More Things to See and Do

HOLUALOA — Located in the heart of Kona’s artist community, the eighth edition of the Hawaii Artist Collaboration has 38 artists from across the globe working together to create more than just pieces of art.

“It’s about having fun, but it’s also about exploring new directions and making your skills available to other people too,” creator and organizer Tai Lake said. “It’s a way of building the arts community, more than just making stuff.”

Lake’s workshop in Holualoa is the scene of the bustle of painters, woodworkers, blacksmiths, jewelers and other artists every year since he created the collaboration. The need for a collaboration in Hawaii became apparent to him after attending the Emma Lake International Artist Collaboration in Saskatchewan, Canada.

“This place has more creative energy than any place any of us have ever been,” Lake said. “The volcano is going and the ocean is right there. This is a raw power place. It’s a wonderful place to base.”

Lisa Geertsen, a full-time blacksmith from Seattle, first attended the Hawaii Artist Collaboration last year and said the different artists coming together in one space is what made her want to come back.

“I’m hooked,” Geertsen said. “I really love the energy, the creativity, the minds working together and the stuff everywhere.”

David Reisland, a woodworker from Kona, is a seven-time attendee, and the luster of the collaboration hasn’t worn off for him.

“It’s totally an inspiration. You get to work with all these other artists you’ve never worked with before and get to see what they do,” Reisland said. “Hardly anyone comes with a preconceived notion. We just show up on Monday and dive in. We have no idea what we’re doing.

“You do all kinds of stuff you’ve never done before. This is really unique.”

The week ends with the work created by the artists being auctioned off from 4-8 p.m. Saturday at Holualoa Inn. The proceeds from the tickets sold to the auction will be donated to Hawaii Island teachers for art supplies from local Kailua-Kona store Akamai Art Supply.

A metal work artist from Portland, Oregon, Greg Wilbur has attended 28 artists collaborations all over the world. This is his first time attending in Hawaii, and he said despite the smaller size, the feeling is the same.

“This is a great one,” Wilbur said. “The people are hand selected. It’s invitation only, so they are very professional people. There’s a lot of equipment and a lot of expertise here.”

Lake said the artists who are chosen for the collaboration are all masters of their own specialties, and are also leaders who are willing to share and teach with others.

That’s why Aaron Hammer, a second-year collaborator from Papaikou, is attending. He uses his skills as a professional woodturner to make much-needed objects for the artists and their projects. Hammer said his desire to be a service to the other artists is what brought him back to the collaboration for a second time.

“People are coming up to me and going, ‘Can you make me a series of rings of different sizes?’” Hammer said. “Then a jeweler says, ‘Can you make me some beads?’ So I’m making these beads out of Molokai deer horn.”

The collaboration is a unique chance for the artists in attendance to create pieces of art together, which Hammer said is a rarity for a lot artists who often find themselves working in isolation.

“On one hand, it’s like professional development for us. And on the other hand it’s just really fun,” Hammer said. “Everyone here is a professional artist, and there’s sacrifices involved in being a self-employed artist, and one of the sacrifices is working in isolation. To come here and be working and surrounded by a bunch of peers, it has a benefit.”

Shelley Hoist, a fiber artist, and Denise Wallace, a fine art jeweler, were two people who could be found working together at the workshop this week. The Hawaii Island-based artists were combining their skills to create a salmon-skin vest, one of many pieces being made with alternative materials to be put up for auction.

“It’s fun to get to work in materials that you’re not used to working with,” Hoist said. “And I think that’s the neat part of the collaboration, it lets you experiment with other materials and other techniques you would even never have the opportunity to work with.”

Hoist is a first-time attendee of the collaboration, but her temporary work partner comes back every year.

“I love the people,” Wallace said. “And I love the idea that we can work together and use each other’s brains to come up with possibilities.”

Info: Tickets to the 2018 Hawaii Artist Collaboration auction can be purchased for $35 at eventbrite.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the door Saturday for $45.

Kailua Village Artists featured artist in Nov. is Christal Nylin

For the month of November, oil painter Christal Nylin is Kailua Village Artists featured artist.

Forty years of living in Hawaii has given Nylin her depth in knowing the islands’ beauty and spirit. This is what comes through in her paintings. Her medium is oils on canvas. On location or in her home studio, her subjects capture a place in time, an iconic island specialty or picturesque vision. Many of her paintings have a vintage feel.

To meet the artist and learn more about her painting process, she will be working at the gallery on Thursday, Nov. 1, Wednesday, Nov. 7, and Monday, Nov. 12. The Kailua Village Artists Gallery is located at the Kona Marketplace, 75-5729 Alii Drive, Suite C-110 in Kailua-Kona. The gallery is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Info: Call 329-6653 for more information or visit kailuavillageartists.com.

Blue Sea Artisans featured artist in November is Cathie Ann Amelotte

The Blue Sea Artisans featured artist for the month of November is vintage jewelry designer Cathie Ann Amelotte.

Having lost a dear friend who shared her passion for vintage items and inheriting beautiful hankies and linens from Czechoslovakia, a heritage that they shared, she honors the memory of her friend by using the items to create vintage jewelry bags. Many of the bags also contain fabric from her mother who was an avid quilter.

