Story and photos by Jamie Sickel, Gen XIII, Kapi‘olani CC
Video by Kimberlee Bassford, Gen XIII, Windward CC
While fueling ourselves for the day, Chancellor Lui Hokoana welcomed us and talked story about his journey to UHMC.
The next hour was spent touring the campus with Associate Professor of Art, Mike Takemoto. We started with the crowning jewel of UHMC, an amazing two-story mural adorning the Ka‘a‘ike building, which serves as the main focal point of the campus. The mural itself is fascinating, and the story of its genesis is equally compelling. A true testament to the richness of the experience and support present in the UHCC environment, this mural was born out of a class project. Student Kammy Kaiwi requested to work on a mural for his art class, and when his sketch was complete, it became apparent that the artwork was worthy of a prominent canvas on campus. It took a year for Kammy to complete the mural, with the help of Mike Takemoto and other UHMC art faculty. Even the chancellor pitched in, captaining the lift from time to time. Mike relayed that every once in awhile, a passerby would stop to admire the progress and offer a suggestion ("Hey - you should add dolphins in the water...") that would be integrated into the painting. The mural depicts three phases of the traditional Makahiki season. A great deal of research informed the portrayal of the people, food, and events in the work, and Ho‘oulu, the UHMC student newspaper, published a fantastic article on the details (A Thought, a Dream, a Vision and Success!).
Our tour took us all around campus, where we visited "Dolphin", created in 1987 by then Maui Community College welders Linlee Boulet, Eric Sato, Gwen Brush with the support of their instructor John Ringen. We also saw "A Path Through the Trees", created by Satoru Abe, a small grove of patina-covered bronze sculptures. A new-to-its-location installation of heavy cast bronze sculptures anchored in rock, called "Na Moku ‘Ekolu (The Three Islands)" was created by Sean K. L. Browne and came to UHMC through the Art in Public Spaces program. "Kūlapa Kai (To Frolic in the Ocean)" was a gift to the campus. It's a sculpture of a monk seal and her pup carved in New Zealand marble. Many forms of student artwork was showcased throughout the outdoor spaces.
From there, we moved on to visit the Library, a veritable art gallery in itself. In the atrium, we saw "Nalu Analua (The Wave Cave)", carved and donated by Maui woodworker David Mouffe. The base of the 1,000 lb. sculpture is carved from a monkeypod tree. Cascading down from the ceiling above was "The Art in the Everyday Community Quilt". This social engagement project, led by visiting artist Laura Phelps Rogers, is currently visiting the UHMC library before moving on to travel the world through 2023. The intent is to celebrate the everyday through creatively interacting with common items around us. Upstairs in the library, we saw more student works, from sketches and paintings to ceramics and quilts.
After being inspired by the diversity of art around campus, it was our turn to step behind the easel. UHMC graduate and artist Malorie Arisumi led us in a fun and engaging creative expression session with acrylics. We had a great time painting (and often laughing at ourselves) as we all followed the guidance of our kumu.
While we shared the subject of lily pads floating in water and even walked through the same procedures, it was fascinating how every Wo had their own unique result.
During and after lunch, which was an ōno selection of quite possibly the biggest bentos I've ever seen, we reported out on our legacy projects, finalized revisions to the Wo awards, addressed requests for funding, and planned for our fall meetings. Most of our discussion was aimed at homing topics, outcomes, and formats of our special project, which may (or may not) focus on the theme "Why [I'm at my] community college," "Why I teach, counsel, etc." and/or "How to keep the joy [in what you do]" and may (or may not) include podcasts, professional development workshops, and/or an unconference. There was a lot of solid brainstorming, and it seems we're circling around some key themes, but for now, we're sitting with it over the summer break and hoping to jump back in this fall with renewed energy and clarity. Mahalo nui loa to Whitney, Jeff, Lui, Mike, Malorie and the Maui Wos of the past generations who generously provided transportation and food - it was a wonderful day! For now, I'm wishing everyone some time to relax and recharge in the sunshine this summer, and looking forward to reuniting and continuing our journey in the fall! A hui hou, Wohana!
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