Fiber Hawai’i 2024
I recently returned from a week in Honolulu in which I juried the biennial Fiber Hawai’i exhibit, presented a lecture and workshop, survived two live television interviews, and led a juror walkthrough of the exhibit. In between my official duties I visited museums, enjoyed Lei Day, went snorkeling and learned to paddle board. What a week! Mahalo (thank you) to Liz Train, Fiber Hawai’i Chair, and to everyone at Hawai’i Craftsmen for their hospitality.
Enjoy this lovely video walkthrough of the entire exhibit by artist Connie Lee Lynch.
Two interviews with Casey Lund of Hawaii News Now took place in the gallery the morning of the opening. Below we are managing smiles at 6 AM . You can watch an interview HERE.
The juror walkthrough was well-attended and many of the artists were present – always a plus as there were so many great conversations along the way. This piece, Para Gusto, Hay Colores , is by Christine Valles.
The walkthrough was followed by the awards ceremony. Left to right: Liz Train (Fiber Hawai’i Liason and Chair) Ghislaine Chock, Sheldon Wong, Wendy Kawabata, Cameron Taylor-Brown, Glorianne Garza, Pauline Sheldon, Junco Sato Pollack, Pratisha Budhiraja
And then – the opening. Over 500 people attended!
Below is a photo of the hospitable couple who hosted me for an entire week – Drew Matsumoto and Sidney Lynch. They create ceramics and fiber work, and their home is an homage to works of the hand. I ate my breakfast yogurt out of a different hand-thrown bowl each morning. Drew’s piece Indigo Dreams is behind us.
And below is the person who designed and directed the installation of Fiber Hawai’i - the over 120 works in this huge gallery were juried in on Monday and completely installed by Thursday morning. Kudos to the amazing Jackie Lau and her hardworking team.
A few other adventures from my week …
Lei Day - where many leis are made and juried.
A walkthrough of Fashioning Aloha at the Honolulu Museum of Art by the exhibition curator Tory Latila and a photo of artist Michelle Schwengel-Regala, Tory Latila and myself at the entrance.
A vist to Shangri La, the Doris Duke estate. An absolutely beautiful location with a stellar collection of Islamic art, a contemporary show called 8x8 with a work entitled Water Column: Wailele by Michelle Schwengel-Regala, and an unexpected encounter with Dorothy Liebes textiles in the living room.
Have you heard of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa? I learned about it at the Bishop Museum, where I was fortunate to spend an afternoon. This ancient art of no-instrument celestial navigation was almost lost but is now being practiced aboard the Hōkūleʻa. Teams of navigators, captains and crews are making their way around the Pacific using this traditional form of early navigation. I had the great good fortune to meet Captain Tamiko, one of these voyagers, as she was piloting the Ko Olina Ocean Adventures catamaran on my afternoon cruise and snorkel. She let me steer, but kept one hand firmly on the wheel at all times.
