Hawaii247.com | Hawaii 24/7

MEDIA RELEASE

Holualoa, Hawaii’s Big Island – The Holualoa Foundation for Arts and Culture recently announced the appointment of Kate Jacobson as the organization’s Executive Director. Jacobson will oversee all aspects of programs, special events and operations at the Donkey Mill Art Center.

Kate Jacobson

Jacobson brings to the Holualoa Foundation for Arts and Culture years of experience as both a professional artist and a community organizer. She is currently the Executive Director of the Kona Brewers Festival and past capital campaign director and community liaison for Innovations Public Charter School. A nine-year resident of Kona, she has served on several non-profit boards and governmental boards and committees. Jacobson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Evergreen State College in Washington. She has taught art in K-12 classes as well as colleges, community art centers and private studios in the U.S. and Europe.

The Donkey Mill Art Center is located at 78-6670 Mamalahoa Highway and is the home of the Holualoa Foundation for Arts and Culture. The mission of this non-profit charitable organization is to enrich the lives of persons of all ages and abilities. Their vision is to provide a stimulating environment that helps individuals discover, develop, and expand their artistic abilities by:

• Helping children and youth discover, develop and expand their artistic abilities.
• Providing adults a safe and nurturing environment in which to explore their creativity and learn new ways to communicate.
• Providing studio space and guidance for emerging artists.
• Hosting international artists in order to foster artistic and cultural exchange.
• Providing a learning space for families and generations to share ideas and improve understanding.

For more information visit www.donkeymillartcenter.org or call 808-322-3362.

MEDIA RELEASE

Cool Fusion – The Art of 1000 Handcrafted Stoneware Bowls
To Slurp or Not To Slurp, That is the Question!

Holualoa Foundation for Arts & Culture welcomes the return of their signature cultural event “Cool Fusion” Sunday, September 5, 2010 from Noon to 3:00 p.m. at Donkey Mill Art Center.  During this 4th annual fundraising event, an astounding 1000 ceramic bowls were hand-made by several local artists at Donkey Mill Art Center’s ceramics studio.

Guests will choose one beautiful bowl to keep, and from it enjoy a light lunch of Japanese cold somen noodles with live music performed by Mana Hasegawa. This event is great fun for the entire family and is also a great way to get involved with the local community, art museum, and art education center. Entry fee: $20 Adults, $10 for children under 12. Fee includes one bowl and hiyashi somen (chilled Japanese noodles) for lunch. Enjoy a wonderful afternoon of lovely music and delicious noodles in the relaxing atmosphere of Donkey Mill Art Center’s lawn.

Guests will enjoy browsing through the many colorful noodle bowls, each one unique and artfully created by a local potter.  Extra bowls are available for purchase for $10, and this year there will be a selection of “seconds” available for purchase.

Somen is known to Japanese to be the queen of all noodles and is a signature summer dish that is served cold. Very thin, made from wheat flour, they are artfully presented and served with a personal sized bowl called a soba choko, a special broth, and an array of carefully prepared toppings.  In Japan, eating somen is a way of building community where new and old friends mingle discussing business and enjoying the art of food, ceramics, and flowers.  At DMAC, this experience of somen will honor the tradition by way of strengthening community through discussion and the meeting of new and old friends.

Holualoa Foundation for the Arts and Culture
The Holualoa Foundation for Arts and Culture was established in 1994 by a diverse group of individuals who shared a vision to develop and expand opportunities in the community to enrich lives through art and culture. In 2001, the Foundation renovated the old Donkey Mill steeped in the history of Kona coffee and re-opened in 2002 as the Donkey Mill Art Center. As the foundation grew, it brought new programs to the community, implementing an ‘Artist in Residence’ program and adding studios for ceramics and printmaking. Its gallery provides a venue for faculty and children exhibitions, features music and dance performances plus a wide range of art and cultural events.

MEDIA RELEASE

Scott Seymour, floral designer will share his keen eye and talent with students as they learn how to make their own floral arrangements for any special occasion, classes are 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11 at the Donkey Mill Art Center.

The three-week class allows students to create their own arrangements with his direction and guidance. At the end of each class, students will receive a critique on their piece as well as learning how to critique the work of others.

Class meets 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesdays. Cost: $180 (members) or $180 (non-members). Single session $50 (member) or $60 (non- members). The class is open to beginners through intermediate level.

Supplies to bring: 2-3 containers (with wide opening for oasis foam), clippers and scissors, additional flowers as accent fillers, spray bottle, old rags or towels and sketchbook or notebook.

