The Life as Art
A Master Chinese Brush Painter
…Shirley Pu Wills Practices the Art of Imagination and Chi …By Fern Gavelek … It’s both what you see and what you don’t see that create the magic in Chinese brush painting. “The thing about Chinese brush painting is you imagine what’s not there,” says Shirley Pu Wills of Captain Cook. “A painting of koi [...]
Gille Legacy: The Man Who Paints With His Nose
…By Cynthia Sweeney… Gille Legacy does not have the distractions that the rest of us do. Unable to use his body since birth, he is not confined to it and lives largely—both figuratively and literally—in his imagination. And the peace of that place comes through him and onto the canvas as a tangible connection between [...]
Ka Hana No‘eau i ka Hulu: “The Art of the Feather”
…By Noel Morata… Early Hawaiians believed that birds had symbolic spiritual power and their feathers carried magical properties, including keen eyesight, endurance and speed. These qualities would add to the value of garments utilizing feathers, which were created specifically for chiefly rank and status. When the early Polynesian settlers came to Hawai‘i, they brought with [...]
Hawaiian Quilting
…By Margaret Kearns… Scattered around Hawai‘i Island, small groups of women—and a handful of men—are using passion and knowledge, skill and patience, hands and hearts to save what they say is a dying art. Hawaiian quilting is literally a labor of love with deep roots in the culture of these islands. Created completely by hand, [...]
The Art of Clayton Bryant Young
Bold and Dynamic: the Art of Clayton Bryant Young —Former Green Beret Creates Paintings with Spirit …By Karen Valentine… When you consider that artist Clayton Bryant Young was once a Green Beret, spending 11 years in the U.S. Army, you might wonder how being a soldier has affected his art and his art career. The [...]
Fallen Trees Turn to Art with Tai Lake
Fallen Trees Turn to Art with Tai Lake and Family —Fine Furniture and Art Collaboratives …By Margaret Kearns… At the very top of an unmarked, dead-end road in charming Holualoa Village lives a unique family of Lakes, five in all. Fired by vision, passion, and inextinguishable energy, this family is headed by internationally-acclaimed artist and [...]
Crafting Papahe‘enalu
Crafting Papahe‘enalu: …From Tree to Sea: Traditional Wooden Surfboard Shapers … By Hadley Catalano… Every surfer remembers that first surfing experience… When Bob Russell began as a child, he surfed on blue and yellow canvas rafts along the Kona Coast. When Keith Tallett grew up in Hilo his father couldn’t afford to buy his son [...]
Herb Kawainui Kane
Herb Kawainui Kāne, Larger Than Life …By Karen Valentine… Setting sail in the weather and sea conditions of home port, we begin our journeys in life. As we stretch out across the vast seas of experience, our course is adjusted with input from sources that reveal themselves along the way: changing winds, inspirations, desires and [...]
High-Tech Textiles
High-Tech Textiles Feature Hawaiian Cultural Motifs …By Denise Laitinen …Hilo, Hawai‘i, might not be the first place that springs to mind when you think about cutting-edge clothing manufacturing, but one local company is changing that. Punawai, a digital textile printing company, is using state-of-the-art technology and eco-friendly inks to design, print, and sew women’s apparel. [...]
Joy in Landscapes
Bringing Hawai‘iʻs Scenery Indoors Plein Air Painter Sita Soesman Finds Joy in Landscapes …By Margaret Kearns …Long-time Hawai‘i Island resident and O‘ahu native Sita Soesman is a rare talent—one of those fortunate individuals gifted equally with excellent business, marketing and sales skills, and amazing artistic talent. Mix all of that with unbridled enthusiasm, boundless [...]
The Life in Art
A Master Chinese Brush Painter
…Shirley Pu Wills Practices the Art of Imagination and Chi …By Fern Gavelek … It’s both what you see and what you don’t see that create the magic in Chinese brush painting. “The thing about Chinese brush painting is you imagine what’s not there,” says Shirley Pu Wills of Captain Cook. “A painting of koi [...]
Gille Legacy: The Man Who...
…By Cynthia Sweeney… Gille Legacy does not have the distractions that the rest of us do. Unable to use his body since birth, he is not confined to it and lives largely—both figuratively and literally—in his imagination. And the peace of that place comes through him and onto the canvas as a tangible connection between [...]The Life in Music
Konabob and the Unique Kona...
…By Shirley Stoffer… Bob Stoffer, known as “Konabob” to many people in Hawai’i and around the world, had loved Hawai’i and Hawaiian music for a long time before moving to the island. He listened to Hawaiian music at his bakery in the mountains of Colorado, with a picture of Gabby Pahinui and a map of [...]
A Passionate Kanaka Maoli:...
A Passionate Kanaka Maoli*: Keoki Kahumoku (*Native of this land) —Inspiring the Next Generation with ‘Ukulele, Guitar and Life Skills …By Shirley Stoffer… Keoki Kahumoku is a passionate guy. His beautiful musical talent comes naturally, genetically, from a family that’s well-known in Hawaiian music. But it’s almost secondary...
Gary Washburn: Jazzing Up a...
Gary Washburn: Jazzing Up a High School Band —Heʻs Taken Honoka‘aʻs Music Program to the Top …By Catherine Tarleton… It’s a bright, windy afternoon in Honoka’a for the Peace Day Festival, and the Honoka‘a High School Jazz Band is rocking the field with some big, belted-out blues by a diminutive female vocalist. The kids...The Life in Spirit
Ke Ao
… Na Kumu Keala Ching… Ua hāmama ka ‘īpuka o ke ao – The door of heaven is opened Ke ao (i) ‘ike ‘ia o ke ālaula – As seen, the clouds of the morning light Lālau ho’i ke aloha o nēia ola – Love of this life is placed and carried E ola ka [...]
Ku‘u One Hanau e
Ku‘u One Hānau ē — Na Kumu Keala Ching… Eia ku’u one hānau ē – Here is my place of birth E ku’u ‘āina Kaulana ē – A famous place to me Eia ho’i ke aloha pau’ole ē – Present indeed is unconditional love Aloha ku’u one hānau ē – Love for my place of [...]
