Ilima Kahokuhealani Todd was born and raised on the windward side of the island of Oahu, Hawaii in the small village of Kahuku. As the oldest of four children, her parents taught her that she could pursue anything she wanted, as well as instilled a value of family and the respect and love for her Hawaiian heritage. She graduated from The Kamehameha Schools in 1994 with a new found sense of being Hawaiian. The years spent there produced five years of Hawaiian language studies, Hawaiian cultural education, and experience in the arts of Hawaiian music and dance.
She then went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts Degree at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah in Physics Teaching, as well as earning minors in mathematics and dance. With a great love for teaching, she has since then taught and tutored physics, math, and tap dance. Grateful to be living back in her island home she currently takes residence in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. Now as a proud mother of three, she is grateful for the support of her family and especially husband as she fulfills her role as wife, mother, and artist.
A self-taught gourd artist, the inspiration for her work comes from ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs, Maori design, Hawaiian culture, and the beautiful island home in which she resides. It is also a medium in which she preserves the beautiful Hawaiian quilt designs of her great grandmother Lily Kama "Grandma Lily", whose quilts are featured at the Polynesian Cultural Center and enjoyed by millions.
Through the use of gourd carving, pyrography, painting, staining, inlay and a combination of all, these pieces of art emerge from the humble gourd.
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