“Wondrous Light, Intentional Form”

“Wondrous Light, Intentional Form” Brings Together Two Exceptional Art

Forms in Boundary-Pushing Show at the Wailoa Art Center

Aurora Borealis Inspired Handwoven Textiles/ Multi-Media Interpretations of Vessels

“Wondrous Light, Intentional Form” opens at Wailoa Center at 5pm on Friday,

September 5. Sponsored by the Hawaiʻi Island Art Alliance (HIAA) and the Hawaiʻi

Handweavers’ Hui (HHH), this exhibit pairs handwoven textiles from the Hawaiʻi

Handweavers’ Hui Biennial Juried Exhibition, “Wondrous Light: Aurora Borealis” with

multi-media interpretations of vessels. This innovative show runs through September

25.

“Wondrous Light, Intentional Form” is the pairing of craft in both soft and rigid forms. It

combines thirty-seven award winning handwoven textiles with two and three

dimensional “vessel” inspired artworks from Hawaiʻi artists from across the islands. The

biennial Handweavers exhibition, originally on display at the Downtown Art Center in

Honolulu, was inspired by the natural phenomenon of brilliant colors in the night sky and

features a vast spectrum of colors imbued in these warm, soft textiles. The juror for

these works was Suzie Liles, textile artist, weaving educator and owner of Eugene

Textile Center in Eugene, Oregon.

Alongside the handwoven works, are 50 works juried by renowned kālai ʻumeke (vessel

carver), educator, and internationally recognized expert on ʻumeke Hawaiʻi, Jamison

Keʻa Rosehill. “The term vessel can be represented in many ways,” Rosehill says, “I

[am] drawn to works that serve as vessels for story, memory, or emotion—pieces that

reflect the depth of where we come from and the complexities of how we connect to one

another and our ‘āina.”

The works of two fiber artists are also featured in the Fountain Gallery in this exhibit:

Quebec native and Mililani resident Ghislaine Chock and Honolulu born and raised Joan

Namkoong. Chock grew up in the textile world, visiting a neighborhood textile factory

and sewing her own clothes. Her work relies on the integration of natural dyes and

weaving, inspired by personal situations, events and travel. Namkoong began weaving

in the 1970s but focused on weaving when she moved to Waimea on the Hawaiʻi Island

in 2006. Through many workshops, and conferences and one-on-one encounters with

master weavers, she has become a small production weaver of scarves, shawls and

household items. Both teach a variety of classes with the HHH.

As part of the exhibit, the public is invited to a demonstration of weaving and spinning

on Saturday, September 6, 10 am to 1 pm at Wailoa Center, sponsored by the Big

Island Chapter of the Hawaii Handweavers’ Hui. Members of HHH will have looms,

spinning wheels and other fiber craft equipment available for those curious about

textiles.

For folks interested in the vessels portion of the exhibit, tour the gallery with vessels

juror, Jamison Rosehill on Friday, September 12 at 2pm. Gain insight into his selections

as well as learn more about his own work as an ʻumeke carver and cultural

preservationist.

Wondrous Light, Intentional Form, is on display September 5 – 25 at Wailoa Center.

Wailoa Center under the Division of State Parks, Department of Land and Natural

Resources and is free and open to the public during the exhibit, Monday – Friday, 9am -

4pm and Saturdays 10am - 3pm.

For more information on events or the exhibit, Visit their website, www.wailoacenter.com,

Call (808)933.0416 or e-mail dlnr.sp.wailoacenter@hawaii.gov