Monday, October 31, 2011

5th Annual Portfolio Day @ the Hui

Robynne Royster, California College of the Arts, enthusiastically offers feedback about student work at the Hui's Portfolio Day event.

Mark your calendars! The 5th annual Portfolio Day has been scheduled for Wednesday, November 9th from 3 pm – 7 pm in the Hui Solarium. This FREE event features admissions representatives from top art colleges & universities and serves as an unbelievable opportunity for potential college students to receive thorough, one-on-one critiques of their work as well as professional guidance for a future career in the arts.

WHAT: Specifically developed for those interested in pursuing a career in the arts, this free program offers concentrated one-on-one consultations with experienced representatives from fine arts colleges. Portfolio Day encourages open dialogue about student work, addresses questions about college plans and supports exchange amongst all participants, offering so much more than your average college fair.

Portfolios should include a student’s best and most recent work, but can also include works in progress, sketchbooks and other samples. Students should expect to hear many different opinions of their work and be prepared to explain how they developed their ideas and vision.

WHY: This FREE event is a pivotal opportunity for young artists. It validates their inspired displays of self-expression as a means for building a successful future. It gives teens a chance to get their creative juices flowing and have their personal concerns addressed about college outside of the classroom; in a setting that is less obviously structured and conducive to more informal mentoring relationships with adults. Offering it for free enables access to anyone & everyone, which is an important factor for the Hui to consider as we continue to develop not only as a Maui arts focal point, but as a community center.

WHERE: Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center, 2841 Baldwin Avenue in Makawao, 808.572.6560, huinoeau.com

REPS:
Cari L. McIalwain, Cornish College of the Arts: Seattle, WA
Robynne C. Royster, California College of the Arts: San Francisco, CA
Holly McVeigh, Pacific Northwest College of Art: Portland, OR

NOTE: Consultations are schedule on a first-come-first-served basis; we do not offer pre-registration. Because timeslots are extremely limited, we suggest you arrive promptly at 3:00 pm to sign up with the school of your choice.

Read about this event in the news.
Read last year's blog post.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Visualizing Green: Just 2 Weeks Left!

On Saturday, October 22nd, Hui No`eau continued its FREE Artist Talk program by hosting its second artist walk-through of the current Visualizing Green exhibition (on view through November 12th). Participating artists included Kathy Sakai ("Green Scape"), Tony Walholm ("The Green Heart of the Rainforest, the Breath of Life") and Jon Graham ("Green Light"), who shared insights about their work, including inspiration, techniques, thoughts on the "green" theme, and much more.

The dialogue between the artists and visitors stretched beyond just the artwork on the wall. Mixed-media painter Kathy Sakai started by describing a material called yupo, an extremely malleable surface which after painting and drawing upon, slowly extracts color and depth — a process of removing and showing what underneath. Kathy revealed that she'd used only blue and yellow paint, letting her materials guide her.

Hui instructor and renowned painter Tony Walholm had come prepared with close to ten pages of notes, explaining his painting's symbolism and representation of a river flowing through the rain forest powered with the breath of life. Tony also spoke about his method as an artist and his eternal inspiration, master painter Wassily Kandinsky — painting as a philosophy of breaking the bounds of the ego and coming from the purest spiritual self that is inside all of us.

Finally, Jon Graham presented his painting of one of our island's landmarks, an old cane shed just above Skill Village in Paia. His piece was inspired by the color green, the simple beauty of the structure and its irregularities, and the history of the industry it represents, lending a special significance to Maui residents who've seen major changes occur on the island over time. Jon also talked about the source material used to create his picture frame, handmade from wood found by the ocean.

Stay tuned for more opportunities for Maui's art community to meet Hui's exhibiting artists at these free walk-through's during our highly anticipated Hui No‘eau Annual Juried Exhibition 2012", in January.

Read about previous Artist Talk here.
Read more about the exhibition on our website.

Mahalo to Claudio Marchetti for his report!

Monday, October 24, 2011

The Art of Taste: Wailea Food & Wine Celebration

On Friday, November 18th, 2011, Hui No`eau will celebrate its 5th annual Wailea Food & Wine Celebration at the beautiful Hotel Wailea.

This relaxing event features exquisite tastings by Maui's top chefs & vintners- all gathering in support of visual arts education on Maui. With past years’ esteemed company including vintners from Grgich Hills Estate, Jordan Winery, Justin Vineyards & Winery and Shafer Vineyards & chefs from Capische, Five Palms Restaurant, MCC Culinary Academy and Spago Maui, this year's event promises food and wine of the highest caliber.

In a recent conversation with event partner Chambers & Chambers Wine Merchants' Charles Fredy (also an Advanced Sommelier and Certified Specialist of Wine), we were delighted by the natural relationship that became apparent between experimenting in the artist studio and exercising the sense of “taste”- which this event promises to make valuable use of!

Hui: Why should someone completely new to the world of wine tasting attend this event as well as a seasoned "taster”?

