Born in Honolulu, and raised in Makaha on the island of O`ahu, Natalie Mahina Jensen was educated and trained since childhood in Nā Mea Hulu, Native Hawaiian feather work, later specializing in the sculpted feathered staff called Kāhili Ku. Her first art exhibit was at age eleven with Hale Nauā III, Society of Maoli Arts, a collective founded by her artist father, National Treasure Rocky Ka`iouliokahihikolo`Ehu Jensen in 1976. By her eighteenth birthday she had been commissioned by the corporate, public and private sectors – a collection of feathered capes and Kāhili that grace public sites in the islands and abroad. For many years her feathered sculpture was given by the Hawai`i Visitor’s Bureau as their ultimate award for excellence. She continues to teach feather work in workshops all over the state of Hawai`i and the U.S. continent.
Years of study and training prepared her well for other artistic disciplines including Ho`oni`o (the application or painting in Polynesian abstracts and geometric designs) and photography. Well versed in the metaphoric language of “ancestral design” her artwork, whether it is in print, paintings or feather work reflects the foundation upon which her culture is based – the reverence of Nature. Her goal to share through her art, is the fact that every line and curve has meaning, continuing an ancient dialogue.