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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Sunday, February 20, 2005

Five artists of Kaua'i

A. Kimberlin Blackburn Carol Ann Davis Sally French Penny Nichols Carol Kouchi Yotsuda

 •  Recycled glass hot art on Kaua'i
 •  Art Calendar

By Victoria Gail-White
Special to The Advertiser

Kaua'i artists are resilient. They have to be. Our Garden Isle neighbors have been hit by three hurricanes in the past 40 years. The 552-square mile island survived the most historically devastating of all in 1992, when Hurricane Iniki hit with 145-mph winds and caused property damage totaling more than $1.8 billion.


"Footage," by Carol Ann Davis, top; "Penny 1945-2005," by Penny Nichols, above; and "Little Lucy" by Sally French, below, are part of the "Small Works Show" in Lihu'e through Feb. 28.

Photos from Carol Ann Davis


Their mountain summit is reported to be one of the wettest spots on Earth — not conducive to conserving works of art. However, despite these natural challenges, many dedicated Kaua'i artists have managed to give birth to, resurrect, renew and maintain three nonprofit art organizations in an art-weary world — an admirable feat.

The act of making art is in itself a solitary one. Compound this with the fact that Kaua'i artists are further isolated from major art activities by their location, and a unique picture of their world begins to develop: seclusion.

But the artists on Kaua'i don't have time to wallow in their own angst. They're too busy making art and celebrating what they have worked so hard to create — cohesive and interactive arts organizations.

The first group to be founded was the now-defunct Kaua'i Arts Council. Two nonprofit organizations that have been a big part of that world are the Kaua'i Society of Artists and the Garden Island Arts Council.

For almost 30 years these organizations have remained healthy because of their committed members and volunteers. Rather than compete, they have complemented each other through a mutual understanding of the importance of nurturing artists, creativity and culture. The arts council is more community-oriented, while the society offers a ladder for artists who want to grow in their careers by offering annual juried exhibits and outside critical opinion.

In 2004, the Kaua'i Society of Artists acknowledged Carol Ann Davis with a Lifetime Achievement Award and a retrospective exhibit of her artworks in various media. Along with having her fine-art photographs published and winning numerous awards in juried, invitational and solo exhibits, she has been a loyal advocate for the arts on Kaua'i.

Davis was instrumental in developing the Kaua'i Arts Council. In 1965, the then newly-formed State Foundation for Culture and the Arts held a conference on O'ahu with council members from every island participating. Davis was the first representative from Kaua'i.

"It was the most exciting thing I have ever been to in my whole life," said Davis in a recent interview.

It was an exciting time for artists. A sense of aliveness, promise and support established the first Art in State Buildings Law (1967), Art in Public Places and the Artists in the Schools program, the first in the nation.

"Nevertheless, there are struggles that you go through because you are removed from the center of activity," says Davis.

One of those struggles was a set of unfortunate circumstances that led to the demise of the Kaua'i council in the 1970s.

At that time, Davis became art coordinator for Kaua'i for the state foundation, and with Carol Kouchi Yotsuda, established the Garden Island Arts Council in 1977 with Arnold Meister and Mary Lou Barela.

"I am the executive director; it is a volunteer position," says Yotsuda, who has been actively involved since its inception. "Our entire program is pretty much put on by an army of volunteers — all of whom do what they do because they love our program so much and don't want it to disappear into the Pacific Ocean."

One of the most popular programs is the 12-week "E Kanikapila Kakou" that runs February though April. It features international Hawaiian music performers and enthusiasts who perform and interact with the community.

The Garden Island council sponsors free art workshops and is known for its wacky, thematic exhibits. A Mad Hatter's Ball accompanied the recent "Metamorphis" recycled-art exhibit.

"The thematic exhibits were started to encourage new and shy artists who are intimidated by juried shows," says Yotsuda. "However, many of our finest artists find our themes so intriguing that they enter the shows as well."

Yotsuda also is responsible for manifesting her dream-come-true studio space in Niumalu, called ArtPod.

Here, artists can gather, share ideas, work and develop art without prejudice.

The Garden Island Art Council's biggest challenge is proper exhibition space. In May 2002, it began negotiations to build a center just beyond the Kukui Grove Center, which has been generously housing exhibitions by the art council and the Kauai Society of Artists in vacant retail spaces for years.

The lack of a permanent exhibit space is a challenge that the Kaua'i Society of Artists also faces.

Recent and past presidents of the society agree on one thing; they need a home.

A. Kimberlin Blackburn, president from 1987 to 1997, was responsible for initiating the society's tabloid-sized newsletter (now in its sixth edition), available, among other places, in the airport terminal, which is supported in part by the State Foundation for Culture and the Arts. In this guide, visitors can acquaint themselves with various artists and learn how to make arrangements to visit their studios.

Blackburn was president in 1992 when Iniki struck. The ongoing, curated Artists of Kaua'i exhibit at Linekona Arts Center in Honolulu is an outgrowth of that catastrophe and her plea for exhibition space.

"As president, you have to put yourself on the line," says Blackburn, "and make sure things happen, regardless of whether or not the volunteers are there to do it. I think that is a hard thing to explain to people, and a hard thing to do. But it is a phenomenal growth experience. It is one of the greatest things that ever happened to me."

Her beaded sculpture "In Her Garden" is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.

Sally French, a nationally recognized artist with numerous awards, has seen her quirky, humorous and socially conscious paintings collected by the state foundation, the Contemporary Museum and the Honolulu Academy of Arts. She was president of the Kaua'i Society of Artists from 1998 to 2003.

French raised the bar during her presidency by bringing in Mainland jurors and attracting younger artists to the organization. Her ongoing installations have given the society's exhibits a more polished appearance.

"We need a permanent space in a used building," says French. "I think it has to happen organically and grow at a rate the community can handle. Otherwise, it outprices the artists."

The society's current president, Penny Nichols, teaches art at Island School. She has been involved with the society for 20 years and felt it was her turn to serve.

"It has been a growing experience for me," she says. "I went into it feeling ill-equipped, but KSA constantly reinvents itself, depending on who is participating."

She says the organization is viable financially and has a huge volunteer force. It also sponsors visiting-artist workshops for members.

The society's "Small Works Show," on exhibit through Feb. 28, added an amazing challenge to members: all media 2-D and 3-D, with art no larger than 2 inches in any dimension.

"We wonder what we could do with all the time, energy and money if we were in one spot for a while," says Nichols. "We're vagabonds, but it is a testimony to the spirit of our group that we have remained active. It is tough for artists here. It is a great place to create but very hard to market work and make money."

The society has about 100 members and includes many well-known artists, such as Jolly Bodine and daughter Melinda Morey, whose work recently was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu.