anology to the spiritual life in which we move into the unknown with confidence by paying close attention to our surroundings in attunement with our heart and nature.
 
An original 12" x 12" mixed media painting utilizing collage, acrylic, and wax, Mau's Compass ships unframed on a cradled wooden panel. The edges are painted a neutral color. It is ready to hang.