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COURTESY OF THE ACADEMY ART CENTER
First-graders at Kaahumanu Elementary get into character with the masks they created through the Honolulu Academy of Arts Ambassador Program, which takes art instruction out to schools. "Showcase 2003," the academy's art sale, gourmet cuisine and wine tasting event, benefits its children's education programs.
Taking the road
less traveled
THE PATH of the professional artist is rarely paved with gold, but three isle artists walking it made the choice to sacrifice security for creativity. For them, practicality is replaced with a life of growth and evolution. Theirs is an unwavering commitment to listen to that inner voice that says, "This is right, this is true." But what moves artists to take the road less traveled?
For Doug Young, it was the realization that art was simply what he was good at. Cora Yee never made such a decision because art was always present in her life. Rochelle Lum said she had an epiphany in the fourth grade, during a summer class at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. In fact, all three artists have been beneficiaries of the education programs at the academy, and this year, Young, Yee and Lum are returning the favor by participating in "Showcase 2003," the academy's annual fund-raiser.
"Showcase 2003"
A fund-raiser for the Honolulu Academy of Arts' children's education programsWhere: Henry R. Luce Pavilion, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 S. Beretania St.
When: 6 to 8:30 p.m. next Sunday
Reservations: $75 per person
Call: 532-3687
Also: "Showcase 2003 Preview Art Sale" will be held 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday; admission is free to those visiting the art sale. Prices will start at $80.
The event, which takes place next Sunday, is an art sale and gourmet cuisine and wine tasting event that benefits the academy's children's education programs. The works of more than 100 Hawaii artists, including those of Young, Yee and Lum, will be on sale. The public is invited to view and purchase art at the "Showcase 2003 Preview Art Sale" on Saturday.
LUM'S FIRST ENCOUNTER with the academy's programs came when she was just 5 years old, at a parent-child class in 1960.
"I don't know if I was aware I was doing art, but to me it was just fun," she says. "It was the first school I attended. I don't think I would have been able to go to kindergarten without being scared if I hadn't gone to that class."
It was a long wait before she was able to try her hand at art-making again.
"We didn't get to do much art in regular school. It wasn't offered," says Lum, who attended public schools. But insistent creative impulses kept Lum doing art on her own. "I was always around the house gluing sticks and stones together."
Then, the summer after fourth grade, "my mom gave us a choice: go to sewing school, swimming class or art class. The choice was easy for me since I've always been interested in art.
"Being able to go to the academy that year was so special. I was given the opportunity and I loved it. I thought, 'This is what I really love to do.' I knew at this early age that I wanted to do something with art."
COURTESY OF THE ACADEMY ART CENTER
Doug Young's photo-realistic painting of Kinau Saimin. Young says when he painted this piece in the '70s, he was simply trying to capture isle images. But with all the changes that have taken place in Hawaii, his work is now deemed nostalgic.After taking art classes at Roosevelt High School and majoring in art in college, and after more than a few years as a graphic designer, Lum decided to focus on her own art again.
"I missed fine arts after doing graphic design for so long," she says. "Whatever I did as a graphic designer wasn't my art, even if I did the work. So I decided to freelance and take classes again. I entered shows and tried to get my things into galleries -- to get back on track again."
During one of Lum's gallery openings, she got a phone call from an old friend. It was Gertrude Iwaida, Lum's high school ceramics teacher and one of the people that contributed to her decision to work in ceramics.
"Mrs. Iwaida called to say she was glad I stuck with it. She used to sit in the back of the room and do her own art while we worked on ours. She didn't think she was influencing us, but she was very inspiring."
Lum has since taken on the role of instructor as well, teaching hand-building classes at the Academy Art Center. Now, it seems, she's getting her inspiration from her students.
"People ask me what I'm going to do after I retire from making ceramics. I couldn't come up with anything better," she says. "I have a student who's 93 years old who comes to class in a wheelchair. She says she still loves doing it."
Just like that woman, "art is something I see myself doing long term, into my 80s and 90s," Lum says.