Born in Kona, Hawaii, Seymour studied landscape architecture and city planning at the University of Oregon. He returned to take over the many businesses his mother, Sadie Seymour, founder of the Kona Outdoor Circle, had started including a plant nursery. The years of gathering flora and fauna paid off as he observed his mother’s floral making arrangement flair. Y

ears of discipline have allowed him to continue her legacy, the Sadie Seymour Botanical Gardens Foundation, while also enabling him to develop his own Floral Extravagance. Seymour continues to be very involved with the Kona Outdoor Circle and the Education Center Foundation.

The mission of the Holualoa Foundation for Arts and Culture believes that art education enriches the lives of persons of all ages and abilities. Its vision is to provide a stimulating environment that helps individuals discover, develop, and expand their artistic abilities.

The Holualoa Foundation for Arts and Culture was established in 1994 by a diverse group of individuals who shared a vision to develop and expand opportunities in the community to enrich lives through art and culture.

In 2001, the Foundation renovated the old Donkey Mill steeped in the history of Kona coffee and re-opened in 2002 as the Donkey Mill Art Center. As the foundation grew, it brought new programs to the community, implementing an ‘Artist in Residence’ program and adding studios for ceramics and printmaking. Its gallery provides a venue for faculty and children exhibitions, features music and dance performances plus a wide range of art and cultural events.

— Find out more:
www.donkeymillartcenter.org

MEDIA RELEASE

“A Plantation Town of the Past: Photographs of Paul Christensen 1930s-1970s” opens Monday, Aug. 2 at the North Hawaii Education & Research Center (NHERC) in Honokaa.

Experience five decades of the Big Isle’s sugar plantation history through 50 vintage images, mostly in black and white. Also on display will be color aerial shots of five sugar mills.

The free exhibit is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, Aug. 2-14.

NHERC is easy to find in the heart of Honokaa when en route to Waipio Valley. It’s located next to Honokaa’s medical facility at 45-539 Plumeria St. and across from the landmark Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. NHERC is an ADA-accessible facility.

For additional information, call 808-775-8890.

Presented by NHERC, a branch of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, and the Honokaa Business Association, the two-week display is supported by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the County of Hawaii and private community contributions.

MEDIA RELEASE

Tomoko Nakazato and Matt Rechs, talented young artists will share their recent works via a show & tell presentation on Saturday, July 24, 2010 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Donkey Mill Art Center. Nakazato and Rechs celebrate their third year residency originally invited as part of the Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation.

The free evening’s activities include a show and tell style presentation, art pieces from both artists (ceramics, prints, drawings) and art installations specific to their Donkey Mill residency experience. The public is welcome to join Donkey Mill members and friends the artists have met along the way for a wine and pupu potluck.

Matt Rechs
Originally from Sacramento, Rechs grew up in the Historic “Gold Country” city of Grass Valley, California. He studied Ceramic Art at Sacramento State University and later San Francisco State University, deriving techniques from Professors Robert Brady, Peter Vandenburg, Jeff Downing, and David Kuraoka. His work is mainly comprised of wheel thrown forms made of high fire earthenware. Rechs graduated with a B.A. in Ceramics from San Francisco State University, learning the traditional techniques and philosophical aspects of ceramic arts. His work consists mainly of meditative wheel thrown forms fired using various methods raku, and pit-fire techniques

“Archeologists are able to piece together clues about our past through the study of ancient ceramic artifacts. Ceramics is an incredibly indelible medium. When working in clay I seek to respect the integrity of those who have explored this medium before me, and also embody my experience of this civilization into clay for the next generation to discover,” expressed Rechs.

Tomoko Nakazato
Nakazato creates animated ceramic sculptures that are influenced by pop culture, yet pays homage to figurative ceramic traditions. Her sculptures reflect her cultural heritages and social conditions. She uses both throwing and hand-building techniques to swiftly process her ideas, which creates freshness in her work and preserves the expressive nature of the clay. Nakazato, a native of Japan, graduated from San Francisco State University with a Master’s degree in Fine Arts in 2004. Her work has been exhibited around the Bay Area, California and Hawaii.

For more info: www.donkeymillartcenter.org

MEDIA RELEASE

Hawaii Arts Alliance announces the 2010 Alfred Preis Honoree, Marie McDonald, one of Hawaii’s most respected kupuna in the arts of lei and kapa-making. The Alliance will recognize her contributions to the arts of Hawaii at a celebration in December.

