art school confidential

the conversation + twinkie

the longer i stare at nicole holi's the conversation print the more questions pop into my mind. who are they? why have animal heads been superimposed on their bodies? where would they shop if they stepped off the canvas? and the eternal art question . . . what does it mean? yep, this is definitely not your parents art but yet another exciting etsy find.

nicole (aka nikoart at her etsy shop) is a true emerging artist from the big island and a recent
uh manoa art grad who, in the process of getting her degree, received many accolades for her unique p.o.v. in addition to working in mixed media, she is also crafting plush toys like twinkie who i wouldn't be surprised to find in the pages of where the wild things are.

there are not that many venues in the islands for emerging artists like nicole to show their goods so i encourage you to stop by her etsy shop which gives artists & crafters an alternative way to make a living while following their dreams.

hawaiian legends of dreams

while wandering through the stacks at the bookstore, i discovered that one of my favorite artists, caren loebel-fried, has published another book delving into the mythology of ancient hawaii. her stunning block prints are sprinkled throughout hawaiian legends of dreams which is a treat for both young and old.

keola beamer sums up the book very nicely in his foreward:

"dreams are the beginning. they are the seed of our ambitions, the source of our inspiration, and the impetus for our creations. the book you hold in your hands is the manifestation of caren loebel-fried's dream to share the mana`o of traditional hawaiians on the amorphous world of dreams.

in this book, her love of our culture is evident in her research and beautiful art. she has captured the spirit of our view of the world, in which all things are connected and there is no distance between souls, alive or passed over, which cannot be bridged. we believe that mana, or life force, flows through the universe, and all things have a voice . . . even in our dreams."

the companion book, hawaiian legends of the guardian spirits, is also perfect for bedtime stories so definitely check them out if you want to share the hawaiians' love of storytelling with the little ones in your life.

capturing the aloha spirit

boy with ukulele

the other day i happened across the website of big island artist suzy papanikolas and have fallen in love with her work. suzy's art captures all that is beautiful about the islands and the spirit of the people really comes alive in her paintings.

wahine looking left

we are definitely lucky that suzy's mission is "to record the renaissance of the hawaiian culture". take a peek at original artwork currently for sale or contact suzy to inquire about purchasing prints of pieces that have already found a home.

swanson's aloha workshop

now that you've stuffed yourself silly with samples, don't leave the made in hawaii festival without something fun in your bag. let's end the tour with a few happy tiki-licious designs from swanson's aloha workshop (love the name!). the man behind the designs was a director of animation in a past life which would explain why they remind me of saturday mornings watching hanna-barbera cartoons.

now you know and i know that your little mouse spends hours on end surfing the internet (it'll be our little secret). isn't it time to switch out that lame freebie mousepad from your isp and add some tropical flair to your desk with a lani hawaii pad?

you'll also find tote bags & cosmetic pouches that swanson's japanese fans adore plus a nice selection of technicolor prints at his eponymous shop.

guy buffet goes to hawaii

pau hana

if you have ever flipped through the pages of a williams-sonoma catalog, the whimsical waiters created by artist guy buffet will probably seem familiar to you. i love his folksy, frenchy art and was pleasantly surprised to learn that he also has a home on maui. gb's life in hawaii has inspired some delightful artwork featuring kama'aina & their island home with nary a dolphin in sight.

plumeria pickers

his art is just so happy and optimistic about the world that it's hard not to respond with a smile. check out more of guy buffet's collection online at lahaina galleries.