Monthly Archives: June 2015

Dale Zarrella Completes Another Statue

Posted on by Chris Murray
The blessing of the finished statue

The blessing of the finished statue of St. Marianne Cope

Dale Zarrella’s sculpture of Saint Marianne Cope received a traditional Hawaiian blessing and a blessing by the priest from the local Catholic Church on June 14, 2015.

Mother Marianne came to the leper colony on Molokai as Father (now Saint) Damien was dying. She cared for Damien until his death, then assumed his ministry to the residents of Kalaupapa. Her ministry was particularly directed at women and girls. Saint Marianne was canonized in 2012.

The model for the young girl beside Mother Marianne was Dale Zarrella’s granddaughter. She and her younger brother are in front of Dale in the photo above.

CREATING THE STATUE

The life sized statue was cared out the trunk of a monkey pod tree.

The statue was carved from this monkey pod tree

The statue was carved from this monkey pod tree

Dale began the work by making a half sized statue from clay. This was then cast in plaster. He then used giant calipers to translate the major dimensions of the half sized study into the full sized statue.

Half size plaster study of Mother Marianne and child

Half size plaster study of Mother Marianne and child

The first rough cuts are done with a chain saw. The last touches are with 2000 grit sandpaper.

First cuts

First cuts

Surfing Goats and Ocean Vodka

Posted on by Chris Murray

GoatThe Surfing Goat Dairy and Ocean Vodka Organic Farm and Distillery are more or less next to each other in an out of the way place upcountry off the lower Kula Highway. The Surfing Goat Dairy makes great goat cheese, and the Ocean Vodka Distillery makes a great vodka. Both have tours, although one is more suitable for families with small children and the other for adults. You can probably guess which is which.

Surfing goat signSurfing Goat Dairy has three types of tours: Casual ($8 for kids, $12 for adults), Evening Chores and Milking Tour ($14 for kids and $17 for adults), and Grand Dairy Tours ($28 per person). Check their website (www.surfinggoatdairy.com) for details. We did the casual tour. It might be okay for small children, but $12 for adults is WAY overpriced. You can get close to some cute goats, sample a little cheese, and see their small-scale operation without taking the tour.

A surfing goat

A surfing goat

The Ocean Vodka Organic Farm and Distillery is right around the corner from Surfing Goat Dairy. Their tour is $10 for anyone 12 and over. Adults get a sipping sample and an Ocean Vodka shot glass at the end of the tour. There’s also a tour with lunch that costs $25. See their website (www. oceanvodka.com) for details.

The store at the Ocean Vodka Organic Farm

The store at the Ocean Vodka Organic Farm

Ocean Vodka

GETTING THERE
The easiest way to get to Surfing Goat and Ocean Vodka Distillery is by way of the lower Kula Highway (Highway 37). Look for signs for the Omaopio Road between mileposts 9.5 and 10, head downhill and follow the curvy road until you see signs for Surfing Goat Dairy. Stop there or keep on the road for about a quarter mile until you see the driveway for Ocean Vodka. You can return the way you came or continue downhill. If you do the latter, Omaopio Road soon intersects and becomes Pulehu Road. This is a shorter return trip, but it takes you past the land fill which is briefly stinky. Take your pick.