Keith Maile has always admired Native Hawaiian artwork. But those beautiful bowls and sculptures can come with a hefty price tag.

"As I was growing up, I always wanted this stuff but I couldn’t afford it," said the Kailua resident, who for years worked in the visitor and garment industries. "So I had to make it."

It wasn’t until 2005 that Maile "all of a sudden" got the itch to become involved in art. Since that revelation he has become an accomplished and award-winning woodcarver and maker of Native Hawaiian weapons and tools.

"For me the thing is, at age 62, there’s so much to make and so little time," he said, always happy to share the stories behind every one of his historical works.

As part of the annual Maoli Arts Month (MAMo), Maile has a few of his best pieces on display in "Na Mea Hawai‘i," exhibiting at Louis Pohl Gallery throughout the month.

"Na Mea Hawai‘i" means simply "things Hawaiian," but Maile’s works are anything but simple. They are intricate and take months to create, from studying ancient artifacts to the actual construction.

"I love taking old images from the past and then putting my spin on it, because I would never want to insult my kupuna by doing something they did years ago," Maile said.

Two of his most influential teachers have been Marques Marzan of Bishop Museum’s Cultural Resources Division and Solo­mon Apio, a master umeke and weapons maker. It was Marzan who gave Maile his first push into the art world nine years ago by inviting him to join the museum’s weekly gathering of artisans.

ONE OF THE most stunning carvings in the show is "Ekolu kanaka," an awa bowl held up by three human figures. The sculpture, carved out of one piece of milo wood, won first place at the 2012 Hawaii’s Wood­show.

While it took about four months to make, Maile said he spent most of that time looking at the kii (the human figures holding up the bowl) "to see where I should be working and not getting into trouble. It’s tricky because there’s three of them and it sort of forms a triangle."

Another ceremonial awa piece in the show features a kii, with glowing shell eyes and a haunting O-shaped mouth, at the end of a scoop. The piece is Maile’s version of an artifact on display at a Viennese museum.

Unlike many Native Hawaiian artists who feel a spiritual connection to their artwork, Maile is more focused on the historical aspect of the pieces, studying artifacts and making art for the love of it.

"I’m a Christian, so I don’t really attribute other things to what I carve. I carve it because I like it," Maile said. "For other people it’s a spiritual thing for them, and I can appreciate that.

"But I know sometimes I feel directed, or led, to work in a certain way."

Among Maile’s favorite things to craft are ancient Hawaiian fishing implements. His exhibit features a luhee (octopus lure) — an elongated tool with a tiger cowrie shell attached to a stone and a cow-bone hook (Maile noted that turtle bones were commonly used by ancient Hawaiians), topped with a crown of shredded ti leaves.

"Not too many people make them today, but they still work," Maile said. "It’s just that we’ve forgotten how to use them."

He said to learn how to make the hooks, he studied pieces at Bishop Museum.

ALSO ON display are various Native Hawaiian weapons, food preparation implements such as pounders and a board, a swordfish-skin coconut knee drum, a dog-tooth necklace and other carvings made of various woods such as mango and sandalwood.

Such items are sold for hundreds and thousands of dollars — among the "Na Mea Hawai‘i" display is an $8,000 carved spearholder made of kou, one of the rarest woods used in Hawaiian carving.

But the exhibit also includes some affordable jewelry, such as bracelets adorned with shells from Hawaii and the South Pacific, and traditional pendants made of bone, shell and other material.

It’s Maile’s way of giving others what he didn’t have: a chance to own a piece of the artwork he so loved but could never afford.

"Sometimes people say, ‘Oh man, I can’t participate’ or ‘Oh, there’s nothing there for me.’ Something like this," he said while gesturing to a rack of his shell necklaces and bracelets, "could be as little as $20."