Art

The Road to Publication

Sunday, April 22nd, 2012

Molokai author Brandon Jones launches his first novel, “All Woman and Springtime”

What first started back in 2009 as a cultural curiosity with the North Korean way of life, has culminated three short years later as a full length novel titled “All Woman and Springtime.” It is Molokai-based writer Brandon Jones’ first book, but gained rave reviews and international attention even before its recent publishing.

The novel, which recently made it to “O” Magazine’s 10 Titles to Pick Up Now list, follows two North Korean orphan girls who become victims of human trafficking. The title is a reference to how the main character, Gi, describes the unabashed radiance of her friend, Il-sun, as “all woman and spring-time.”…

Mother by Day, Artist by Night

Sunday, April 1st, 2012

Kala`e Tangonan: the business of sharing beauty

Tucked between towering cabinets and buckets of paint-dye in her garage-studio, Molokai artist Kala`e Tangonan is home.  Standing over an old table, she paints milky wax designs over a blank silk scarf – it is the humble beginnings of what will become a color-drenched masterpiece.  The tip of her brush dips into hot wax and then glides freely over the gauzy material, hardening into the free-hand patterns that will appear after the dying process.  She peels the scarf from the table and dunks it into a bucket of violet dye – a technique called batik. …