Community Contributed
By Kim Markham
Molokai Arts Center is inviting artists to submit grant proposals for the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. The theme of this year’s grant program is “Mobilizing the Community Through the Arts” – a perfect theme for the start of Molokai’s first community art center.
Community Contributed by Victoria Kapuni
Master carver and local Molokai artist Bill Kapuni will have one of his lifetime achievements on display for the public to enjoy beginning at the end of the month. A model of the pyramid he and artist Rafeal Trenor co-created was donated to the Molokai Public Library, and is being dedicated Monday, March 28 at 3 p.m. in Kapuni’s memory for all Molokai people to enjoy. The pyramid was created for an international peace project in 2002 and sculpted on his Kalama`ula ag land – one of eight pyramids of its kind in the world.
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Molokai Art Center (MAC) made it one step closer to the renovation of their new building this past weekend. They hosted nearly 250 people at a sold-out event at Coffees of Hawaii in an effort to fundraise for the first-ever art center on Molokai.
Last Saturday’s “Soup ‘R Bowl” party treated guests to handmade ceramic soup bowls, eight homemade soups, and the music of local musicians.
“I think [the center is] an important part of the community. We need a place for [artists] to do what they do,” said Darlene Hall, a community resident.
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The arts center was founded in 2010 with local artists Emillia Noordhoek, Dan Bennett, Kim Markham, April Torres and Betty West. The board members have been throwing fundraisers ever since in order to renovate one of the buildings on the Coffees’ property.
MAC is nearing the finalization of a five year lease for a 763 square foot structure behind the coffee processing plant. President Emillia Noordhoek said that she plans on signing the lease within the next couple of weeks.
The group had abandoned the idea of renovating a different building on Coffee’s property, because it would have been too costly to make the structure useable and safe, according to Bennett.
The Art Center will feature a kiln, eight wheels, and a raku kiln. Raku is a Japanase-style of firing, which uses a low-heat process.
“I thought it was great. I had a great audience and I’d gladly do it again,” said one of the night’s musicians, Norman DeCosta.
After the signing of the lease, the committee can finalize its building plans and begin construction.
“We hope to start having classes by this summer,” Noordhoek said.
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A nationally-known artist from North Carolina, will be holding a book signing of her new book, “Painter by Providence” at Kalele Bookstore and Divine Expressions on March 4. Dee Beard Dean will be attending the Maui Plein Air invitational Paintout before coming to Molokai.
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Many of the images in the book were painted en plein air at her easel around Taos, the coastal Southeast, Mexico and Ecuador. In the first several chapters, Dean shares with readers intriguing anecdotes about her life growing up in rural Indiana, raising her children in a “Robinson Cruso-esque” atmosphere in Key Largo, Florida, and her fascinating career as a high fashion designer with her own national designer label. Later chapters are devoted to her full-time career as a renowned painter of breathtaking and color-laden landscapes, figures and portraits.
When painting outdoor scenery, Dean observes, “In plein air (out-of-doors) painting, the brushwork is truly the poetry of the painting. Rich in texture, color, meaning, and layers of emotions such as joy and confidence, brushstrokes reveal the artist’s innermost feelings at the moment the pigment was applied to the canvas.”
Dean will be at Kalele Bookstore from 12 noon – 2 p.m. on March 4. For more information, her website is DeeBeardDean.com
molokaiARTgallery.com News Release
Navigating all that Molokai has to offer has just become more convenient, and more accessible. Local artist and business owner, Linda Johnston has created www.molokaiARTgallery.com. The site is “the go-to website for Molokai” a community-based forum offering a platform for local artists and entrepreneurs to easily share their work and services with the public. It is also an online resource that serves as a guide to island life, offering touring, entertainment and lodging options for residents and tourists. Visitors appreciate reliable information from a long-time resident.
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Art shows are a popular way to gather together a community, especially when it’s a family affair. Prisca Bicoy Medeiros set up an art show last Saturday at Home Pumehana with the help of her talented ohana, as a fundraiser for their church.
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A four-man string band, tables of fine craftsmanship and a crowd of art lovers breathed life into Molokai Arts Center last week in a show of appreciation and support for the new organization.
In an effort to bring Molokai its first collective space for creativity, the Molokai Arts Center hosted a fundraiser to help them reach their $30,000 goal for building renovation and upgrades.
“I have always wanted to retire into the arts, but there is center for support to do so!” said Gladys Stenen, a Molokai resident and business teacher. “I am here to support the artists and their goal to enrich the community of Molokai.”
An estimated 400 Molokai residents and visitors placed donations at the silent auction and enjoyed refreshing folk music from Brown Chicken Brown Cow band of Maui.
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Maui Arts & Cultural Center News Release
This ancient saga begins with Pele’s migration to Kïlauea. Her spirit is lured by hula drums to faraway Kauai, where she finds a lover. The story details the quest of Pele’s younger sister, Hi`iakaikapoliopele, to retrieve her sibling's man, Lohi`auipo, the chief of all Kauai. After many adventures and trials on her way, Hi`iaka finds that the chief has been killed by the devious mo`o of that island. She must reunite his body and spirit, restore him to life through the rituals of healing and bring him safely back to their crater home. It’s a very human account of love and lust, jealousy and justice and peopled with deities, demons, chiefs and commoners.
The mystery and thought-provoking enchantment for Hi`iakaikapoliopele and her story was a visual feast of cultural emotion mixed with contemporary Hawaiian thinking. Abigail Kahilikia Jokiel, Pualani Lincoln, Keali`i Maielua and Matthew Kawika Ortiz will discuss their artwork ‘Hi`iakaikapoliopele: Visual Stories by Contemporary Native Hawaiian Artists’ on Dec. 14 from 6-7 p.m. at Kulana `Oiwi.
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Did you know that Molokai is the only Hawaiian island without a public arts center? Even the small island of Lanai has a multipurpose community art center providing classes, workshops and studio access.
A group of artists believe there is a need for an arts center here on Molokai. Their vision is to build a place where they can gather to share equipment, skills and knowledge; to create beautiful and useful art; to laugh and play and enjoy friendships based on mutual interests.
November is known by many names: Native American Heritage Month, Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, and Movember (awarness for men’s health. For literary lovers, it’s a 30-day period of character naming, plot developing and constant prose in celebration of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
With over 3.1 million words and 900 members strong, Hawaii is writing away. You too can tap into your inner Shakespeare or Grisham by attending weekly “write-ins” held in Kaunakakai.
Alestra Menendez, a Kualapu`u School teacher, is hosting local writing workshops for NaNoWriMo participants to discuss their work, offer advice and keep each other on track with their goals.
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