Local Color
Sunday, August 12, 2001
THE SECRET will be out for good today: Jack Kinkelaar has been leading a double life -- one as an artist who makes exquisite cloisonné jewelry, and one as a nurse in the respiratory unit at Queen's Medical Center. Queen’s nurses surprised
to find an artist in
their midstAn exhibit of his work opens today at the hospital's small gallery. It is his first show on Oahu, though he has been a well-established artist in juried crafts exhibitions on the Mainland.
"When I sent out the postcard announcing this show, it kind of caused a ruckus on the hospital floor. I think the people there are more excited about the show than I am," Kinkelaar said.
Kinkelaar has been quiet about his art career. He has been a nurse at the hospital for two years, but for more than 12 years, he has been a successful artist with a faithful clientele. His sought-after, finely enameled jewelry pieces can cost up to $4,000.
Kinkelaar isn't shy about being an artist, but he isn't about to toot his own horn, either. Gallery director Masa Taira had to remind him to say that he was one of only three American artists invited to Russia for an enameling symposium in the late 1990s.
Cloisonné and Limoges Enamels by Jack Kinkelaar FLIGHTS OF FANCY
Place: Queen Emma Gallery at Queen's Medical Center, 1301 Punchbowl St.
Time: Reception 1:30 to 3:30 today; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon weekends and holidays, through Sept. 2
Call: 537-7167
Taira had no idea Kinkelaar was an accomplished artist when the two met by chance at the gallery's bulletin board. Kinkelaar was reading a jewelry workshop announcement, and the two struck up a conversation.
"He offered to help me with the gallery, and he did what he said he was going to do. Then one day he brought in some of his pieces, and I said, 'Oh, you have to have a show,'" Taira said.
The brilliant colors, fine workmanship and imaginative designs bowled Taira over.
"Cloisonné isn't difficult. Anybody can learn the technique," Kinkelaar said in his understated fashion. "It just takes time, the commitment to spend the time to do it well."
Cloisonné is of French origin, meaning "little fences." The craft involves drawing with a paper-thin silver wire and coloring with powdered glass.
Kinkelaar begins with his design in pencil and copies it with the wire onto a silver plate. Then he paints on the colors with a brush the size of a pin. The colors are applied layer upon layer to build intensity, and each layer requires a firing in a small kiln.The process is detailed and time-consuming, but Kinkelaar calls the results "wonderfully expressive." It is an art suited to his abilities because he likes to draw.
"I find that the good cloisonné artists are the ones who can draw. It all boils down to the design. Like I said, the technique is easy."
Kinkelaar also employs a similar enamel technique, Limoges, for his work. He does his own metal smithing, creating the silver or gold pieces for the enameling. Lotus blossoms and a cute green alien have been among his favored images. Often he incorporates semiprecious stones and bought metal pieces. His works range from $40 to $50, and up to $1,800, in this exhibit.
Kinkelaar has sold his work almost exclusively on the mainland, choosing to show at juried craft fairs in the Midwest and East Coast. He grew up in Cleveland, but his jewelry-making career began after he moved to the Big Island in 1973.Kinkelaar was making a decent living at his art until he was rejected from two lucrative exhibits in 1991. While he was reaccepted the following year, the rejection spurred him to seek a second career in nursing.
"When people asked me what I did for a living, I used to say, 'I am an artist,' because that's what I considered myself to be. But now when people ask me that question, I find myself saying, 'I am a nurse.'
"The two lives are very different. I am glad I can do both; I have the best of both worlds. Nursing can be very stressful, but I can go home to my art. And when I am tired of doing cloisonné, I am glad I can go to work as a nurse," he said.His new career as a nurse has given him an elevated status among his artist friends. When medical emergencies occur during a fair, he's looked upon as the lifesaver. He's waiting to see if his nursing friends will see him in a new light after the art exhibit.
Gardening Calendar
Suzanne Tswei's art column runs Sundays in Today.
You can write her at the Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI, 96813
or email stswei@starbulletin.com
