Healing Art: The Metamorphoses of Phan Nguyen Barker
By Alan D. McNarie “Never in my life did I see more beautiful, beautiful flowers, foliage, ocean,” recalls Phan Nguyen Barker (pronounced Fawn), of her first days in Hawai‘i. “So I began painting—painting flowers like crazy.” That’s a story shared…
Lights! Camera! Ocean! Waimea Ocean Film Festival
By John J. Boyle As the Waimea Ocean Film Festival lines up for the next set, the fourth year bodes to follow the swell of the previous three, growing in size and direction. With more venues, films, and jaw dropping…
Featured Cover Artist: Lisa Greig
Lisa Greig grew up in a creative atmosphere in Sydney, Australia. Her parents were graphic designers who worked from home and had many artist friends who stopped by. Art has been her passion since she was a little girl. “I…
Where Art Found Its Place: Donkey Mill Art Center
By Le‘a Gleason Nineteen years ago—before a collaboration like this existed for South Kona—a group of artists gathered to share a vision. It was this decision to come together to “develop and expand opportunities in the community to enrich lives…
Kona’s Onion House: The Sydney Opera House Meets Stonehenge
By Barbara Fahs They said it couldn’t be built. Later, they said it couldn’t be repaired. Yet the Onion House stands proudly today in South Kona as a living work of art and innovative architecture. Thanks to the vision of…
Feather Art: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
By Barbara Fahs Na lima mili hulu no‘eau is a Hawaiian expression that means “the skilled hands that touch the feathers.” It honors the ancient art of feather lei, capes, headdresses, and other ornaments. In today’s world, it can easily…
The Man Behind the Flowers: Peter Honeyman Transforms Botany Into Art
By Le‘a Gleason Peter Honeyman stands inside a booth at the Hilo Farmers Market addressing passersby. “That’s not silk, it’s not a fabric, not a synthetic. They’re all the real thing,” he says, pointing. It’s hot. Everyone who passes by…
Messages to Mars: Artist Jon Lomberg Sends Relics from Today for Civilizations Tomorrow
By Jon Lomberg NASA landed the Curiosity rover on Mars last August to begin a two-year study on Mars at Gale Crater, near the Martian equator. The crater has features that were formed by water long ago, so it is a…
Lessons of Light: Ethan Tweedie Captures the Beauty of Hawai‘i Island
By Gayle ‘Kaleilehua’ Greco Sitting on the front steps of Parker School, a teenage boy pensively gazes at Mauna Kea, not knowing why, and yet, in his heart he knows he is home. One winter day, living in New Jersey,…
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.…
Aunty Elizabeth Malu‘ihi Lee: Lifelong Weaver Seeks to Pass on Hawaiian Tradition
By Cynthia Sweeney Growing up in Kohanaiki in the 1930s during the Great Depression, Aunty Elizabeth never imagined that one day people would come to Kailua-Kona from around the world to learn lauhala weaving from her. “I never knew I…
Evelyn Musacchia: Laupāhoehoe Farmers Market’s Little Old Rock Lady
By Jessica Kirkwood When I first met Evelyn she was sitting behind a table of brightly painted rocks, her slight frame illuminated by sparkling green eyes and rosy cheeks. “Welcome to the teenie tiny Laupāhoehoe farmer’s market,” she said with…
The Fabric of Community: Kapa Artist and Kumu Hula: Micah Kamohoali‘i
By Stephanie Bolton Micah Kamohoali‘i is a professional artist who was born and raised on Hawai‘i Island. His family members are descendants of the Pele clan and the shark people of Waipi‘o Valley. He is the Executive Director for The…
The Road Less Traveled—Destination: Diane Renchler’s Toulouce Gallery
By Jessica Kirkwood When traveling up the Hamākuā coast I often I often turn makai (towards the ocean) off the main highway, just seven miles north of Hilo, in favor of the old Māmalahoa’s four-mile scenic route. Each time I…
Dan DeLuz: A Special Man Who Embodied the Hawaiian Spirit of Sharing Graciously
By Tiffany DeEtte Shafto A wave of grief swept through Hawai‘i’s woodworking community as news of the passing of a beloved mentor, friend, and master woodturner, made its way along the coconut wireless. Dan DeLuz inspired a generation of woodworkers…
The Goddess and the Artist: Pele Dreaming
By Gayle Kaleilehua Greco At first glance, you wonder, are her eyes open or closed? Is she smiling or pensive? Is it lava flow or ocean? That is the mystery of MaryAnn Hylton’s casting of “Pele Dreaming.” The image of…
Immerse Yourself in Art: The Paradise Studio Tours
By Noel Morata The concept of creating open studio tours in Hawaiian Paradise Park (HPP) originated between Karen Hagen and Patti Datlof, pottery and cement artists, creating unusual and very colorful cement-based sculpture and objects. “After schlepping heavy concrete crafts…
Whimsical Art and Storyteller Esther Szegedy
By Stephanie Bolton Wide, bright eyes, and dancing vivid colors… am I describing her artwork or Esther, herself? Upon meeting for lunch at the Holuakoa Gardens and Cafe one Saturday afternoon, I had the pleasure of learning some of the…
Atmospheric Art: Revealing the Island’s Inner Light
By Marya Mann From the searing cauldron of Kīlauea Volcano to the cool surfing waves of Waipi‘o Valley and the breathtaking summits of Hualālai and Mauna Kea, he had space to stretch out and explore all the edges, opposites and…
Burning Spirit: Inspirations with Master Painter David “Kawika” Gallegos
By Karen Valentine Someone or some spirit has been looking out for David Maes “Kawika” Gallegos. With divine timing and serendipity, and in spite of personal crises, deep heartbreaks and challenges, the right person (or angel) has appeared at the…
Marked Teachings: Tattoo as Transformative Art
By Jessica Kirkwood The tattoo is not just a form of art, but a sacred dance in symbolic healing. Marked in momentum, the rhythm beats fast from the coiled snake. Journeying, thoughts come forth from the void. Let them go.…
Up from the Ashes: Pit-firing Ceramic Vessels with Tim Freeman
By John J. Boyle A close examination of a pit-fired ceramic vessel created by potter and philosopher Tim Freeman reveals details reminiscent of Hawai‘i’s active volcano. The artist, who makes his home near Kīlauea’s burning, living fire, is exploring creation…
Carousel of Aloha: Bringing a Dream to Life
By Alan D. McNarie Juanette Baysa has a dream. It’s not a dream that will lead to an end to all war or a universal source of clean energy or anything that ambitious. It’s just the sort that helps to…
It Was a Hard Day’s Night for Cindy Coats: Now She’s Back, With a Little Help From Her Friends
By Margaret Kearns Holualoa resident Cindy Coats recalls distinctly the moment she declared her chosen profession. “I was 10 years old and had just seen the most incredible movie with my mother,” she says. The movie? It was The Beatles’…
Digital Dream Ready for the Big Screen: Local Animator Involves Hawai‘i Island Youth in Crafting Virtual Realities
By Paula Thomas In a modest rural road in Hakalau, on the Hāmākua Coast, sits a rather quaint, non-descript house. It’s an unlikely locale for a high-tech enterprise; but inside its walls is the animation studio of Geoffrey Blair Hajim,…
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.…
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…
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…
Hawaiian Quilting: Creating Treasures, Passed Down from Generation to Generation
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…
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 luscious,…