Marie McDonald

Big Island resident Marie McDonald has spent 50 years producing the exquisite lei of Hawaii. For this long-standing commitment to Hawaiian arts, Marie was recognized as a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts.

She is one of Hawaii’s best known authorities on the subject and author of the definitive “Ka Lei – The Leis of Hawai’i” and “Na Lei Makamae,” co authored with Paul Weissich.

In the process of researching these books she has brought to light the particular beauty of pre-contact lei. And through her love of the art she has become a tireless advocate for the preservation of the Hawaiian lands that provide the rare materials for these leis and other Hawaiian arts such as kapa-making.

Marie has researched Native kapa-making, and from her findings has developed ancient plant dyes for her own magnificent pieces. An exhibit of these pieces was recently held at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

Marie has devoted many years to educating Hawaii’s youth, as a resource specialist for the Department of Parks and Recreation and as an art teacher in North Kohala on Big Island. Her 10-acre farm, Honopua, on Hawaiian Home Lands in Waimea is a model program and resource for community members. The land also provides the materials for her lei and kapa.

Most recently Marie has supported the creation of HOEA: Hawaiian Ohana for Education
in the Arts, “established to increase the number, visibility and accessibility to Native Hawaiian Arts and Artists,” and was kumu kapa during its first session in 2009.

The long term vision for HOEA includes building a Community Art Center in one of the Hawaiian Home Land communities in Waimea, and its development into an accredited post secondary School of Hawaiian Fine Arts.

MEDIA RELEASE

WHO: Donkey Mill Art Center
WHAT: Ukulele Building Class
WHERE: Donkey Mill Art Center
WHEN: 5:30-9:30 p.m., July 6 – Sept. 7

The ukulele building class is a perfect introduction for beginner woodworkers however the experienced woodworker will enjoy the challenge. Woodworking students will make a tenor ukulele and add different embellishments to their instruments to truly create a one-of-a-kind Hawaiian musical instrument.

Instructor Sam Rosen is an original founder of the Holualoa Foundation for Arts & Culture. Based in Holualoa since 1977, his studio and gallery are located in the old Holualoa Post Office Building.

This goldsmith, sculptor and ukulele maker began making ukuleles as an incentive to play. “Building, playing and teaching the ukulele ahs added joy to my already full life,” Rosen said.

Class: $275 (member), $305 (non-member). Miscellaneous: $90 supply fee (includes: hardware and koa wood)

To reserve a space at the upcoming workshop, to inquire about membership, or for more information, call 808-322-3362.

MEDIA RELEASE

Karen Stevens will host a workshop for children age 7 and up 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 19 at The Blue Sea Artisans Co-op Gallery in the Kona International Market.

Stevens is known for her glass lamp work bead creations and innovative jewelry. She enjoys many different crafts such as quilting, acrylic painting and working with paper and shares some of these in her workshop.

Stevens will show the children how to use their artistic imagination and creativeness in the craft projects she has chosen, including painting a set of wind chimes and making “pet rocks” using river rocks.

There is a charge of $10 to cover paints and materials supplied by the gallery. The children will bring home their finished projects.

Participants should bring drinks and snacks.

Call the gallery to pre-register for the workshop, as space is limited. A reception for the artist follows at 3-5 p.m.

For further information, call The Blue Sea Artisans Gallery at 329-8000.

MEDIA RELEASE

Darva Escobar won the Jurors’ Choice award in the youth division of the Hawaii Nei 2009 art competition.

The Three Mountain Alliance, Natural Area Reserves System, and Volcano Art Center invite the public to receptions that celebrate the winners of the juried Hawaii Nei 2010 art competition.

Two receptions—one for the youth category and the other for adults—will be held on Saturday, June 12, 2010 at the Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

The reception for school age contestants will take place from 3:00 to 4:00 pm with the award ceremony at 3:30 pm. The reception for contestants over the age of 18 years will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 pm with the award ceremony at 5:30 pm.

To qualify for inclusion in the Hawaii Nei 2010 exhibit, each original piece featured only native plants and animals found from the reef to the mountain tops of Hawaii Island.

Last year’s inaugural Hawaii Nei 2009 art competition was the first to celebrate the island’s native species. To the delight of its cosponsors, artists soundly embraced the contest, submitting 140 high-quality entries.

Visitors to the Volcano Art Center Gallery can view artwork of Hawaii Nei 2010 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily from June 12 through July 26, 2010. Selected artwork will also hang in the Grove Gallery on Hilo’s bayfront and at the Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani campus.

For more information, visit www.volcanoartcenter.org or call (808) 967-7565. Park entrance fees may apply.