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Hawaiian language and had been born and reared on
Kaua`i. Leilehua learned from him about plants, philosophy, and the
health of the kino (body). Tutu Wahine Thelma was a homemaker and fine amateur artist, and taught
Leilehua lei making, hula, storytelling, and other arts.
Both of Leilehua's parents are professional
artists, and also trained her as she grew older. Leilehua studied
formally in Journalism and Fine Arts, and holds a Certificate in
Education for Ministry, earned in 1986, from the University of the South
School of Theology at Sewanee, Tennessee. She
continues her studies of Hawai`iana with respected island kupuna
(elders).
Leilehua also owns Yuen
Media Services, an editorial consultancy specializing in
providing written material and artwork on Hawai`i. YMS also provides a
variety of other services and has been described in local industry
publications as "a temp service for media and communications
businesses."
She has been a professional writer since 1981,
but became best known in Hawai`i through Kau
Kau Kitchen, a cooking column specializing in local food.
Her wide-ranging work has been published in the U.S., Canada, and Japan.
Although she primarily writes magazine articles on Hawai`iana topics,
she has authored four cookbooks, several chapbooks on various topics,
and several chapbooks of poetry.
Her artwork has been shown at galleries around the Big Island of
Hawai`i, and has been bought by locals and visitors alike. Some of her
pieces have gone as far afield as Japan, China, New Zealand, Canada,
Germany, Australia, and Finland. In an offshoot of both her artwork and
hula, she and her daughter, Jessica "`Ehu" Yuen, started Pacific
Islands Shipping and Trading as a way for themselves and
their hula sisters to market their Hawaiian handcrafts and hula
supplies.
Leilehua has performed and taught hula on the
Mainland, in Europe, and in China. While in China, she performed at a
banquet the Mayor of Sanya gave for a diplomatic trade mission which
included dignitaries from Hawai`i, Washington DC, Hainan, and Beijing.
She also was asked to craft a traditional ancient style of lei for
presentation to the Mayor, and chant an oli she composed in honor of the
City of Sanya and the Island of Hainan.
Currently, in addition to running her
businesses, Leilehua teaches Hawaiian culture and
arts, and has given seminars, lectures, workshops, and classes for Queen
Lili`uokalani Children's Center, Kamehameha Traveling Preschool, The
Bishop Museum Amy BH Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, the University of
Hawai`i, the US National Parks Service, and many private groups. She
also writes about various aspects of Hawaiian culture, and continues to
create her art. She lives in the old family home in Hilo, where she is
trying to restore her Tutu Kane's garden and plant it with traditional
medicinal herbs.
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