Hawai'i Wood Guild Exhibit

 

The Hawai‘i Wood Guild’s 24^th Annual Exhibit will be held at Isaacs Art Center in Waimea (Kamuela), Hawai’i. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds from all works sold will go to HPA’s Financial Aid fund.

 

The Isaacs Art Center raises money for the benefit of HPA students while giving the community access to art and sculpture, providing a cultural learning experience. The Hawai‘i Wood Guild is a non-profit organization of woodworkers in all disciplines who live and work on the Big Island. Entries range from small hollow vessels to large pieces of furniture, with everything in between.

 

Members include such well-known names as furniture maker—Tai Lake, woodturner—J. Kelly Dunn, and sculptor—Rick Kelleher.

 

“Hawai’i Preparatory Academy has a rich history of supporting the arts and encouraging creativity in our students,” says Bernard Noguès, Director of Isaacs Art Center. “Hosting the 24^th Annual Hawai’i Wood Guild Exhibit will directly benefit young deserving scholars through the sales of exceptional works of wood art—including that of alumni that themselves benefitted from a HPA scholarship.”

 

The grand space of the historical school house building, now Isaacs Art Center Gallery, will showcase the works of as many as 50 of the Big Island’s talented woodworkers. Displayed against a backdrop of contemporary paintings by such legends as Madge Tennent, Lloyd Sexton, and D. Howard Hitchcock, the works of wood art will be in extraordinary company.

 

The Hawai’i Wood Guild anticipates breaking last year’s record sales and being able to contribute in excess of $18,000 toward future financial aid grants.

 

Part of Hawai‘i’s allure is its isolation—and yet this also means that Hawai‘i’s top woodworkers are often overlooked. This annual exhibition provides an opportunity for Hawai‘i’s woodworkers to share their creations, connect with their collectors, and increases awareness of and appreciation for wood art.

 

The exhibit opens at 5 p.m. on January 30, 2010, which offers the chance to meet many of the featured woodworkers, discuss their inspiration, and purchase exhibited works. The exhibit ends on February 27, 2010. Three judges select awards for Best of Show, First Place in Joinery, Woodturning, Sculpture, and Open categories, as well as Honorable mention in each category, and present them that evening. An Artists’ Choice award is also presented—with one talented recipient receiving the recognition of his or her peers.

 

“The idea of a portion of our sales going to support education is something we all felt strongly about,” says Vice President of the Hawai’i Wood Guild, Tiffany DeEtte Shafto. “HPA received an Arts Excellence Award from the Hawai‘i Alliance for Arts Education—making this partnership the perfect fit. Contributing to a school that is recognized for its arts education program is safeguarding the future of Hawaii’s creatively talented youth.”

 

A new coffee table book Contemporary Hawai‘i Woodworkers—published by Shafto to increase awareness for wood art in the islands—features the Hawai’i Wood Guild along with four other organizations that have benefitted the professional growth of woodworkers in the islands.

 

The book also features 36 award-winning woodworkers from across the state and includes a chapter about Hawai‘i’s trees—sharing the connection between the woodworkers and the forests. Twenty of the featured woodworkers are from the Big Island and many are members of the Hawai‘i Wood Guild. Copies of the book autographed by featured members will be available at the exhibit.