lava flow

 

during one of my frequent marathon etsy sessions, i was happy to discover that boston artist jennifer hill of jhill design had recently stocked her shop with limited editions of her kilauea print. the design is part of jennifer's places i have never been series which reminds me of a modern take on vintage souvenir posters in a delightfully abstract point-of-view.

the kilauea design was inspired by the annual hawaiian holiday of friends who returned to the mainland to share tales of pele and that exotic local delight - spam musubi. each destination starts out with daydreams and doodles eventually leading to a little research to sum up the highlights that entice visitors to leave the comfort of home for a faraway land.

the collection adds a gorgeous graphic punch to bare walls so click over to the etsy shop and create your own series to remember your (soon-to-be) travels . . . be it to tahiti or portland!

block printing 101

tree of life

frustrated artistes take note: renowned big island illustrator/artist caren loebel-fried will be holding a workshop to help you become a block printing whiz. the class will cover all the steps required to turn the doodles in your mind into printed paper goods and textiles of your own design.

space is limited so hele over to volcano garden arts for registration details.

• when: sat, feb 9th - 10:30a to 3:30p
• where: volcano garden arts
• cost: $80

lava roy's ocean adventure

lava meets sea

my fella is totally fascinated with lava especially after we paid a visit to volcanoes national park on our honeymoon. since then he has talked about trekking into the park to camp and explore the lava fields (which is why i made him watch man vs. wild's survival guide to kilauea).

i know i am off the hook for that little adventure however i also know that he would dig watching the lava flow into the sea. a helicopter tour is out and, for safety reasons, you cannot get too close by land, however it is now possible to gaze at the plumes of smoke as the lava hits the pacific with lava roy's ocean adventure which operates a unique sizzling sunset tour.

the owner is a coast guard captain who pilots a ship aptly named the protector. tours take guests down the kalapana coast to a viewing point of the active lava flow where you can be mesmerized by the work of pele from the relative safety of the boat. tours are only available when weather permits so be sure to contact captain roy in advance to find out when the next sailing is scheduled.

{photo credit: hawaii tourism authority}

volcano art center

watching her brother fish | caren loebel-fried

if you ever make a pilgrimmage to kilauea make sure you stop by the volcano art center which is located inside volcanoes national park. you can spend as much time wandering around the gallery admiring the many offerings from local artists & artisans as you will watching the lava flow.

they also have an online shop which carries a nice mix of artwork stocked at the center. my newest favorite is up & coming artist harinani orme who delves into the mythology of old hawaii. her work is currently featured in the bishop museum exhibit - pa'a ka la'a animism & totemism: contemporary expressions from an indigenous mind (whew, that's certainly a mouthful).

kahu mano | harinani orme

maui slowing the sun | dietrich varez

the volcano art center is also home to the complete collection (225 and counting) of the mesmerizing linoleum prints from dietrich varez (who is all about bringing affordable art to the people) as well as the colorful block prints by caren loebel-fried.