COURTESY OF THE ACADEMY ART CENTER
Cora Yee's "Tiger Lotus." Yee says her art is influenced by her world travels.AT 51, YOUNG has spent some 30 years as a painter.
"When you're young, you hear the term 'starving artist,' and you don't think about it," he says. "Thirty years later, every year has been a struggle to survive. You're doing something you want to do, but every year, you ask yourself, 'Do I still want to do this?'"
Young's dogged commitment to his art could be deemed somewhat surprising, given that he was never one of those children who lived and breathed art.
"I was never the type of child who drew every day," he says, "but I was one of those kids in elementary school that was always called on to do the drawing projects."
Young took classes at the academy -- a summer class at 9 years old and a drawing class in high school -- but even as he grew into adulthood, he still couldn't have predicted that he'd end up a professional artist.
It was at Coe College in the Midwest, when he attempted to pursue oceanography, another lifelong interest, that Young realized his affinity for the arts.
"The sciences were so hard," he says with a chuckle, "so I took art classes for relief. And once I took art, my interest peaked. From then on, everything opened up."
Through a special program at Coe, Young was able to move to New York, where he worked in a gallery and assisted sculptor Duane Hanson, renowned for his lifelike sculptures of people in ordinary roles, such as playing tourist or pushing a grocery cart.
"I saw how the artists lived and worked, and I realized I could do that," Young said.
An artist's life isn't always easy in today's world, but many are lucky enough to have open-minded spouses who lend support and encouragement, in addition to creature comforts.
"The problem with me," says Young with a laugh, "is that I married another artist."
With no regular paychecks or pension, and two daughters to raise, the couple could find their lot worrisome, to say the least. But Young says: "Everyone's dealt a different hand in life, and you have to adapt to what you're dealt. Being an artist is something you gotta know internally if you really want to be. We had the opportunity, and we're just trying to make it work. Every day, we're trying to make it work."
COURTESY OF THE ACADEMY ART CENTER
"Monkey Trouble," a dog-size sculpture that will be on sale at "Showcase 2003." Rochelle Lum says her sculptures range in size from 2 inches tall to "teapot size" and "dog size."CORA YEE'S ENTRY into the professional art world was something that naturally evolved from a lifelong love of art.
"Art has just always been something that's present in my life," she says. "As a child, I was always doodling. So I just (continued) along doing my art, and things have fallen into my path. It's been really wonderful."
Yee began her association with the academy during a summer class more than 40 years ago, when she was just a child.
"It was great because it was the first time I learned anything that had to do with art -- if you can call wrapping a balloon with yarn art," she says, laughing. "But it gave us the idea that we could be creative with whatever we put our hands on.
"One time, I remember they brought an actual horse to Linekona, and at the time, I was fanatical about horses. I remember we sat on the steps of Linekona to draw the horse. The next day, my mom was reading the newspaper, and there was a picture with a caption that said, 'Wee artists at Linekona.' And there I was in the picture, looking so serious as I drew that horse."
For Yee, an only child who used art to entertain herself, the art center classes provided a sense of community.
"They showed me that there was a place I could go to discover things, a place where I could get support. I learned that everyone could be an individual in a group doing the same thing, the same project, and each person was different in what they thought and produced."
Yee continues to patronize the art center today. As a longtime printmaker (and, currently, a painter), Yee is especially gratified about the support the art center lends the Honolulu Printmakers. She has also taken a ceramics class by Esther Shimazu, and she has nothing but praise for the center's programs.
"The academy has very talented artists teaching, and I would like to say thank you to the artists for sharing their experiences and their thoughts about creating."
COURTESY OF THE ACADEMY ART CENTER
Cora Yee's painting "The Kiss" will be for sale at "Showcase 2003."
Be cool and support art center
The Honolulu Academy of Arts has launched "We're Cool!," a campaign to raise $250,000 to install and run air conditioning at the Academy Art Center.Donations will be matched dollar for dollar, and donors making gifts of $100 or more at "Showcase 2003" will receive an "I'm Cool!" button and a certificate from Jamba Juice. Gifts of $100 or more will also be acknowledged on a plaque that will be installed at the art center.
Call 532-8700 for more information.
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