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Hawaii’s Back Yard
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
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Big Isle tour reveals art inspiration
Like wood thrown on a fire, nature ignites artists' creativity. In the Big Island's Volcano region, it could be a tiny dewdrop or a crater big enough to hold an entire town. It could be a delicate flower bud or a hefty chunk of lava. It could be the sweet scent of a rain forest or the acrid smell of a sulfur bank.
Volcano Art Tour
"Inspired by Kilauea: Where Art and Nature Meet -- An Art Adventure Tour":
Dates: Sept. 24 to 27
Cost: $565, includes meals, lodging at Kilauea Military Camp, ground transportation, free pickup at Hilo Airport and two-year Volcano Art Center membership
Call: 808-967-8222 or e-mail programs@volcanoartcenter.org
Web site: www.volcanoartcenter.org
Notes: Pack casual, comfortable clothing that can be layered. Temperatures range from 55 to 85 degrees, and misty, rainy and windy conditions are common.
Next: A second tour will be Dec. 3 to 6 and a third in April.
Itinerary
Sept. 24: 3 p.m. check-in, dinner at Volcano House, private reception at Volcano Art Center Gallery
Sept. 25: Field trip to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, sunset picnic at end of Chain of Craters Road, where lava is flowing into ocean
Sept. 26: Visits to artists' studios and Volcano Winery, talk-story session with artist Tom Pico
Sept. 27: Visits to artists' studio, 2 p.m. drop-off at Hilo Airport
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Volcano has inspired poets, painters, sculptors, dancers, craftsmen, songwriters and storytellers for centuries, and from Sept. 24 to 27 you'll be able to experience firsthand the magic that happens here when man's imagination soars.
Spearheaded by the Volcano Art Center, the inaugural "Inspired by Kilauea: Where Art and Nature Meet -- An Art Adventure Tour" provides the opportunity to explore Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, visit artists' studios, view works of art in progress and spark your own creative energy.
Among the tour's highlights will be a day-long trip to the national park, to walk through a fern-draped lava tube, marvel at the 300-foot-deep Halemaumau Crater and hike to a spot where you'll see an incandescent river of molten lava from Kilauea Volcano flow into the ocean. Kilauea's current eruptive phase has lasted 23 years, and scientists say it's not likely to end soon.
Hosting a talk-story session will be Tom Pico, a stone toolmaker and wood sculptor whose figures of the menehune, gods and spirits of ancient Hawaii are embellished with elaborate tattoo patterns. Other stops include the studios of Phan Nguyen Barker, who specializes in batik painting on silk; Ira Ono, acclaimed for his work in ceramics, Japanese paste paper and mixed media; and Michael and Misato Mortara, who have been producing gorgeous limited-edition glass vessels and one-of-a-kind sculptures in Volcano since 1999.
In April the Mortaras opened a new studio, 2400&DEG Fahrenheit, four miles from the national park, with a gallery and an area for viewing the glass-making process.
"The environment is a big part of the inspiration of our work," says Michael Mortara. "We have this wonderfully diverse landscape, from snow-covered Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea to lava flows cascading into the sea and everything in between. That and Volcano's quiet, rural lifestyle really help to shape our work."
He sees the tour as a way to introduce visitors to serious working artists who use the region as a theme for their work. "The tour is a great chance for people to see the creative process and how it translates into finished products in one of the most beautiful settings in the islands."
STAR-BULLETIN / 1999
Many artists are inspired by Kilauea.
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Glass making, Mortara says, is dramatic and dynamic -- one of the few art forms that require the expertise of a team of people. "The drama of the fire and the choreography of the production are just as compelling visually as are the finished products. The more we educate people about the process, the more our work is appreciated."
"Inspired by Kilauea" will be led by Susan McGovern -- the Volcano Art Center's education director, a cultural historian and former Volcano park ranger -- and Donna Barr, the art center's education coordinator.
"The idea for the tour has been around for a few years," says Barr. "We wondered what we could do for local people. We all know someone who lives on a neighbor island but has never been to the Big Island, and I even know folks who live on the Big Island but have never been to Volcano!"
Barr says the tour offers a wealth of information about Volcano's flora, fauna, geology, cultural influences and artists from insiders' perspectives.
COURTESY OF CHIU LEONG
Among them, glass artists Misato and Michael Mortara share a studio on the slopes of the volcano. The couple demonstrate for visitors how they work with molten glass.
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"The tour leaders enjoy sharing personal anecdotes and experiences," she says. "We see endangered native plants in our back yard, drive past volcanic steam vents every day and know where to find rare sandalwood trees. We have world-renowned artists as our next-door neighbors. We can share cultural nuances such as how Auntie Edith Kanakaole, whose family counts themselves as descendants of Pele, helped to determine the site of the pa hula (hula mound in the national park)."
A nonprofit educational organization founded in 1974, the Volcano Art Center aims "to promote, develop and perpetuate the artistic and cultural heritage of Hawaii's people and environment through activities in the visual, literary and performing arts."
"Inspired by Kilauea," notes Barr, fulfills this mission in a memorable way. "The tour is a great adventure in a setting unlike anywhere else in the world. Volcano is the home of geologists, biologists, educators and a thriving community of artists. We want to share it through the eyes of the people who live, work and create in this very special place."
COURTESY OF CHIU LEONG
"The drama of the fire and the choreography of the production are just as compelling visually as are the finished products," Michael Mortara said.
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COURTESY OF J.D. GRIGGS
Ira Ono is a visual and performing artist known for his innovative work using a wide range of media.
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Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based free-lance writer and Society of American Travel Writers award winner.