Jeanne Bitz – Activist / Artist – Agent of Change

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Published on 04/14/2025 by Jason Schwartz

Jason Schwartz with Jeanne Bitz, Activist/Artist – sharing of her art, driven by her activism on global issues like domestic violence, and more. Expression of her work blended with Hawaiiana. 4-14-2025

Summary & Full Transcript with Timestamps

Summary

The video features a deep and heartfelt conversation between host Jason Schwarz and artist-activist Jeanie Bits, recorded in Maui, Hawaii. Jeanie shares her journey from a traumatic and abusive childhood to becoming an activist artist whose work focuses on healing, empowerment, and cultural connection. She uses her art to address critical social issues such as domestic violence, the patriarchy, and environmental degradation, while also celebrating Hawaiian culture and its wisdom. The dialogue touches on Maui’s ongoing recovery from the Lahaina wildfire, the island’s ecological challenges, and the importance of community and cultural preservation.

Jeanie discusses how art helped her heal and become an agent of change, using beauty to engage viewers and provoke awareness about difficult subjects. She emphasizes the need to balance masculine and feminine energies within individuals and society, drawing inspiration from native Hawaiian traditions and their intimate relationship with nature. Jeanie also reflects on the current political and social climate in the U.S., highlighting the persistence of fear and hatred but expressing hope for healing and unity through compassion and understanding.

Throughout the interview, Jeanie reveals her plans for her new art studio in Wuku, Maui, and her commitment to supporting local art, culture, and economy by dedicating a significant portion of her realtor commissions to this cause. The conversation underscores the power of art and community to foster dialogue, inspire action, and create a more just and sustainable future. Both Jeanie and Jason advocate for constructive engagement, bridging divides, and actively building solutions rather than just identifying problems.

Highlights

  • [02:06] Jason dedicates 60% of his realtor commissions to support local art, music, and cultural rebuilding in Maui post-wildfire.
  • [05:05] Jeanie’s art addresses domestic violence through beautiful imagery that invites engagement rather than avoidance.
  • [10:15] Hawaiian culture and canoeing profoundly influenced Jeanie’s healing and artistic vision.
  • [16:16] Jeanie integrates chakra symbolism and oceanic yin-yang energies to represent personal and cultural healing.
  • [18:01] ⚖️ Jeanie critiques the current political climate as fueled by fear and hate but calls for awakening and unity.

  • [27:57] The painting inspired by Hina, the Hawaiian moon goddess, embodies themes of resilience, transformation, and harmony with nature.
  • [42:56] Jeanie stresses the importance of compassion and dialogue to overcome political polarization and heal societal divides.

Key Insights

  • [02:06] Art as Economic and Cultural Rebuilding Tool: Jeanie’s innovative approach to allocating a majority of her real estate commissions to fund the arts exemplifies how economic resources can be redirected to nurture community resilience, especially in disaster recovery contexts like post-wildfire Maui. This model highlights the intersection of commerce and cultural activism as a sustainable support system for the arts.
  • [05:05] Art as Healing and Advocacy for Domestic Violence Survivors: Jeanie’s strategic choice to create visually appealing art that addresses heavy subjects like domestic violence enables viewers to confront uncomfortable realities without immediate rejection. This dual-purpose approach helps both survivors and perpetrators recognize the emotional impact and cycles of violence, encouraging empathy and self-reflection.
  • [10:15] Indigenous Culture as a Source of Healing and Balance: Jeanie’s immersion in Hawaiian cultural practices, such as outrigger canoe paddling and storytelling, provides a framework for healing through connection with nature and community. Her art communicates the essential wisdom of indigenous knowledge systems that emphasize harmony between masculine and feminine energies and a respectful relationship with the environment.
  • [16:16] Integration of Universal and Local Spiritual Symbols: By blending chakra symbolism with oceanic and Hawaiian cultural motifs, Jeanie creates a unique visual language for spiritual and emotional healing. This synthesis demonstrates how global spiritual concepts can be localized and culturally contextualized to deepen meaning and accessibility within specific communities.
  • [18:01] ⚖️ Political and Social Commentary Through Art: The conversation reveals how Jeanie’s work functions as a mirror to current societal challenges, including divisions fueled by fear and hate. Her critique extends beyond individual leaders to systemic issues, emphasizing the need for collective awakening and the role of art in inspiring critical thought and activism.
  • [27:57] Mythology and Storytelling as Artistic Inspiration: The story of Hina, the moon goddess, and her journey from oppression to empowerment serves as a powerful metaphor in Jeanie’s work. This narrative anchors her art in cultural mythology that conveys resilience, transformation, and the sacredness of nature, reinforcing the artist’s commitment to honoring Hawaiian heritage while addressing contemporary social issues.
  • [42:56] Compassionate Dialogue as a Path to Social Healing: Jeanie advocates for moving beyond polarization by creating spaces for love, understanding, and mutual respect. Her personal experience of transformation through patient and gentle challenges to ingrained hate underscores how art and community can model and facilitate reconciliation in fractured societies. This insight points toward the necessity of empathy and inclusive problem-solving in times of social upheaval.

Additional Notes

Jeanie’s personal history of escaping abuse and building a new life on Maui is a testament to the transformative power of art and community. Her commitment to teaching and sharing her work through galleries and workshops highlights the role of artists as educators and cultural stewards. The interview also touches on the challenges of economic instability and social change, framing them as opportunities for creative responses and collective growth. The discussion around gender identity, patriarchy, and sports reflects ongoing societal debates with a nuanced and compassionate perspective. Overall, the conversation is a rich tapestry that weaves together personal healing, cultural revival, political awareness, and artistic expression as interconnected forces for social good.

