Courtney Ching is a 4th generation kama’aina born and raised in Kailua, Hawaii. She grew up dancing hula for much of her childhood and teenage years performing in competitions and weekly hula shows where she learned to love creating lei, lei po’o, ti leaf skirts etc…. She attended Punahou school and later spent many years living on the mainland for college and grad school. She has a master’s degree in education and taught ESL in Maryland and Oahu before staying home to raise her four children in her hometown. In 2020, when life slowed down during the pandemic, she started her company, Two Seas Arts; a tribute to her hometown of Kailua which translates to “two seas” as well as a play on the initials in her name “CC”. She took inspiration from her childhood hobby of creating miniature foods from clay and began her career as an artist working with resin and clay to create unique, 3 dimensional ocean creature art. In March of 2024 she discovered 3-dimensional acrylic flower painting. She quickly applied her own Hawaii spin to the art form creating lei, lei po’o and tropical flower arrangement pieces from paint and other mixed media. She loves creating detailed, multi-sensory, unique art pieces on canvas or local hardwoods inspired by the natural beauty and culture of Hawaii. Courtney’s pieces have appeared in popular shows such as “Renovation Aloha” on HGTV and HBO Max and the upcoming season 2 of the Netflix series “Untamed”. You can find her work in local art galleries as well as at the Haleiwa Arts Festival, Punahou Carnival Art Gallery, Made in Hawaii Festival and other weekly pop up markets around Oahu.
