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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, April 7, 2002

ART
Precise pen-and-ink drawings clearly show artist's talent

By Victoria Gail-White
Special to The Advertiser

Motivated by her ageless, sprite-like face and contagious sense of discovery, I accepted the artist Ramsay's invitation to accompany her up a straight rung ladder into a loft area of her gallery Monday evening. "If I had started today, I wouldn't be in business," she said, because her pen-and-ink work is so fine that many of the lines won't reproduce digitally.

"Rough and Smooth" is artist Ramsay's pen-and-ink drawing on 4-by-6-inch greeting cards.

Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

"I realized I couldn't draw and make a living unless (the work) could be reproduced properly," she said, for which she needed a horizontal camera. So she got on eBay and made a major investment.

Filling up the loft is a monstrosity with "Walzberg" emblazoned on its crown. This is her very own vintage horizontal camera, complete with a 12-foot bellows. She intends to supervise the use of this wonder-machine to reproduce large artworks (her own and those of other artists).

With the pounding of a gong, we descended the ladder. A lion dance was about to begin in the courtyard. Although covered with lei, Ramsay was enthralled with sharing the scent of a single fresh ylang-ylang flower that she had been given, offering it to everyone that greeted her along the way.

In this show, Ramsay's precise pen-and-ink drawings, dating to 1951, are equipped with their own magnifying glasses and are so finely detailed they spider-spin threads of their own. The microscopic dots and lines defy error. The traditional crow quill and ink drawings are that of a preservationist, perfectionist, patron of the arts, entrepreneur, community activist and an artist with amazing patience, talent and a steady hand. Besides exhibiting her own work, Ramsay has opened her gallery space to the monthly exhibits for more than 200 artists over the past 30 years.

Ramsay Museum

Ongoing exhibit

Historic Tan Sing Building,

1128 Smith St., Honolulu

537-ARTS (2787)

10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays,

10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays


Makiko Carlson 'Soul and Spirit'

Through April 19

Gallery on the Pali

2500 Pali Highway

9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays,

1-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday


HPU Invitational student, faculty and staff art exhibition

With a special exhibition, "In Living Color" by John McLaughlin

Through May 3

Hawai'i Pacific University Art Gallery

Windward Campus 45-045 Kamehameha Highway, Kane'ohe

544-0287

8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Monday-Saturday

Of her Heritage Art Exhibition, she writes: "In reviewing this tangible evidence of my life's work, I'm saddened by how much history is lost to us in Hawai'i, and reminded of all that remains to be ultimately preserved or ungraciously torn away from the architectural fabric of our unique island state. When I began drawing old buildings, as a child, never did I imagine that they would disappear. A building was forever. Now, nearly four decades later, the result of reckless over development is obvious even to the least socially aware among us, and heartbreaking to those who perceive the past as a lifeline to the future."

In concert with this celebration, her husband, Dr. Norman Goldstein, rightfully nicknamed the "tattoo guru," has begun his installation for "The World of Tattoo." As a practicing dermatologist who teaches at the University of Hawai'i, it's no wonder he's intrigued by skin art. This award-winning, provocative collection is the result of 40 years of collecting tattoo-related books, videos, slides and sculptures. He plans to complete the installation over the next few years.

Ramsay and her husband have spent three decades involved in the Chinatown community — cleaning up its image, saving historic buildings from destruction and participating in neighborhood boards to secure its future.

Together with their diverse but connected interests in history, they have also established the Ramsay Foundation for the purpose of advancing the arts.

Visit their Web site, www.ramsaymuseum.org, for details.

• • •

Inspired by lines of poetry such as "I am the Pattern-maker, I, God, made a world so infinite that there is nothing, if you try, that you may not make out of it" (the words of James Dillet Freeman), Makiko Carlson began a spiritual journey through her art work.

She developed a technique using Japanese washi papers "something like finger painting using thin colored washi on a wet surface." Carlson transcends her worries through a predominantly muted paper palette evidenced in "Rose Petal" and "Morning Moon."

"My work is a connection to God, it is very personal and can't be taught," she says. It must be difficult to communicate about something as esoteric as spiritual art with English as a second language. Yet, the twinkle in her eyes says that she is doing something right. Don't expect any burning crucifixes or saints on fire. Carlson's work is a quiet meditation.

• • •

The HPU Invitational student, faculty and staff art exhibit features works in photography, computer graphics, charcoals, embroidery, pencil, ink, oil, acrylic and black sketchmarker. There is not sufficient labeling to separate the student and faculty works, so it is a guessing game as to which is by whom. The black and white photographs "Rain Man" and "Z Path" of Phillippe L. Gross (he is scheduled to have a joint show at the Gallery on the Pali in late April) and Azadeh Ghotaslou's "Vacation" and "Heaven" are delightfully poignant.

Running alongside this exhibit, "In Living Color" is a 10-year overview of the colored pencil drawings of John McLaughlin. Here is an example of how one can be creative and function in the business world as well: McLaughlin manages his family's business, arbitrates for the Better Business Bureau and belongs to the Rotary Club. He has included abstracts, shops, people, marbleized stones, beach scenes and a collection of plants in this retrospective. The colored pencil medium is perfect for rendering "Bromeliad I, II, III." The lush hot pinks in these drawings sizzle as they vibrate off the paper.