Transcript

00:08
Well, it’s Monday. It’s Monday at 11 here in Maui, Hawaii. Aloha, everyone. We’re in the neutral zone. Welcome to the show. My name is Jason Schwartz. I’m your host here at the neutral zone. Neut Maui neutralzone.com. You can find us on Akaku Maui Community Media Akaku.org and look for the neutral zone. You can also go to YouTube and put in uh Dream Maui and the number one you’ll find the show. We’ve been doing shows a long time. You’ll also of course we are at 88.5 FM the voice of Maui on

 

00:51
your radio dial. we are um pretty much a line of sight station meaning somewhere way out there we don’t uh get heard but here in the central m we get heard and we’re so glad to be around the world. Thank you internet for providing us cuz not only are we current but we have a library of really interesting people and we are not stopping today. We have a very interesting and exciting artist here today and you described yourself Genie Bits as an activist artist and I saw that in your stuff. Activist artist,

 

01:29
huh? Yeah, I think it’s definitely needed right now. Yeah. Welcome to the show. Thank you. So, I met you um like you say, we’ve seen each other and said hello over time, but never knew who each other was. Huh. Well, this is not my normal position. I am now a a realtor again. Maui coastpropy.com. This I say they’re one of the sponsors of our show. That’s because they sponsor me. That’s me. They keep you in a house and food and and I like I’m now having a process that all my commissions 60% of them the max I can

 

02:06
give is going to go into supporting art and music and culture doing shows in music and in art and really bringing up our local economy. You know, I mean, realtor commissions, they used to be sort of normal. But now, as the prices are going through the roof, every commission is big enough that we can scrape off a lot and try to put it back in and help Maui rebuild. You know, that Lahina wildfire now a year and a half ago is still causing issues here. I mean, this morning I saw, but I don’t we’re not

 

02:42
talking art yet, but it’s going to build right into it. Yeah. they’re they um don’t have enough water on the west side and because of that the new housing development plans are going to be slowed up and halted right now. Wow. So, not only are we recuperating from a a major event that wiped out Lahina pretty much that um was on a course, who knows how long it’ll take to rebuild, but we’re an island and we have all kinds of problems and one of those is water. John Kinamaka sat in this

 

03:18
seat. not only a great musician and a very dynamic and interesting, he’s a guy on this, he’s a very dynamic Hawaiian leader. And uh I didn’t even talk about music. We were talking about what was going on after the fire. So I owe him another ride in this seat. We’re going to play his music. But when I spoke to him and I said, “Look, I’m open to speaking to really good people.” And he mentioned Alicia. And then Alicia had a schedule challenge and I said to her, I thought one good chain deserved. Who do

 

03:51
you know that’s really interesting and dynamic and has a lot to say and up she came with Jeanie Bits. Welcome, welcome, welcome. So when I think activist artist, by the way, I talk a lot by the way. So jump in. You’re in you’re in the right place for that. I think because sometimes I don’t have a guest, I talk for an hour. I put the engineer to sleep where that’s what happens I think. But no seriously um how how do you know all this? How did you get involved in all this? Uh I met

 

04:22
Alicia through Kimoko and uh Capahul Hua who does a lot of um work on the island and in the world. Yeah. Um and I taught an art as activism class uh through that she was uh she was holding a symposium with a group of students and asked me to be one of the speakers. Great. Yeah. Yeah. And I got into art as activism because I was born into a very destructive um abusive environment. And I got out and in trying to heal, art was one of the main things that I found that helped me to heal. And I had an artist tell me

 

05:05
to paint what I knew. And I thought, nobody’s going to want to see that. So I I started thinking about that. I mean, there’s paintings and art that shows domestic violence and nobody wants to look at them or they look at them and they think, “Well, that’s not me.” So, I decided to make art that was beautiful enough to draw people in and hopefully do two things. People that are perpetuating that could recognize it and recognize maybe the pain that they’re causing and people who have uh carried

 

05:32
the guilt of what’s been done to them could maybe release that and recognize that they’re not alone. So, I’ve uh I’ve had art in Manhattan Art International’s Her Story Show. Um and I I had a piece that was part of a six-word memoir um born in violence, breaking forced silence. Uh it’s one of the paintings that I sent you. Yeah. And I Is that the one with the little girl sitting between two other women? Is that the one you made? Yes. Yeah. You guys are going to like these. I’m going to be showing

 

06:02
them as we’re in the middle of the You’ll see it on reruns. On the radio, it’s a bit tough to see, but you described it pretty good. Yeah. It’s the three generations of women shutting up women in domestic violence because um when we start to own our power, it’s important, I think, to stop to stop that that chain. Do you think it would be interesting to go through some of them or um I guess we can do them as we’re going along here. I’m just going to quickly look for my email that I got

 

06:35
from you. There’s definitely a progression for me in those pieces that I sent you, even if I didn’t send them to you in chronological order. Let me just quickly Here we are. When I uh opened this, I thought, wow, that first one you guys really, you can’t see it. It’s so small. I can tell you which ones are first. So, toxic environment. She’s wearing a mask. A gas mask. A close one. Oh, yeah. So, oh, that’s that’s modern girls accessories. There’s another gas mask. Oh, the the

 

07:07
one with more than Yeah, this one. Yeah. So, that one um I saw in a dream and it was a bunch of people who were people that had been abusers in my uh childhood and I was bringing my art to them for an art show and everybody else was bringing their art and was okay with it. And um in I’ll I’ll tell the shortened version of events. They were blasting the art and destroying it and um calling that art. Well, the the people who were abusers were destroying the art that was being brought to them in my dream. And

 

07:42
uh this is one of the pieces that I saw finished that I had taken to them. And I woke up and I asked my daughter if she would pose for that and she was all for it. I said there’s kind of a little bit more negativity tied to this one than I’m used to painting. But it was my story and I started painting it. And the roses are the um pattern that my grandmother had on her tea sets that she never used because they were on the shelf. And they were also s symbolized for me the ideal of womanhood that I was

 

08:09
taught that I was fed growing up that was really toxic and didn’t serve me well as a human being on this planet. So they they kind of feature in that. Her gas mask doesn’t have a canister on it because the poison of what we’re taught to be, even though she’s wearing the right clothes, she’s got her knees together, she’s doing all the things to be a good girl. Yeah. It’s not It’s not doing her her any good. Wow. And then the next one, striking. Next one. The next one is in the library. Um, the

 

08:37
stories we can’t tell. And the way that one is set up, these are all life-sized pieces. And the wall goes in and over and back um perspective wise because it’s endless. Yeah. The stories, the things we’re told to not talk about. And my dad used to tape my mouth shut when I was a little girl. So I didn’t come by any of this stuff out of my imagination. Wow. I was warned that um women are to be uh seen and not heard and pregnant um barefoot and pregnant. Like that’s the things that I was told.