In the spirit of gratitude for the month of November, Amelotte will be offering 20 percent off her items at the Blue Sea Artisans Gallery. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays. She encourages local nonprofit agencies to contact her at manamaiakua@hawaii.rr.com for donations of her jewelry and other items to worthy causes in our Hawaii Island community where she has resided for the past 40 years.

Info: For more information, please call the gallery at 329-8000.

Iggy Jang’s Tango Extravaganza at the Kahilu

As concertmaster of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, violinist Iggy Jang has played all the great classical standards. But now given the chance to produce a program on his own, he chose the tango. He will present an exciting afternoon of tango music and dance with renowned performers at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Kahilu Theatre in Kamuela.

He has assembled “Tango Extravaganza!,” a production that will feature Tony Award-winning dancers Guillermo Merlo and Fernanda Ghi, along with critically acclaimed bandoneonist Javier Sánchez, and director/pianist Alfredo Minetti. Hawaii’s own guitarist Ian O’Sullivan and bassist Hayden Joyce will also be joining the celebration of music and dance.

Jang is of Korean ancestry but grew up in Paris in the 1980s, and remembers the French being fascinated with tango at the time, with the music constantly being aired on the radio.

Info: Visit kahilutheatre.org.

Art-After-Dark is this Friday

This Friday, Holualoa Village galleries will feature new art and artists, tasty street eats and music all along Mamalahoa Highway during their monthly Art-After-Dark event from 5:30-8:30 p.m. The village block party features art and artists in over a dozen galleries and shops, as well as free live music and a great selection of local food vendors. This community event is free, and for all ages.

Barbara Hanson Gallery in the Kona Hotel is spotlighting her new aluminum bracelets with great messages stamped in them. Chris Nelson is her guest artist with his set of all original wave and tropical flower paintings. A polymer clay demo will be set up and you will be able to experience the process hands on.

Hoa ili Hawaiian Organic Airbrush tanning studio is moving downstairs behind Barbara Hanson’s gallery.

Pat Pearlman Designs is featuring original design necklaces, earrings and bracelets of the November birthstone, topaz or citrine.

At Holualoa Gallery, artists and owners Matthew and Mary Lovein will be present with featured artist, William Wingert painting live. Kona Dogs Gourmet Street Food will be out front, along with musician John Collins

Kona Art Gallery welcomes a live acoustic rock and roll and blues performance by The Ride along the fence next to the gallery.

Ipu Arts Gallery will be rocking at the north end of the village with live music, along with Dave Lawrence playing classic rock n’ roll at Koa Realty. Dr. Tim’s Medicine Band will also being playing vintage music.

Holualoa Ukulele Gallery will host popular Hawaiian and contemporary tunes by Mauka Highnotes on its front lanai, and will be featuring new cigar box guitars by Luis Antonio Vargas, as well as new ukuleles by owner Sam Rosen.

Glyph Art Gallery will be featuring new framed block prints from Ke Ola Magazine cover artist Andrea Pro, as well as new ceramics by Lisa Louise Adams.

Info: For First Friday photos and map, visit at HolualoaHawaii.com.

Kalapana poised to release boxed set of career albums

On Nov. 30, Manifesto Records and Kalapana Music will release “Kalapana: The Original Album Collection,” a definitive nine-CD boxed set containing the influential Hawaiian pop/rock group’s first seven albums including three albums (“Many Classic Moments Original Soundtrack,” “In Concert,” “Northbound”) previously never released in the U.S. The set will also include a 40-page booklet offering detailed liner notes and archival photos to take fans through every stage of their incredible journey.

Additionally, for those who are seeking a more concise introduction to the band, Manifesto is offering the single-disc release “Black Sand: The Best of Kalapana,” which collects 20 of the group’s greatest hits and fan favorites spanning their most definitive period, 1975-1983. The songs are digitally remastered from the original tapes, and the album is accompanied by a 20-page booklet providing an overview of Kalapana’s career.

Info: Visit manifesto.com/kalapana.

Popular introductory stained glass workshop returns to Volcano Art Center

At the Volcano Art Center this month, you can try your hand at making stained glass art in a workshop for beginners. All of the basic techniques will be covered, from glass cutting, foiling, soldering, and completing with patina and polishing compound. Glass artist Lois Pollock will share her expertise and knowledge, teaching students the skills involved in working safely with stained glass, and creating a beautiful, sturdy piece of art.

“Stained Glass Basics I” will be held at Volcano Art Center from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 10-11 and Nov. 17-18. Class fee is $100/$90 for VAC members plus a $15 supply fee. Attendees are asked to wear long pants, snug fitting gloves, covered shoes and safety glasses. Advance registration is required and this workshop will be limited to 6 adults.

You will complete this four-session workshop with a finished light-catcher, and the knowledge and experience of the basic skills involved to continue working with stained glass.

Info: To register, call Volcano Art Center at 967-8222 or visit www.volcanoartcenter.org.

Opera showing at Makalapua

Live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera, at 12:55 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, at Makalapua Cinemas is “Marnie,” composer Nico Muhly’s new opera based on Winston Graham’s novel set in the 1950s, about a beautiful, mysterious young woman who assumes multiple identities.

Encore performances will be at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14.

Info: Visit regmovies.com.