Maha Jumaie Taitano

Maha Jumaie Taitano is a multidisciplinary artist who explores metalworking, upcycled electronics jewelry, paper sculptures, bronze masks, and multimedia installations. Though she lives and produces art in Santa Cruz, California, her roots lead back across the Pacific Ocean to her hillside hometown in Guam.

Maha recalls hiking through the lush trails with her Uncle and Aunt. The island is rich with generations of indigenous CHamoru artifacts that were created long before Spanish colonization. Broken earthenware pottery pieces from the first settlers are plentiful, and many have decorative geometric graphics on them.

When Maha held the ancient fragments in her hand, she imagined how she might reinterpret her family's deep connection to the land in her own modern craft. In her own words:

"During graduate school, I started to shift my focus not only on how I created, but even the way I thought and approached creating. I dove deep into my cultural roots and their pre-European colonization period. Inspired from these indigenous patterns to recreate my own personalized contemporary approach to the ancient CHamoru designs. While spending time back home, in nature and with family combined with these ancient geometric repetitive designs influence what you see now in my woodworking."

She interviewed island artists specializing in tattooing, traditional weaving, and wood carving. With renewed inspiration, Maha reoriented her worldview to not only incorporate CHamoru design motifs but also reexamine how she incorporates natural, sustainable materials in her work.

In 2021, Maha began training with a professional cabinetmaker who taught her fine carpentry techniques. Her meticulous process yields precise designs rendered in contrasting woods. At first, she desired to create beautiful, useful everyday objects for her home. Then she began making them as gifts for family and friends. 

We are proud to showcase Maha's talent at MODxMOD FURNISHINGS with functional art pieces.

• Website
• Instagram