In the steep upper slopes of Kalihi Valley, Jan Mills weaves a wili-style lei on her lanai on a Thursday afternoon.
But she's not twisting with plant material from a floral shop — it's with paper.
Mills pressed a real leaf onto shoji paper using India ink. Once it's dry, she cuts the edges to give it texture, then she uses raffia fiber from a palm leaf to wind the leaf-shaped paper into a lei.
"It's very relaxing," she said. "When you're not in a time crunch, it can be very helpful to your peace of mind."
The 73-year-old is part of the Printer Lei Project, created by the nonprofit Honolulu Printmakers and funded by a $10,000 grant from the Hawaiian Council for the Humanities.
The project, which launched this year, encourages printmakers and lei makers to collaborate by weaving together the two art forms.
Denise Karabinus, executive director of the Honolulu Printmakers, said there are similarities between lei makers and printmakers because of the meaningful, repetitive work in making art.
The idea is bringing people together to share the history of lei making, she added.
"We're weaving the lei makers together with the printmakers and hope that something magical will happen," she said.
Seven lei makers and 15 printmakers are working on the project, and Karabinus hopes more people will join. The printmakers have partnered with lei makers to develop a way to make lei using paper and the statement behind the artwork.
Mills partnered with printmaker Leslie Hopf. They were inspired by endemic and endangered Native Hawaiian plants.
When Hopf recently went to Moloka'i, she brought back the idea of highlighting the endangered shrub koki'o ke'oke'o in the project.
According to Maui Nui Botanical Gardens, less than a dozen individual plants exist in the wild and are only found on Moloka'i.
"Because we chose the Native Hawaiian plant koki'o ke'oke'o as part of our project, we'd like people to know more about that and pique their interest in endangered species, endemic species, and what they can do to help them flourish," Mills said.
Mills said the challenging part of the project is mimicking the plant's white hibiscus flower. So far, she's using translucent white rice washi paper and cutting it into a five-petal flower.
She's also including hau from Tahiti and Samoa in the lei.
Mills is a third-generation Japanese-American. She started making lei during the Hawaiian Renaissance in the 1970s. As a teenager, she helped make lei at her mother's flower shop in Mo'ili'ili, using the kui method, or sewing lei with a needle.
Now, she makes numerous types of lei and has figured out how to make them with paper.
"Some of them were harder, like the hili-style lei, which is just one material and branding method that was a little difficult to figure out," she said.
It took her a couple of tries, but she made it work by damping the paper in water to make it flexible for twisting.
Some lei makers have held workshops to acquaint the printmakers with their art form's fundamentals.
Tamara Moan, a printmaker, said it was challenging to learn another art form but is getting the hang of it.
"Having a leaf as opposed to a sheet of paper, it has a different texture, and it has a different way of moving. I think we're trying to — with the paper — imitate that in a way," Moan said.
Some printmakers and lei makers use risograph papers as their plant-based material.
The paper is produced by a photocopier, which prints vibrant colors. However, it produces an abundance of byproducts, according to Karabinus, adding that the project is another way to repurpose the paper instead of throwing it away.
Karabinus takes a risograph paper and puts it into a hole puncher to get a flower shape, then she strings them all together. That is a simplified workflow, but the process can be more complex.
"Lei is very dimensional, and paper is very flat," Karabinus said as she folded the flower-shaped paper to make it realistic.
Lei making has a deep history brought by Polynesian settlers.
According to Leialoha Mahuka, Moan's partner in the project, giving lei is a way of honoring people and giving gifts. She recently taught the printmakers the art form, starting them off with making ti leaf and maile lei.
"They did well," she said. "Some struggled a little bit more, but I feel like everyone in that class was successful, and they were happy with what they made."
Through conversation in the project, Mahuka and Moan shared stories with people who were important to them.
Moan said she wants to include her great aunt Nina Bowman in the project, who was the first Lei Day Queen when Hawai'i established Lei Day in 1928. She has pictures and newspaper articles of her and wants to figure out how to include her in the lei project.
For Mahuka, Kumu Hula Pattye Wright of Na Pua Kea' O Koʻolau Poko inspired her to make lei.
Mahuka said it's important for people to make lei with an open mind.
"My goal is for everyone to always feel that they were successful and have something that they can walk away with," she said. "When we make lei, it's important to have an open heart.
"You shouldn't be angry because whatever you're feeling, all those emotions, your mana (energy), gets put into this lei," she continued.
The Honolulu Printmakers are holding another lei-making workshop for the public on Dec. 13 and 14 between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