 

09:11
Where in the country were you? Uh most of my life was in rural Alaska and rural Oregon. Okay. I wonder if um I get um I guess it is pretty well an example of everywhere, isn’t it? Yes. And the thing is I mean these are our neighbors. This is the environment that I was raised in and these are the people that are really supporting our current political environment. So that’s why I think artist activism I mean those pieces go through a progression of my experience you know telling my story and that’s why Ayala a

 

09:44
um well the next piece is you be a good girl the name of it is you be a good girl but the words in it are born in violence breaking force silence and then aa a is the next piece after that which one the the canoe paddling into the sun the sun rising yeah that’s Kimoko steering that canoe my daughter’s in seat who and Anella um who runs HOCVS, Hawaiian Outrigger Voyage and Canoe Society is in there and I was invited to learn the Hawaiian culture and it was by far the most life-changing experience

 

10:15
I’ve ever had because there’s a oneness with nature. There’s uh just so many things about it that were so healing. Yeah. I think that we who live here after a while we realize just how rich our host culture is without a doubt. and how it really should be given an opportunity to be present in a world and kind of lead by a different kind of an attitude. Without a doubt, I think a lot of what we’re experiencing in our country right now is just um domestic violence on a grand scale and what’s

 

10:48
been done to our nature, our our native cultures is domestic violence on a grand scale. And so that’s why I make I make this art to speak to like we need we need the balance between the masculine and the feminine. We need to become a whole culture that doesn’t um try to destroy the feminine within ourselves and to celebrate that balance. And I think that our native cultures hold the wisdom that we need to heal. I’m with you boy. Um well I think that’s really very v uh what do we say uh lofty

 

11:24
of you and you how you is do you sell them or you have prints of them you do yeah yeah I have I do I’m in galleries I’m in viewpoints gallery um in Mavau they really they they make videos of the importance because I put okay that painting there aa I tried to capture the magic of what I had learned in the Hawaiian culture because I’m a classically trained artist and that was a complete departure from what I had been trained to try to capture the magic of the Hawaiian culture and the healing

 

11:56
and the oneness with nature that’s available in that. And so yeah, these these pieces I I sell them Viewpoints Gallery in Makawa really supports uh that that exploration in and telling the full story. So, and I’m also in Maui hands in WA and Turnbull and Kahakaloa. And I’m opening a studio in Wuku. Wow. I’m getting my own actual studio for the first time ever. Yeah. Are you going to be where on the street? I’m on kind of the corner of Market in Maine, right across from Native Intelligence. Um,

 

12:29
it’s called Hallowed Home in front, but my studio is going to be my little cave in back where I can have control. You know Taran and Jessica? Yes. I’m really good friends with Taran. She’s one of my favorite people. Wow. Yeah. Well, she was here. What? Uh when was it? I think it was beginning when they were starting that thing at the Royal Ahina, which I don’t know where it’s going. We should check back in. Still going on. I don’t know because I’m I’ve been I had to

 

12:54
move, you know, because of chaos in the market here and stuff. Congratulations having a studio. That’s great. Yeah. Good. See that you guys wuku is waking up, you know, when Lahina suddenly was off the map, if you will. Um, I always thought about a gallery without walls online forever. IRS thought it was a great idea and they audited me a couple of times, but um, no one ever bought anything online. I was so far behind. We always say, “We’re ahead of our time.” And then suddenly 20 years pass and they

 

13:27
say, “Oh, yeah, you’re right with what’s happening.” And you, wait, I’ve been trying to hold this door open just like what you’re what you’re talking is not on a new subject. No, it’s not a new subject. It’s like, hey, how about it? Is it time now? I think in my experience because of how I was raised and what I saw when I when I started to actually see because I was raised in the type of of blindness that is the the toxicity in our environment right now. And as I started to peel away those

 

14:00
layers and see what there was, you know, nobody would listen. Nobody wanted to hear. I think that’s been common in our country right right now. And I think that one thing that’s happening that’s good is people are seeing they can’t ignore right now. Yeah. It’s getting to be uh I don’t know what it’s getting to be. We’ll all find out together. But the whole world is like I don’t want to say up in arms, but up in arms. Yeah. This group is shaping our world in a way that makes certain

 

14:35
outcomes inevitable and none of them are good. None of them are good. Yeah, it’s heartbreaking. You know, believe it or not, uh I just this morning saw the the old secretary of the Treasury. Oh, no. No. Head of the Federal Reserve. What was Janet Yellen? Oh, say you don’t know. No, something in there. But she’s my uh father’s cousin. So, you know, God knows. I haven’t seen her since she was eight. And uh she was ahead of me. I was like a little guy then, a few years behind. But she she’s talking about how

 

15:11
this is like one of the worst deliveries of ideas in economics that could ever be. And here we are. And every day, I’m sure I’m going to see some stuff coming out from you. We don’t know how it’s going to show yet. You have beautiful stuff. I mean, thank you. Not only do they give a message, how about Me Aloha Pumehana? So, that one is with the greatest love of all is the translation. And um that’s something that I I learned paddling with Hawaiian Outrier Voyage and Canoe Society. Um for me in my in my

 

15:47
journey, these paintings teach me. I love that quote. I think it’s by Maya Angelo, but I’m not sure. Um, write the book you need to read. And so I try to paint the painting that I need to see. And this one is all about the journey to inner love and what I was talking about with the masculine and the feminine being in balance within ourselves, within our culture. And so I I don’t know a lot about the chakras and I don’t know a lot about yin and yang, but I started to explore them and find the

