Hawaii Artists in Volcano

 

The Volcano Art Center has accepted three of Phil's bas relief to be exhibited in the upcoming wood show.

For World Collage Day, Lunel hosted a group of women 

Hawaiian Crow

COME-BACK-CROW!! From extinction in 2002 to a return to its native habitat. One of the wonderful perks about living in Volcano is we are only a couple miles from so many wonderful activities, cultural, scientific, and ecological. Click on links below to learn more:

Info about Volcano Art Center
Volcano National Park Info

Last week we attended a presentation about the reintroduction efforts to return the Hawaiian Crow 'Alala to its original habitat.

Tool User

The ʻAlalā Project with the San Diego Zoo (who introduced their own captive breeding stock} have been working with this unique species. The 'Alala is a highly intelligent bird that is integral to native Hawaiian ecosystems and culture. There are over 100 crows currently being raised in captivity, and over two dozen now living in the forests being monitored to track their territory, feeding habits and interaction.

During the presentation we learned that of the most recent releases to the wild, two pair of male and female birds have begun to defend their territories -- which project members hope means nesting. If this happens, it will be the first crow chicks in a very long time. Article - Return from Extinction

Niuhi-Shark and Kamehameha the Great

This week we had the privilege of being invited to attend a panel discussion about the history that prompted the telling of this story of conflict between regional family groups. We were both impressed by the (kupuna) elders who spoke as they attempted to deal with and accept all parts of the story -- political power, death and loss and the unification of the islands. The word in Hawaiian is "ho'okuleana" - taking responsibility.

Another word that was frequently used during the discussion (which included thoughtful audience participation) was "pono"."  The word means  living with a conscious decision to do the right thing in relationship with self, others and the environment further suggesting  that by living with moral character, people will find happiness.  

Of particular poignancy was the goal of teaching the keiki (children) -- how to accept the past without judgment, and how to move into the present, learning from the past. Reading from another book about King Kamehameha (The Lonely One) by the same author (Eyre) an entire lesson plan is offered for young students.  LINK: Keiki Lesson Plan

EXHIBIT: NIUHI-SHARK: Honoring Kamehameha the Great in Paint and Prose

Volcano Art Center is proud to announce the next fine art exhibition to be displayed at the Volcano Art Center Gallery in  Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park from February 16th – March 24th, 2019.  The exhibition titled NIUHI-SHARK honors Kamehameha The Great in both paint and prose with original paintings created by Carl F.K. Pao paired with selections from the book Kamehameha–The Rise of a King by Kāwika Eyre.  

The exhibit in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of King Kamehameha’s death will open on Saturday, February 16th with artist and author present at an opening reception from 5 to 7pm. The public is also welcome to attend a panel discussion the day before on Friday, February 15th at 5:30pm at the Volcano Art Center’s Ni‘aulani Campus in Volcano Village.

(If, in our ignorance, we have inadvertently misstated something, please let us know)
AND...To read more about this story follow this link: Learn More

Green Green GREEN

Clear day view of Mauna Kea

Many decades ago (1963) the New Christy Minstrels sang it, and most of us sang along (though we probably wouldn't admit to that or any other kind of "green" we may have done soooo long ago).

Green, green, it's green they say
On the far side of the hill
Green, green, I'm going away
To where the grass is greener still...

Lonely female chameleon who lives in the olive tree
just outside our back door lanai

Up here at 3500 ft elevation, there are different kind of flora and greens than we had in Leilani Estates on Luana Street. Although there are still hapu'u ferns and ohia trees, there are also walls of bamboo, eucalyptus and several kinds of pine trees.

"Instant picnic" just out our front door

View of the farm

We went on a guided walk early this week offered by Volcano Art Center and were awed by the size and shapes of several different kinds of ohia trees and some massive koa trees as well.

"Their grass is greener..."

The Volcano Art Center offers many opportunities to learn about the island from many different perspectives -- geological, ecological and cultural.

LINK to Volcano Art Center

Here at our new temporary home, we are enjoying new greens -- some of which come from the organic and hydroponic gardens. The view from our back porch/lanai is of the back portion of the farm/garden where there are many varieties of rare chickens, turkeys, ducks, rabbits, and goats -- their milk is made into taste cheeses!

The corgyn (who surprisingly enough are green-grazers) are particularly interested in the goats, and have decided that the greens on the other side of the fence just must be better than the grass on their side.

Dietrich Varez

While watching the emotional international news coverage about the deaths of two amazing humans - John McCain and Aretha Franklin, here on the Big Island of Hawaii, another loss hits home as well. Well-known and beloved artist Dietrich Varez recently died, (on Lunel's b-day August 14) leaving an amazing legacy of art created during a long and art-ful life -- right here in Volcano Village.

We are planning to participate in an an upcoming workshop offered through Volcano Art Center that will include making our own prints from some of his carved blocks that have been donated by his family.

(Wikipedia)

The studio where Varez works and lives is in a rural forested area near the small town of Volcano, Hawaii a few miles from the entrance to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. He built the house himself after many years of living in tents or cabins on the land or in the Park. For most of his life there, he and his family have lived a self-sufficient pioneering life. They capture rainwater for their needs, and had no electricity for thirty years. The road to his home has been described as “barely passable.”^[5] Varez and his wife rarely leave their homestead, virtually never travelling off-island.

Varez, as a self-taught artist whose career developed outside framework of the institutional art world, maintains a strict policy of keeping prices low and distributing directly to the widest audience. This is consistent with his earliest practice of giving away prints, and only then, when demand required it, of charging nominal prices to cover his expenses. It was only after several years of a growing reputation that he decided to make his living from the sale of his work, and he has expressed in interviews a deep ambivalence toward being considered a professional artist.

"Some people have told me that until I start charging more, I'm never going to become a 'known artist.' I think that's nonsense. You either like the print or you don't, and that shouldn't have anything to do with the price. My goal is to make art -- at least my art -- available to common people. I don't give a damn about the art people; I want to get it into your mom's house and my mom's house.”^[5]

Contrary to the usual practice among print makers, he refuses to limit his editions, printing until a block is exhausted. He dates his prints according to when the print was struck, not, as is customary, when the block was carved. These individualistic practices may have limited the value of his work to collectors, but Varez has said he is committed to staying outside the artificial boundaries of art world conventions. "The printmaking business needs some new blood and new traditions,” he has been quoted as saying.^[2

Samples of Dietrich Varez ART