Melissa Chimera, a Honolulu native, is a conservationist and painter. As forester, she moved to Maui to protect The Nature Conservancy's Waikamoi Preserve on Haleakalâ mountain. Her encounters with endangered plants unknown to most except botanists like her husband led her to paint them.

"Most think of the plumeria flower as uniquely Hawaiian, not realizing it is from another place. I want to showcase the forgotten kama'âina (islanders) as a biologist might see them under a microscope – in all their variation and uniqueness. You will never see these species outside of Hawai`i. And we may never again witness their beauty if we don't protect them in our lifetime."

"There is so much sensuality, grace and humility in the Hawaiian people and environment. I want to explore that interaction, since nature is often portrayed as removed, or lost in the distant past. I want to close that gap."