This is my 6th attempt at turning. This is what number 5 was supposed to look like before I blew it up. This was fun to do, especially since I had already botched this shape once and this was the rematch. Again, this is Ohia Lehua.
In Hawaiian culture there is a story behind the Ohia tree and its blossoms that follows. If this is not appropriate for the galleries please let me know and I will cut it with apologies.
The legend of the Ohia blossom.
Once there was a handsome man named 'Ohi'a. 'Ohi'a met a beautiful lady named Lehua. They became boyfriend and girlfriend. One day 'Ohi'a passed by Pele, the goddess of fire. Pele immediately fell in love with him so she said, "I like you, be my boyfriend," but 'Ohi'a told Pele that he already had a girlfriend named Lehua. Pele was mad that he wasn't her boyfriend, so she set a spell on him and turned him into an ugly tree.
When Lehua found out about this, she begged Pele to turn him back into human form again, but Pele didn't turn him back so Lehua went to the gods and asked them if they could turn 'Ohi'a back into human form. The gods said that they couldn't turn him back. Instead, they turned Lehua into a beautiful red flower and put her on the ugly tree that was 'Ohi'a so they could be together.
According to legend, when you pick a lehua blossom it will rain, because you are separating 'Ohi'a and Lehua.
