LIHUE, HI (Feb. 1, 2016) — At 92 years old, Bob Hamada was well-spoken and sharp-witted until his passing in early 2015. His life is featured in Kauai Stories 2,” (Write Path Publishing) a collection of 50 lively personal stories about life on The Garden Island.
For most of his Hamada’s life he made his living from making bowls of all shapes, sizes and types of wood. He refined to such an exquisite thinness that they illustrate his true mastery. He knew just how and when to stop right before the wood could have shattered.
“I started turning wood when I was 12 years old. There was such beauty in the wood. It’s like you see a beautiful girl and then she moves off, and you gotta have another one like that someplace, so you keep on looking, you keep on looking, you keep on looking.
“When I look at a tree I can see the bowl in it. There will be one piece in that tree that is out of this world. Especially when you come from the boonies, you feel like you’ve discovered something. They talk about Columbus and all these people. Hey, I don’t need to go back in time or sail the ocean. This thing is right in front of my eyes.
“Hey, you don’t have to travel the world to see beauty. You’ve got it right in front of you. You’ve only got to find it. I find it in wood.”
Excerpted from “Kauai Stories 2,” (Write Path Publishing). Available in paperback and ebook on Amazon.
