Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center 2023 artist-in-residence Gar Waterman works on a nudibranch sculpture he is making out of locally sourced woods Friday afternoon during an open studio session at the Hui in Makawao. While the Connecticut-based artist is using koa, wattle, kiawe, pheasantwood and macadamia for this piece, he said he often makes his nudibranchs out of stone, allowing him to stake the claim as possibly the world’s only stone sea slug sculptor. He said a highlight of his six-week residency has been working with Maui children. “The kids have truly been the most fun,” he said. “I’ve never worked with elementary school kids, and they have been so much fun.” The sculpture is to be featured in Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center’s Beneath the Surface: Marine Life of Hawai’i; a community art exhibition celebrating marine biodiversity. The exhibit will also include artwork created by Maui’s school children and works of marine-themed art created by local artists. The exhibit is scheduled to open to the public on May 26. For more information, visit www.huinoeau.com/artist-in-residence.