Artists used nature as their muse during the annual Malama Wao Akua juried art exhibition. Organized by the East Maui Watershed Partnership and Viewpoints Gallery, artists were challenged to create works with the theme Maui Nui native plants and wildlife.
The exhibition will show Friday to Nov. 10, with a blessing and awards ceremony from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Viewpoints Gallery in Makawao.
Friends of D.T. Fleming Arboretum at Pu'u Mahoe helped inspire the artists through free tours and overnight camping in preparation for this year's art show. Two weekends in September were dedicated to artist tours followed by an afternoon of sketching, painting and photography and an overnight camping trip. Fern Duvall, DLNR wildlife biologist for Maui Nui, guided artists through the D.T. Fleming Arboretum - Maui's largest collection of Maui native species. A total of 45 artists participated in the two weekend event.
The D.T. Fleming Arboretum at Pu'u Mahoe is a statewide seed bank and a unique dry-land plant recovery reserve protecting and perpetuating rare dry-land species for the restoration of native habitat and dry-land watershed. The artists were introduced to more than 50 Maui native plant species in flower during the event.
For details, visit www.viewpointsgallerymaui.com
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Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center opened its doors to Kamehameha Schools Maui 1st-graders as part of the center's "Explore & Discover" program this past Tuesday. The half-day visit consisted of a guided tour of the "Primarily Red" exhibition, two artist-led keiki workshops in professional artist studio spaces and lunch and playtime on the front lawn beneath the hibiscus trees.
"This was a wonderful experience for our keiki, and the teaching artists were outstanding - great enthusiasm, knowledge and attitude," said Kamehameha teacher Diane Fell.
The Hui offers multiple collaboration opportunities like these for schools and community groups. Free tours of the gallery and historic estate, sequential-based workshops customized for a particular age-group or special needs and in-school artist residencies are all eligible for matching funds to keep programming affordable. So far this year, more than 300 students have been served on-site through these exposure visits, with 700 more through additional children's programming.
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Ceramic artist Matthew Lovein will be exhibiting his signature piece, the "Wish Keeper," along with his other forms of raku ceramics during a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Dolphin Galleries at The Shops of Wailea. The artist will be creating a sculpture to be given away in a drawing at the reception.
Lovein has created works of art in Hawaii for the past 20 years. Although he works primarily with clay, he often embellishes his sculptures with copper, brass, stainless steel and glass.
Lovein is best known for his Wish Keeper series, which is his original design and concept. In 1992, he awoke from a dream and told his wife, Mary, about the image that he saw.
Gallery hours are from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. For details, call 891-8000.
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Sargent's Fine Art will host Maui artist Roman Czerwinski from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday. Meet this artist and view his originals and limited editions while listening to the music of Kurt Lee.
Roman emigrated to Maui from Poland and has developed a unique impressionist style that captures the lush beauty and vivid colors of Hawaii.
The gallery is at 802 Front St. in Lahaina. For details, call 667-4030.