 

16:16
similarities between what I found in the Hawaiian culture. And so in them in the people in that painting, the chakras are are put in their positions and the weave of all of those symbols are oceanic symbols that have to do with the yin and yang energy of each chakra. And the chakras are for me in my limited experience kind of a road mapap to self-discovery and the unfolding. I think so. Yeah. And I think that we can’t give love to other people until we have that in ourselves. We all have it. By the way, I’d like to

 

16:51
share that because uh many times we see representations in our world that don’t look like love. Either it’s love or a need for love. Yeah. Yeah. And uh so we have to stroke Donald Trump lightly. Did you see he just wants to put penalties on CBS and 60 Minutes and all this stuff because they don’t agree with him and they are disagreeing with him? But he just decided that a bunch of legal immigrants are dead to stop paying them. Uh yeah, it’s just very very odd. Why aren’t they returning someone they took

 

17:28
inappropriately to El Salvador back home? And who’s agreeing with that? That’s that’s right. This person who can stop the Ukraine war 8 days after what was it? 6 days after he becomes president can’t bring one person back. You know, we have Donald Trump is uh something that I don’t really know. I I can’t even in my head get it through my head. When he first became president, I told my kids that he is just the he is just the face of the hate and fearfueled infection in our country. from my

 

18:01
experience, what I grew up in, he is only able to take that position because there’s a large portion of our population that is still driven by a hate and fearfueled decision-making life. I don’t think that he could hold that position if there weren’t a lot of people who were still completely driven by that. And I think that he was playing with the that kind of a group and egging them on. But I don’t think he represents them. I don’t think he represents anything but his own interest. Jack

 

18:32
Smith was trying to prosecute uh Trump about the uh January 9. I don’t remember what day it was. Sixth. Sixth. January 6th that he paid for their hotel rooms and food and what the heck. I don’t know those people. Yeah. Now we know we have a liar sitting right there. Can we do nothing about it? Yeah. We can represent in art and in music. Yeah. And we hope that people of all ages will wake up. Yeah. As their worlds are shifting. Things are shifting already without a doubt. So dramatically. Economists are

 

19:10
figuring in a couple of weeks we’ll be in recession to the level of things that none of us really know what to do. No. In the whole world. Yeah. You know, it’s shifting everything. Yeah. That’s why what you do is so important. That’s people bring in, you know, they will look at a piece of art and get more out of it than hearing someone talking about it. They can hear me talking for an hour. They can hear you say, “Look at this.” Everything that we do, the the the words that you say u that that have

 

19:42
those conversations, making space for people to have these conversations, those are crucial right now. I think they always have been. everybody who’s been holding the door like you said it that that’s crucial now for us to be able to for all artists, musicians and um everybody who can visualize the future we want to be living in to be making that art to be having those conversations to be making that music to every way we can um our every moment is an opportunity to live artistically and

 

20:11
build the future that we want to see. So now we need to not just we can see the problems. We can see the things that have been underlying that that have been uh covered up by people not wanting to be shaken out of their their comfort zone. But everybody is uncomfortable now. Now we build. Yeah, I like that. And but I you know sometimes people say to me, why do you talk about things that are negative when we want to be positive? I almost feel like unless you can see it. Yeah. You don’t really know where you’re going.

 

20:44
You don’t go to the doctor and say, “Don’t tell me I’m sick.” When you when you’re sick and dying and you go to the doctor to to get better, right? Absolutely. Wow. So, what you mentioned you’re a trained artist. You’ve been doing this a long time. Pretty long. Yeah. And you look so young, but when you said you had adult, [Laughter] what a young 50, right? I can’t believe I’m 25 years older than 24 years. The years keep going by and I can’t say the issues have really changed much. I

 

21:22
thought we were really coming to a new level when we had a black man for president. I thought, okay, prejudice is going to go away. We’re going to start to really accept each other. And boy, that didn’t happen at all. Well, no. Because the in because people who were thinking and and their entire lives like they wanted to remain cloaked in that ignorance, they got shaken up because it’s not fun to peel away that ignorance, you know. And so, yeah, we had an amazing president, but now there’s that that in that infectious

 

21:59
thinking that’s been present in our country. And so I’m hoping that it’s just like an infection and that it’s burst open and now we can heal it. Now we can I sure hope so myself. What’s go back and do you mind? I’m enjoying looking at your pieces here. You guys I hope you remember Viewpoints and a new gallery sooner in Wau. When do you think? I I’m already open. I worked in it for the first time yesterday. Oo, I’m working on a piece right now. If anybody wants to stop by

 

22:29
that’s uh all about friendship and those friends that I’ve had that um when I was facing all sorts of different things, you know, you can have friends who will support the bad habits in you and uh encourage that, but this piece is all about those friends that that no matter what, you can lean on them. So, well, I’m coming by. Yeah. So, you’re working in your own studio. That’s that’s a great thing when people want to come in and see an artist. That’s probably the highest way to and I

 

22:58
always see it delivered for me. I think it’s also important right now to be doing that because I think I I I like to work in my studio and with my noise cancelling headphones on and not talk to people, including my children. They’ve Yeah, they’ve learned how to deal with that. Uh, are you bleeding? No. Okay, then mommy’s got to paint. So, my third kid’s first words were, “Got to paint. Got to paint.” I didn’t know what she was saying. I felt so bad. Heidi, that

 

23:23
was his first her first words. Yeah. So, um but now I think that it’s really important to be out there and for people uh for everybody who’s has the potential to create visions of this of what’s next. It It’s important to be bound in community together. Well, I applaud you. I applaud you and I’m glad that you’re a shining example. You know, we lead by example. I try, right? Yeah. Can they find you online? I have genie bits.com. Oh, that was easy to find. Okay. I should update it, too. I I do. I like

 

