Donations will bring
Iz statue to Hawaii
Sculptor Jan Michelle Sawyer was driving when she heard the late Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's song "Hawaii 78" on her radio, his deep voice echoing through the speakers.
"I just stopped the car, and I had tears in my eyes and a connection in my heart," said Sawyer. "I felt it was a message moment, and I felt I wanted to honor him."
To pay tribute to the late Hawaiian musician, Sawyer donated her time and talents to create a bronze three-quarter-size sculpture of the well-loved musician.
Almost two years later, Sawyer plans to bring the bust to Hawaii from California and place it at the Waianae Community Center. The statue's dedication is set for Sept. 20, when Kamakawiwo'ole and his wife would have celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.
Albert Silva, co-chairman of the Waianae Coast Neighborhood Board, can remember when "Bruddah Iz" and Kamakawiwo'ole's older brother Skippy held a concert on his ranch years ago. "People just love his music," Silva said. "You can't help but love the guy."
Silva knows the community will embrace the statue, a lasting visual memory of their "hometown hero."
However, before the statue can come home, Sawyer needs to finish raising $15,000 to cover the costs.
Raising the money to cover materials and transportation from Sawyer's California studio was "tough, especially after 9/11," she said.
With the help of City Councilman Mike Gabbard and the support of hundreds of fans, Sawyer said, "the pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters rolled in." She was amazed at how quickly the word traveled through the community.
"We haven't collected the entire amount, though," Sawyer said. "I am optimistic, and I haven't been in doubt that we'll get what we need." Sawyer said all City Bank branches are accepting donations.
The project is also getting Gov. Linda Lingle to sign off on allowing the statue to be placed on a 3-by-3-foot state-owned piece of land outside the Waianae Community Center.
Gabbard said he drafted a proposal to be sent to the state Department of Accounting & General Services, which will take it to Lingle, asking her to sign over the land.
"It would be a shame if we couldn't put it in that spot," said Sawyer. "It's so perfect it's chicken skin. People will be able to see him from the street as they drive by, and I think that's great."
Gabbard said the letter went to the right departments, and he is hopeful that everything will go as planed.
Despite the hurdles, Sawyer said she is happy that she did not give up in pursuit of her dream.
"It reminds me of Israel," she said. "He seemed to know that good things would happen. ... He believed in the future and trusted the process that the people of Hawaii would work it all out."
Sawyer was sure to capture this optimism in her work, sculpting a look of purpose in the man who loved the land and its people.
"The pose is looking forward and to the future," she said. "I felt that it was important that he looks very strong.
"He honored the past and I respect that, and at the same time he believed in the future and aspired for good in all things and all people."
Sawyer sculpted the large man from four photographs and created the Kamakawiwo'ole most people remember from the "In Concert" album: bare-chested with a Hawaiian bone fishhook necklace.
Sawyer said she knows Kamakawiwo'ole, who died in 1997, guided her hands to shape his face.
"I would step back, and I would swear he was right there," she said. "It was very special."
