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dreamsMom and son follow
lure of stained glass
While traveling, Aloha McNeil couldn't help but be drawn to the breathtaking art of combining color and glass to form large evocative images.
McNeil had majored in art history at Florida State and traveling was one way to continue her art studies. In Venice, she took up the art of glass blowing and was commissioned to do several jobs, but not before encountering some brushes with chauvinism. Before hiring her, one of her clients told her, "Women make pasta, they don't blow glass."
"If my son was not with me, he would probably not have let me in the door."
Living in Scotland for a year also provided inspiration for McNeil. "There were elaborate glass windows everywhere. They would stand from the floor to the ceiling," she said.
Today, glass is her medium of choice due to its combination of beauty and practicality. Stained glass works well in the home, in windows and entryways.
McNeil won't settle for the ordinary, working with different textures to make pieces come alive, and appear to move, like a shimmery mirage. "I have to order special glass for water, mountains and Pele's hair," she said.
"If you are going to make something with your hands, use the best materials available," she said. "Every picture tells a story."
One of the highlights of her artmaking, McNeil said, was working with Maui seascape artist Robert Lyn Nelson, recreating a few of his underwater scenes in glass.
McNeil spent so much time working in glass, even after her son Alastar was born, that the youngster was already wrapping copper foil around glass by age 2. "Of course, he did a sloppy job, but I still offered lots of encouragement."
At 6, he made a Teddy bear piece using the Louis Comfort Tiffany method, said McNeil. "Children are naturally centered, grown-ups are the ones who get off balance."
Alastar, now 27, seems to be following in his mother's footsteps. "I'm a designer now," she said. "My son does all of the cutting and labor."
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Aloha McNeil catches the light in her piece, "Working Man," on the balcony of her Makiki condominium and studio.
One piece that the mother/son team worked on together, "Our Lady of Guadalupe" is on display at the Vatican Museum in Rome. Now, he is making pieces on his own.
"I'm the best director in the world and a great cheerleader, too," McNeil said. It's every mother or father's dream to have their child take over the company, she said. "He got involved when he was a baby. He had no choice."
"It's a part of me," agreed Alastar. "I enjoy creating things and my first passion is to be an artist. I'm doing that through craftsmanship by building instruments and creating stained-glass pieces.
"She walked me through everything and gave me advice."
But Alastar is not prepared to take over the entire business just yet. "I'm enjoying doing projects in my spare time," he said. He also teaches ukulele and performs in the band, The Wharf-Rats.
He remains awed by his mother's work, saying she has a unique signature that is obvious to his eye.
"She is spontaneous -- a lot of it is from the gut. It's what really makes her happy. I'm more meticulous."
For more information on ordering stained glass pieces or on classes, call 524-3625 or e-mail mcneila002@hawaii.rr.com.
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