24:04
three months ago, I put new paintings up. Oh, yeah. But we’re we’re going to help with that update. I amum I’m just looking at these. There’s so many beautiful They’re beautiful and they’re statements in that same breath, you know? I mean, I’m looking and I’m seeing there so many times those pieces. That one is Hina. So, that one um again paddling with Kimoko and uh Anella. I we were out paddling and I was in seat five because I was a newbie. We’re paddling. The steersman always points directly

 

24:35
into the full moon when it’s available. And I saw the arms when you know people working together, people working in unison in the canoe. their arms were just pistoning in this beautiful like they were caressing the moon. And so I told them I wanted to paint that and asked them if they could let me have a photo shoot to do that. And and Kimoko said yes, but there’s a deeper meaning there and you need to keep digging until you find it. And so I kept digging and he kept asking me when I’d show up to

 

25:02
paddle, do you have it yet? And I’m like in paddle mode, not in painting mode. They’re two different experiences for me. And I so I finally I would I would I tried to say to him and he’s like keep digging. You’re almost there. And so I kept digging and kept researching and kept learning about Hina and the stories of Hina, the moon goddess all over the oceanic cultures. And um they change from area to area. The the stories of the deities, but they’re all my my little necks go crazy. I just love this

 

25:33
because their deities are their ways of telling stories about their experiences of being at one with nature. And that to me coming from an environment where we, you know, we we own nature and we take what we want. Well, you don’t do that in Hawaiian culture, you ask permission in so many different ways and you are at one with nature. And to me, that’s not what I was raised with. And so in this piece, learning about Hina, the moon god, is something that was that was across the board um part of all the

 

26:04
stories in um from Tahiti to Tonga to to Hawaii to the the Maui cultures. So um it was a domestic violence story. She was in an a marriage that was abusive and um in some of them her sons were different kinds of bad or or not great and uh be- because of she was a capa pounder and she was the most celebrated capa pounder in the village and made the most beautiful patterns and the soft say that one slower. What kind of pounder? Kapa tapa. Uh it’s co uh the the cloth that they made the clothing out of. the cloth. I

 

26:48
got it. Yeah. In some places it’s kappa, in some places it’s the tea. Okay. Um Yeah. But it’s the the cloth. They take something natural and are doing something to it to turn it into make it into really soft fabric that Yeah. that and they put beautiful um symbols that also had meaning on it uh to to tell a story. I never knew what tapa cloth or copper cloth was. Yeah. It’s Yeah, it’s it’s a really beautiful. So that’s what she did. And um uh she wasn’t happy and she I think

 

27:20
it was Anua Newui the rainbow goddess uh the rainbow goddess who brought her the rainbow and her first try um to leave her situation that wasn’t good was she went to the sun but she got burned and um she came back and was still miserable and prayed and uh the rainbow goddess brought another rainbow and this time took her to the moon. But when she was trying to go, her husband dragged her back and broke her leg and she still managed to leave and and uh be ascended to the moon to become the master um

 

27:57
kappa artisan and also master of the tides and the winds and like a protector and a destroyer. Um when when people are being evil or doing bad things, she would she would come in and I think that’s something that I’ve had to face as an artist. I mean, I think about my footprint on this planet and and my place in the environment. And as an artist, I feel like it’s pretty bold to be destroying like adding to adding to the um whatever responsible responsibility we have in in our environment. I feel

 

28:31
responsible in creating my art to be making art that is worthy of the destruction that is rot in the linen that’s gathered, the cotton that’s gathered, the um natural resources that go into making my art. I feel like there’s a responsibility and I think that to story is told in the Hoyan culture when they ask permission. So that was all things that were common in uh Hina’s story. Some of them she just went on an adventure with her brother and he got off at one island and she’s

 

28:57
like the moon right there. at the horizon. I’m She sailed, kept on sailing and and walked off onto the moon and just became the goddess of the moon. So, there’s all these different stories that are told and in that painting, the 30-day Hawaiian moon calendar is depicted in there. And every thread that crosses it tell is is a symbol that tells the story of what’s important to that day in the Hawaiian moon calendar. And the piece is is eight feet tall and it’s broken up into three equal sections

 

29:28
to represent what’s important to those three days. Uh the the air, the earth, and the water. And a lot of people are afraid afraid of the dark and afraid of the introspection. And that’s where Me Aloha Pumihana the with the greatest love of all the journey to inner love and to self-love and inner knowledge. And um Po is the dark and that is the bottom third, the depths of the ocean, the new moon. So at the very bottom of the painting, the new moon is down there because that symbolizes going within and

 

30:01
seeking the the being willing to face the things inside of us, the the darkness and being willing to learn ourselves. And um that’s where we where we can find healing and where we can find love and where we can um find find that that path and that that ascension. And I’m I mean uh how do I say this? I think I find it really enriching. You know, sometimes they say, “Oh, an artist puts up a painting and they want you to make an interpretation.” But the words that you speak are a great foundation

 

30:39
for looking. I hope that somehow the message is delivered with the piece. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. The galleries put the put put the story with it because I think that’s important for me for the gift that I’ve been given to be invited to participate in the most healing experience in my life. I feel like it’s important uh to be telling that story with these pieces, to be inviting people in to have that experience. And part of the foundation, the design behind these pieces is something that I learned in in

 

31:11
the hoola that I was taught to go with the cultural paddling um at HOCVS. And um so when we’re the the poetry, the Hawaiian poetry is is simple and nature-based in its in its uh structure, but the more time you spend with it, the deeper meaning, the deeper connection there is with with nature. And it’s the same with the hoola. Uh there’s simple movements and if you you can look at it and you can think it’s pretty. And a lot of people will come here and they’ll they’ll go to one luau and they’ll

 

31:42
think, “Wow, that was really pretty.” and they’ll never know the amazing experience that you can have if you if you learn more, if you spend more time with it, just like with nature. Uh so that’s that’s with these pieces. People look at them and they’re beautiful, but there’s a lot of intriguing stuff in there that you don’t see in any other kind of painting unless someone leads you to it like you do. That’s great. Yeah. Well, I’m so happy to have had you

 