Charles: Simply put: because the wines are amazing! This is not just another special event that we are participating in with a small selection of wines, this is our trade show; we’re bringing out the big guns (150-200 of our highest quality/ rarest variety of wines). We typically do not even open some of these bottles (Turley, Peter Michael, Shafer, Paul Meyer- we’re even bringing a Hillside Select: which incredibly, incredibly rare). The majority of these bottles are twice the cost of the ticket to your event; the value is extraordinary. Additionally, your guests will have the chance to actually meet the owners of these wineries, which adds a whole other element to the enjoyment & experience of the wines themselves.

Hui: What advice do you have for a new “taster” (like myself) that might feel somewhat intimidated by the vast world of wine?

Charles: Just have fun! Be sure to walk into the event with a very open mind; don’t get stuck drinking the wine you always drink. This is the time to experiment and really come in with an open palate. If you don’t like it, move on. This is not an opportunity you can take advantage of at a restaurant (once you order a bottle, you’re stuck finishing it). Ask lots of questions and take advantage of the experts. Tell them what you’re about to eat and ask what they might pair it with. You will be so surprised with what you come away with.

Hui: This is a great partnership for Chambers & Chambers and the Hui, because this is exactly the message we relay to our core audience of artists and collectors: to take risks, have fun, try something new and sit back and enjoy the results.

Charles: Exactly, I think it’s important to mention that the types of producers of the wines we are featuring are what we refer to as “artisan wine makers” or “artisan wine producers.” Compared to others in the field that have strict procedures for producing & creating for the masses, they pride themselves on being more artistic and intimate in their approach to winemaking. They are farmers that really care about what they do and want to express the most enjoyment in those they touch with their art. These are small, passionate owners & wine makers that try to make wines of pure artistic expression.

A fundraiser developed over the years with the support of printmaking artist, studio user and Chambers & Chambers wine educator Jim Powlan, the Wailea Food & Wine Celebration celebrates the value of our public open studio program and engages our community in an off-site neighborhood.

“As a talented and successful artist, exceptional student, inspired open studio participant and active volunteer at Hui No‘eau, Jim’s enthusiasm in the planning and promotion of this event exhibits an exemplary model of volunteerism that is vital to our continued success, remarks Hui Executive Director Caroline Killhour, “His innovation and hard work is a testament to his commitment to community collaboration. We sincerely thank him, his wife, Barbara Fong and VP of Sales and Marketing Charles Fredy, for their extraordinary support of the Hui and of community arts education on Maui.”

Tickets to this event are just $150, ($100 of which is tax deductible)! Purchase by Nov 4th for a chance to win "Ripeness Begins Corrupting Every Tree" by printmaking artist Brad Brown, valued at $500. Winning guests must be present at time of drawing. Visit the Hui online to purchase your tickets today or call (808) 572-6560.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Meet the Artists of Visualizing Green

This past Saturday (Oct. 15), Hui No`eau hosted its first of two FREE October artist walk-through's of the current Visualizing Green exhibition. Featuring artists Gabrielle Anderman (Juror's Choice for "i'm so green"), William Worcester ("Almost Ripe") and Sidney Yee ("I No Kea, No..I Kea"), artists spoke to an intimate group of 15 sharing insights about their work -- including inspiration, techniques, thoughts on the "green" theme, and opinions about the exhibition as a whole. Cherie Attix, who had come to hear her fellow exhibiting artists speak, was invited to take the stage as well, discussing her piece "Loulu Old Hawaii."

Artist excerpts:

Gabby describes her artistic process this way: "I work with acrylic, charcoal, china marker and pencil on both paper and canvas. As part of my process, I layer multiple images on top of one another and include words and phrases pulled from books, memories, journals and dreams."

In her written statement, Anderman remarks, "I think everyone should have a cape and a mask. Why not? Why should superman have all the fun? Let’s all put on our tutus and pour ketchup on ourselves and pretend we’re dead and then when someone walks up we’ll jump up and dance around laughing at them for being scared. That would be funny and scary."

Sidney's textural and evocative piece, he says, "Represents a typical theme of good versus evil. Good is represented by the ama'u fern plant which is indigenous to Hawaii. It is being invaded by the wild boars which is destroying our watershed. The color green is symbolic of all things good and the rough textured dark area in contrast is the evil element that can only be controlled with our intervention."

Cherie explains about her piece, "My beloved 1924 home, Hale Ho‘okipa Inn, and the Loulu palms growing near the house were my inspiration." Her woodcut came to life this way: "The creative process was a progression from studying and photographing my subject, to creating a collage out of the photos, next doing my drawing, carving the woodblock, then printing, and for the last step, I hand painted the print with water color."

Bill Worcester, a star volunteer with the Patrick Dougherty Stickwork installation, wrapped up the afternoon by leading the group outside to the sculpture, where he talked story about his experiences building with the 2011 Artist-in-Residence.

Missed the walk-through on the 15th? Join three more exhibiting artists this Saturday, October 22nd at noon for a FREE walk-through of the show: painter Jon Graham, mixed-media painter Kathy Sakai, and painter & Hui instructor Tony Walholm.

See you at the Hui!

Artist Bill Worcester addresses the group.

Juror's Choice "i'm so green" by Gabrielle Anderman

Sidney Yee shares a story about his "I No Kea, No..I Kea"