Hopper Sheldon: Eastside Artist Brings Art and Fun to Keiki of All Ages

By Barbara Fahs

Keeping pace with eastside artist Cheryl “Hopper” Sheldon can keep you on your toes.

Her free “Artday Saturday” enrichment program at the Hilo Farmers’ Market attracts keiki of all ages, from 10 months to 88 years young. Her product lines include Honu Babies: apparel for infants, tie-dyed t-shirts, refrigerator magnets, eco-friendly tote bags, coasters, mouse pads, cards, and postcards—all sporting her whimsical, original art that are popular items at many island stores.

“I love seeing art on people,” Hopper shared. “And when that art is unique, cute and colorful, it makes it even more fun to wear.”

With all of this going on, you might imagine that she has little time for a personal life. However, she is the mom of twin teenage sons who attend University of Hawai‘i, she loves to cook, putter in her garden, and is very active in the Hawai‘i Island community that she has loved since moving here with her husband Steve and the twins in 2004.

The Long Road to Hawai‘i With the Magic Bus

The hallmark of Hopper’s art venture is her “Magic Bus,” which opened up her life as an artist. Before moving to Hawai‘i, she and her husband owned and ran a bar, restaurant, and bed and breakfast in the Southern California desert. “The bar was a hangout for motorcycle guys, so we had to be on top of things 24/7. Life was very stressful, and after a few years, I become seriously lost.” Then, in 2002 her husband bought her the 1971 Volkswagen van, which she would name “Dubie, the Magic Bus.” “Because I had always painted big things—holiday window displays, murals, signs—when the van came into my life, I connected with it and immediately started painting it, using a lot of motifs from old rock and roll. In a very real sense, the bus saved my life.”

But the joy and pride Hopper gained from her colorful bus was short-lived: after the painting was finished, Hopper parked it in front of the bar to display it, and on the first day, someone seriously vandalized it, destroying all of her hard work and filling her with despair. “A year and a half of work, gone in five minutes. That’s when we decided to give it up and move to Hawai‘i. We sold the business, packed everything up, sanded the bus and shipped it and ourselves off to Hawai‘i Island.”

Because of the rock and roll subject matter that Hopper repainted on The Magic Bus, she expanded the theme to her art and named her first product line of T-shirts “Hopper’s Hippie Art.”

“It was interesting to me at first because some people expected me to behave and do business as if I were a hippie, living in my bus,” Hopper explained. “When I followed through and proved to everyone that I would deliver as promised, I began to develop a strong customer base and a good reputation.”

The Magic Bus has become famous in East Hawai‘i. Whenever you see it, you’ll know that Hopper is either behind the wheel, teaching a class nearby, or visiting one of the shops that sells her T-shirts and other products.

Art Uprising

Hopper calls her twice-monthly art event “Artday Saturday.” It’s a mobile art enrichment program she holds at the Hilo Farmers’ Market on the first and third Saturday every month, from 1–3 pm. Admission is free, and adults as well as keiki of all ages are welcome to join the fun.

“I’m really into recycled art,” Hopper shared. “At Artday Saturday, we often turn trash into treasure, making masks, using stamps and stencils, creating with clay, paintings, collages…you name it, we turn old, discarded stuff into things of beauty and the kids love it! Artday volunteers Jamie and Becky are amazing, and Artday could not happen without them. And we can always use more helpers and donations.”

As part of Art Uprising, Hopper also offers her art enrichment classes at other locations, such as birthday parties, church groups, lū‘au, and other events. “Have Magic Bus, will travel,” is one of Hopper’s mottos. She provides all of the supplies needed to make it a fun, productive, and educational day.

Paradise Studio Tour

Hopper has been active in the Paradise Studio Tour event every December since its inception in 2006. For an entire weekend, as many as 60 local artists open their home studios to the public and offer a wide assortment of arts and crafts, many of them created in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision. But it’s about more than selling art: every year the various artists donate 10 percent of their proceeds to art education programs at Puna high schools.

Paradise Studio Tour Artist Collective board member and clay artist, Patti Datlof, explained the Tour’s mission by stating, “This annual event has helped to bring the artistic community together and to support the arts in local schools by donating money to their art departments. The amount has increased each year of the Tour, starting with $600 in 2007 and increasing to a $1320 donation we made to Pahoa High School in 2012.”

UH Hilo Teams Up With Hopper

Hopper has connected with Dr. Susan Jarvi and the Rat Lungworm Working Group of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo’s Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy to help educate children about the dangers of rat lungworm disease.

“A group of kids and I were painting a mural in Hilo last August and Susan’s young daughter was one of my helpers. When Dr. Jarvi dropped by, she asked me about my art and other graphic work I had done. I gave her a copy of my little coloring book, The Moocrew, not really knowing what she had in mind. A couple of hours later, she returned and told me about an educational project she was working on for second graders. Art, kids, and education? I was on board! Since fall 2012, we have created a 26-page book called The Mystery of Rat Lungworm Disease. It is full of fun illustrations, activities, and useful information to help island kids and families stay and live safe.”

When it’s completed, more than 10,000 copies of the activity-oriented book will go out to all of Hawai‘i’s second grade students. “It’s so important to educate everyone about this horrible disease and how easy it is to prevent it by simply checking, cleaning, and cooking all fresh fruits and vegetables. 1,500 copies will be given to people who attend the Merrie Monarch Festival, because everyone—visitors and locals alike—needs to know the facts to stay healthy.”

“Art Helps” Humane Society Benefit

Hopper’s love of animals is clearly evident in the art she creates. Whether it’s a T-shirt or a greeting card, Hopper’s family of rescued dogs and cats appears prominently as cartoon characters. Every Thanksgiving weekend Hopper joins with other artists at the High Fire Hawai‘i Gallery and Studio in downtown Hilo for their “Art Helps” benefit, where participating artists donate a percentage of sales to the Hawai‘i Island Humane Society. Artwork includes gallery prints, paintings, jewelry, and ceramics. Pets in need of adoption are also in attendance.

Gallery co-owner Shannon Hickey reported, “During last year’s sale, we donated $779 from art sales. We also sold Humane Society calendars, which raised our donation to $929. This year on Saturday, November 30, we will hold the event again and have on-site pet adoptions as well. We hope to bring the donation totals to over $1500 for 2013.”

Community Beautification Projects

Hopper held Artday Saturday at Hilo’s Village Toy Shop until it closed in late 2012. With her students, she took on the big and joyful job of painting a mural on a rusty Matson shipping container that was a parking lot eyesore. What resulted was a kid-inspired and kid-painted mural, the theme of which was, “Me, My Family, My Island, My World.”

“We worked on the mural for six weeks and held a grand unveiling on August 4,” reported Hopper. “It included over 300 hours of work by keiki, parents, and volunteers, plus over 75 hours of professional direction donated by me and other artists.” The container will remain in its current location until a time in the distant future when it rusts completely away, so swing by to have a look at it on Waianuenue Avenue, two and a half blocks mauka from Cronies Bar and Grill. ❖

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Contact: Hopper Sheldon: HoppersArt.com, 808.937.6049, hoppersart@gmail.com

Contact writer Barbara Fahs: hiiakas.com