32:08
here. Thank you for inviting me. Well, you’re most welcome. you know, I this is the neutral zone and I talk politics when it’s appropriate, but I want to make the world a better place and like you say, I like showing really powerful positive spirits and uh do it all and you do it all. You point out the negative, but you create the beauty and you create a future of thoughtful people. I hope that this is really um helpful in sharing this concept far and wide. All you guys even especially you guys that aren’t on Maui,

 

32:47
keep sharing this thing. Keep getting it around. That’s the best part about what we do. Yeah. That we can share this goodness cuz we’re a little we’re a little Maui. And that little bit that you think you’re doing that’s almost nothing is really a big deal for us. That’s something I’ve been hearing a lot of people talking about. every person in their neighborhood has things that they can do in their community to build the future they want to be and all of that together builds something beautiful

 

33:15
and you know I always talk about we want Maui to be an example to the world just like you’re doing you’re a great example like I’m developing the website right now you won’t see the art and music section really developed yet I switched uh platform so I’m be doing. But I hope you will join us up there. I’ll take some pieces and showcase them. Yeah. Tell a little bit of story. Lead them to your website and see what happens there. I would love to. Yeah. So, you mentioned you had kids and

 

33:48
you’re 50. These are adult mostly adult kids. Well, technically they’re all adult kids because my youngest just turned 18. Oh, congratulations. Yeah. Thank you. Are they here on Maui or they gone? Yes, they’re all here on Maui. Here on Maui. What a gift that is. Yeah. Yeah, it is. Yeah, I left a 20-year abusive marriage and I got out with my freedom and I brought my four kids. Um, well, Maui just opened to us. Uh, it was not on the list of places we were looking at moving to, but everything

 

34:16
opened for us to be here. Wow. So, yeah, my middle daughter loves cooking Japanese food and she’s opening a food truck soon um right across the road from here. Oh, good, good, good. Called Underdogs. She’s amazing chef and Yeah. One more time. It’s going to be called Underdogs. It’s like underdogs but and doggy. I’m probably pronouncing that really wrong, but it’s a Japanese doughnut dough. So, yeah, it’s like a product that everyone is going to suddenly catch on. Well, I think it’s

 

34:47
not unique to the Japanese culture. No, but but here on Maui, it’s got to be um it there’s nobody else doing this that I’m aware of except that I heard um my dentist who who’s Japanese said that they used to do the uh it’s kind of like Boy Scouts at the fair and they had the the corn it’s like a corn dog but Japanese style. Oh, good. Okay. I hope everyone out there is ready to come to this food truck across the way. Oh, she’s going to I’m going to be in so much trouble. She’s like, “Mom, we’re

 

35:17
doing a soft opening. Don’t tell anybody.” Oh, we’re not telling anyone. But I’m so proud of her. Well, we hope that this will be played so many times you’ll be open by the time they’re going to see this. Maybe. We’ll see. A soft opening. I don’t want to say when soon is, but that’s great. So, and she’s your youngest daughter, middle daughter? Middle. Yeah. And who’s the oldest one? Uh, Samantha. Three ladies you have. I do. Well, wow. So, oh, I hope I don’t get in trouble

 

35:46
for this either, but I haven’t been told to be quiet. So, I I have I have a daughter and then I have a son and then I have a daughter and then my youngest is transitioning from she her to he him. Well, you know, it’s I I just think our culture once it opened that door, my partner Ariel has a granddaughter who was her grandson. And from when she was little, as a he loved mom shoes, play in a mom’s closet, want to wear dresses to school. Yeah. The whole thing. And um our society now with

 

36:32
all that’s going on is even more crazy. I don’t really understand why anyone would care about someone’s choice. I recognize in sports because as a male when I’m in a sport against a female I can imagine I would think that I’d have an advantage. So I understand that question about different sports. I’m not really sure how to solve that problem. Right. I can I guess I can kind of I can kind of see how that that area is going to need um further exploration. Yeah. But at the

 

37:11
same time, it’s so unimportant. Competition is, I think, overrated. We need community. We need to learn to work together with you. And we can solve any problem if we’re working together. See, aren’t we lucky we’re on this island? Because if we all hold hands, we can do it all here. We don’t need to think about what’s out of here. We have it all right here. Yeah. That’s a great thing, isn’t it? Yes. Community is something, you know, we all these years keep going by. I keep seeing that we keep saying

 

37:45
the same things. It’s It’s just amazing. It takes a long time. Sometimes it does. We’re a big Yeah. I always tell my kids that’s like being human is a messy state of affairs, but it’s beautiful. It’s so beautiful. And I think that’s government. Our politics, yeah, they’re messy. And I know people have gotten disillusioned, but I think I think that this is a time of of great groundbreaking. And I don’t think I can hold space for anything other than us building something beautiful and this

 

38:20
mess that’s being made right now because anything else is just not not livable, not sustainable for human life and well being giving up, I think. Yes. Yeah. Like when I see people coming out to stand up, well, well, where are the rest of the people? They’re either afraid to be seen out Yeah. and be having some kind of an expression that’s against this regime for fear of retaliation. Oh, I’d like to say something about that, please. Okay. I my my my grandparents were so right-wing

 

38:56
that the right-wing wasn’t right-wing enough for them. They started their own their own party that was uh even more right-wing conservative in Oregon. And uh they had I mean that’s all that they frothed they pounded the table and were angry every night at dinner and everybody was so angry and I was part of these uh I was part of that family and and the politics and going out to political meetings and political activism and I was I was terrified to go out to the last the last protest. I it

 

39:32
took everything I had to go out there and my youngest I was like you I’m like I’m not dragging any of my kids into that with what I was raised in. I was like you guys can come or or stay home but I’m I’m going and because of the hate and fear like I we’d go to these things and I mean these people are trying to one up each other on the in their own party like I’m I’m more uh Christian and more angry and more Republican than you. Like there’s all of this like like uh gnarly posturing and

 

