Anne Irons's monotype is titled "Haute Couture." It is among the diverse works on display in The Windward Artist Guild Juried Spring Exhibition, showing at The Exhibit Space at 1132 Bishop St.

Celebrating creativity

It was a tough year in 2004 for artists seeking entry into the Windward Artist Guild juried exhibition. Jurors of that show were referred to as no less than "ruthless," and many a creative soul was left battered by the experience.

In the spirit of artistic empowerment, David Behlke and Kauka de Silva took the 2005 show in a 180-degree direction from the previous year. Behlke, director of Kapiolani Community College's Koa Gallery, and de Silva, chairman of the Humanities department and head of ceramics at KCC, decided to "find hospitality in the jury process."

"We realize that everyone puts in an equal amount of determination, so we decided to select at least one work from everyone who entered," says Behlke.

As a result, the The Windward Artist Guild Juried Spring Exhibition is a "hodge podge that represents the creative efforts by both professionals and people who have day jobs who want to be creative," Behlke says.

"Friend Waiting" is a watercolor by David Devenot that won an Honorable Mention.

The eclectic show includes everything from paintings, ceramics and sculpture to Ultra Art and hand-crafted jewelry.

"Kauka's and my point of view is that we want to give people encouragement to hang in there, to follow their creative impulses," Behlke says.

The Windward Artist Guild Juried Spring Exhibition is showing through April 22 at The Exhibit Space at 1132 Bishop Street, located at the building's upper lobby.

Exhibit hours 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. For more information, call 599-5009.

"Body Language" is a collage by Linda Bacharch.

Seventeen-year-old Heather Kramer was one of the few artists to submit a ceramics work to the show. "Grassing," above, is her ceramics and mixed media piece.