“I’m a cross-pollinator. I love the surprises that arise from unexpected combinations. It’s why I play with marrying words and pictures and mash together drawing, painting, printing and collage. It all becomes an artful salad that can express something new.”

A swirl of eclectic interests and varied work experiences feeds Tamara Moan’s imagination. She’s worked in libraries, bookstores, a photo studio, and as a designer, researcher, legislative aide, production manager, theatrical scene painter, usher, and house cleaner/yard crew. She is currently an art teacher, artist, massage therapist, and editor.

Rooted ever deeper in Kailua, O‘ahu, her life in the islands has nurtured Moan’s sense of her Hawaiian heritage and appreciation for the special mix of cultures that is “local.”

Tamara Moan received her art training at the University of Washington, earning a BFA in graphic design in 1985. She later received an MA in literature and creative writing from the University of Hawai‘i.

Her poetry and essays have appeared in Hawai‘i and mainland U.S. literary journals. In 2011 she received the Bamboo Ridge Editor’s Choice Award in Poetry; in 2016, she received the Lorin Tarr Gill First Place in Poetry. Moan’s non-fiction magazine work has been published in American Artist, The Artist’s Magazine, Pastel Journal, Sculptural Pursuit, Hana Hou, Island Scene, and Honolulu magazine.

Inspired by travel and the natural world, Moan’s artwork ranges from drawings and watercolors, to prints and books. She sketches and paints on location as well as in the studio; both her realistic and abstract work reflects a sensitivity to landscape and sense of place. She frequently combines techniques, adding drawing to paintings, or piling collage, drawing and painting on top of prints. Her handmade books offer a sequential format where images and words spin their stories together.