40:02
competitiveness within those those experiences that I had when I was a kid. And my not my stomach was tied in knots and and I showed up in front of in front of the store that that where the protest was and mad my youngest is like mom we know most of the people here. I had to laugh because I was like and everybody was so nice. I was there too and I thought it was just a really beautiful experience. Yeah. I didn’t really see anyone protesting it. There was a couple of people that that drove by flipping the bird and then there was

 

40:38
the the the Trump truck the the Tesla truck covered in Trump flags and and he he made a couple of passes by. But there was so many people supportive and waving and honking and thousands. Yes. thousands of people there and driving by uh doing multiple loops in their uh you know exuberance. Yes. Yeah. And so yeah, it was it was not at all like the hate and fearfueled anger that I was raised in. And so yeah, it was really good to be there and that makes me hopeful for the future and for being able to build something. And the

 

41:15
question I would like to to pose to the audience, to whoever hears this, the the question that was posed to me when I was there, okay, we’re standing here, but is this going to make any change? And what do we do next? I guess that’s two questions. So, I’d like to ask everybody and I’m on I’m on social media um you know, Genie Bits Art and uh and and then with your social media presence and um for the next for the next gathering, what do we do next? How do we build? And just asking that question. I I told my

 

41:52
kids this all the time, too. Anybody can find problems. And that’s the thing with the negative. I’ve heard so many people that don’t want to talk about the negative or want to send hopes and prayers or um want to want to meditate on it and meditation’s amazing but we need action also and so what what is that action and I think that anybody can find problems but and I told my kids this all the time it anybody can be a problem finder it takes somebody special and skilled to to be part of the

 

42:19
solution and it right get through that problem that’s what we try to do here the neutral zone Now that we’ve established we have some goal of something that we don’t feel comfortable. Yeah. Let’s bring solutions into the picture and also stop. We don’t have to stigmatize or cast out those that may not been doing. Let’s show them a different and better way. I I read Nelson Mandela’s book, The Long Walk to Freedom. that has an amazing foundation for how to build with people. That’s something else

 

42:56
that’s happening is the polarization and the separation. And I hear people on the left left side of things talking just as militantly as people on on the extreme right. And that’s not how we move forward. Uh we can’t we can’t be there. Um we have to be in this unified place. And then that movie um Best of Enemies, have you seen that one? No. Oh my gosh. You’ve got to watch it. It’s about a Ku Klux Clan leader. Oh, and and the the black community activist leader who have to work together and they become best

 

43:28
friends. It’s a true story. That’s a great thing. And that’s what we need. We can’t dehumanize people on either side. And and for anybody like when I was when I was born into that ignorance and hate and fearfueled environment, you know, it wasn’t people screaming at me that changed my mind. It was my friends who were like uh when I would spew the ignorance or the hate that I was raised in, they’re like um Genie maybe maybe consider this perspective over here. I was given with

 

43:56
people who loved me a pathway to consider other options. And people who have have been participating in a mindset their entire lives and were born and raised in that they we they need to have a way to move to move forward. gravity isn’t gonna quit working on people who think differently. [Laughter] So, right, so we have to learn to we have to find that that problem solving and that solution and and that working together and um yeah, that that middle I don’t know about middle ground because

 

44:29
some of this stuff is not going to be middle. It’s going to be communicating with love for a shift in perspective. Yeah. I mean, we’re these are unprecedented times. Yeah, but your perspective like mine is don’t cast someone away as an enemy. No. See if we can create this ground where if you care about me and I care about you, why would I want to do this that might hurt you? Yeah. Yeah. So, a a demographic that’s talked about a lot in the news right now is is the patriarchy. And uh the a a

 

45:07
primary demographic in that is is the white male. And something that I’ve read about like the first um the first mutilation that that men are taught is to not feel and to not uh not be okay with that sensitive emotional part of themselves. And how how can that be healed? Like how can that be? Again, that’s something that I was angry at for a long time because I was raised in such domestic violence and sexual assault. That was my experience for the first many years of my life. Was your mother

 

45:42
there, too? Yeah, my mother was How’d she deal with that? Beaten to a bloody pulp. Some of my earliest memories are my hearing my mother’s body hit the floor, my dad beating the living daylights out of her, my mom my dad screaming in anger because he married her. How can it be rape when he’s broken into the house and raped her? And that’s the stuff that I was raised with. That’s my everything that I knew in my environment. So when I’m talking about the anger that that’s been dissipated in

 

46:07
me, uh I mean that’s I was taught by my dad that I was worth nothing more than uh I don’t have a lot of nice words to put on, but I Yeah, I was really raised to be worthless. Wow. So I’ve been I had a lot of anger that I had to dissipate. And so when people are angry about what’s going on, I totally get it because when I started to value myself at all, I became angry at the entire foundation that I was taught that I was not valuable. And so when I’m talking about um finding ways

 

46:43
to work with people and not ostracizing them, I’m coming from a place of knowing what it’s like to be absolutely decimated by this mindset. Wow. And um I you know when I hear the stories like yours, I grew up you know I had my own I want to call it domestic violence. When I did something my father would punch me. That was pretty radical and you know it over time it got harder but I was kind of used to it. Not happy about it. Yeah. But we grow out of things that weren’t really I don’t know

 

47:19
if they weren’t socially that’s a funny thing to say about my father that wasn’t normal but I knew how to egg him on with my statements and comments that may or may not agree with him but he just his method was violence. Yeah. And I’m sure he learned it from his father. Exactly. Yeah. So we are role models for those around us. Yeah. So now you have beautiful kids. Yeah. That are conscious and uh that are working to make this a better place for everyone. Yeah. Yeah. That’s a great legacy. Yeah. Never mind

 

47:55
anything else. That’s a great legacy. Yeah. And hopefully they’ll be an example just like you are an example. Yes. They’re part of breaking the the the historical the chain of historical violence generation. You’ve been painting for a long time, I think. Well, okay. I’ve been doing art since I was a little tiny. Uh that was my my escape. Yeah. From a horrific environment. And then I’ve been I took my first oil painting class when I was 17. And I’ve been painting. So art funded my escape

 

48:24
from from a an abusive marriage. And um so I started that because I wasn’t allowed to buy just basic stuff for my kids in this in this uh abusive marriage. And so in 2004, I decided to start trying to sell my art so that I could afford just basic things for my kids and it funded my my um segue out of that. Wow, that’s great. So, well, that’s you’re not only a an artist, you’re successful commercially to be able to support your life and continue. That’s a great that by itself is a great

 

49:00
thing. Yeah. um if the economy doesn’t totally crash, I’ve been able to support my family, you know. Yeah. So, yeah. You know, when I hear your name and I my memory just keeps going cuz like you say, you’ve seen me around a lot of years. I’ve heard your name also. I was Genie Young and during during the the year years that we were kind of locked inside, which was my ideal, painting a lot and paddling in in bubbles and nobody touching me, which was again, you know, my ideal. Um, I did

 

49:34
the the paperwork to get my name changed. So, I was Jeannie Young for a while and now Genie Bits. But your art, I mean, I I know I’ve seen your name, so that’s good. We’re going to hopefully this will bring it up. By the way, I have to let everyone know we are on KU88.5 FM the voice of Maui and Akaku Maui Community TV akaku.org. You can also go and there’s an app on your phone whether Google I guess it’s now Android or Mac and that’s Maui stream where they have all three TV

 

50:10
stations or media stations and radio. So that’s a great thing to have on your phone. Then you can listen to all of us anytime. also mauy neutralzone.com and YouTube atdream Maui and number one you know I’ve over these it we started here I started here in 2018 in June when this was originally going to be a political show but it meant that I had to interview everyone I was doing all those 15 election cycles but on radio I was going to do them here but then I’d have to have everyone that was running give

 

50:49
them equal time and if they didn’t come here it would take time on the TV and so I changed it to values which was fine which is more like I really like talking about things good or bad but coming out with something that we can do to make it better. Yeah. How like you said if we work together we can do it all. Yeah. Isn’t that a great thing? Yes. Thank you for holding that space for for those conversations to be had here. And it’s nice to hear that you uh hooked up, however that be with Kimoko. I’ve known

 

51:25
him a long time, you know. In fact, God, this first year I got here, I met him and we’ve been friends for a long time. He’s a good guy. Yeah, he is. And um he has brought canoeing, among other things, to the world. Yeah. I just I just applied for an artist um program that is an inter uh an exchange between Japan and Kimoko uh wrote me a a letter of recommendation for it. So because he’s got a hala over there and paddling clubs and Yeah. Yeah. and doing the same work to bring awareness to uh caring for

 

52:03
our environment and the importance of uh protecting our our connection to nature and culture is over there. Good. Well, it’s great that I like every time I hear Hawaiian and non- Hawaiian working together, it uplifts me. Yeah. Because sometimes I find that Hawaiian people have felt so bruised by the treatment of this whole place and they’re still alive. You know, it was only 1959 we became a state and we know all these things about the language being suppressed and all kinds of things and

 

52:39
culture not being elevated. When I got here in 1988, I was told, “Oh, you should have been here when Maui was beautiful.” And I didn’t really understand it because it’s still beautiful. Still beautiful. Yeah, but over time this has developed. It looks more and more like city. If you start to think about what’s been done to the Hawaiian culture through the lens of domestic violence and then uh you know people coming and just taking and taking and taking like in a domestic violence marriage, you know, um it’s it

 

53:12
it’s no wonder people are angry. Yeah. No wonder they’re angry. Yeah. But I like I mean to me I just would hope that Hawaiians if you’re out there I’m sure you are we’re building our audience. Yeah. Recognize that a lot of people love and respect you as a culture and would love to help assist in giving you the platform to be able to share with the world in a way that feels good to you. And the wisdom that’s been kept alive in that culture is what our world needs right now desperately.

 

53:53
Yeah. Well, I was just looking up. I keep looking up this way only because I am notorious for running over. You asked if I could talk for an hour. Can you believe we only have two minutes left, right? Isn’t that amazing? You know, I sometimes I have people that come on that literally I have to Oh, man. I’m sure my kids are so happy that I’m here with you instead of at home with them talking about all this stuff. Well, I think it’s really it it’s a pleasure and a an honor. Yeah. To sit with someone

 

54:26
that is truly showing through their work, their dedication to making this a better world. Thank you. And thank you again for for creating the space for me to come and share share that and for holding the door open like I said for the change to happen. Well, because we have such little time. Let’s make sure we know how to get them to you. Where’s your gallery? Um, well, you have an address or you don’t want to even tell them? I don’t know the address yet. Off off our offer home market and Maine in

 

54:57
Wuku right next door to Taran Alisandro studio. She’s got a good sign out front. And mine’s coming right there on the corner. That I remember that space right across from Native Intelligence. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That used to be the the bookstore. It’s a pretty good size space, right? Yes. Used to be the I have a beautiful studio back there. I know. I’m so excited. What a great space. Yeah. Wow. Wow. Yeah. I’m hoping to begin teaching also. So, I’m going to start with a weekend workshop a month.

 

55:25
So, if anybody wants to come, I’ve had lots of people asking. Oh, good. So, well, you’re going to see me sneaking my head in for sure. Awesome. I can’t wait. I’m gonna find our closing credits just it really has been a pleasure. I don’t even know what to say. It unexpected. And this is a great addition to I want to say we’re sort of like the memorial. I don’t I don’t know if that’s the right word for all the people that have so much to give that want a platform to get

 

55:52
it out there and share and bring things up in the world. Thank you for that. We only have 37 seconds. You’ve been a terrific guest, Jeannie. Thank you so much for having me here. My pleasure. May all of you uh have a beautiful week and come back next week. Let’s see what we’re doing then. It’s been a pleasure, Jeanie. I look forward to getting to know you even more and more here over time. Me, too. Blessings to you and blessings to you guys. Come back next week. Get up there on the net and find

 

56:23
us and whoever you knew and we’re going to do good things together. All of us. Aloha. Aloha. There’s our music coming on. Take care, everyone.
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