He maintains full exhibition schedules at his anchor Koa Gallery at Kapi'olani Community College, where he also teaches, as well as at the Exhibit Space, 1132 Bishop St.

Behlke also has been working with ArtSpace at Sub-zero/Wolf since the showroom's opening in spring 2004.

The space is an unusual spot that features Hawai'i contemporary artists' works that complement its luxury appliances displayed through kitchen vignettes created by eight high-end Island kitchen designers.

The current exhibition started as a call for submissions for works on the theme food, works depicting or exploring any and all aspects of food and culinary delights.

The pieces could be two-dimensional work and/or sculpted relief in any medium, not to exceed 48 inches in any direction. No more than two pieces could be submitted.

Thirty eye-candy pieces by 24 artists were chosen for the exhibition, pieces ranging from highly accomplished to unabashedly amateur kitsch, but all nicely placed, complementing and complemented by the showroom environment.

No entry fee was charged, and the three favorites selected by public vote won a wine-storage cooler, wine gift certificates and a reception.

First-place winner was Snowden Hodges, for his oils "Buns" and "Oranges."

Hodges, who teaches painting and drawing at Windward Community College, is best known for his almost old-master-style paintings with a contemporary twist.

An accomplished technician in the best sense of the word, he tackles his subjects with great gusto and turns out works of great beauty and style.

Dieter Runge took second-place honors for his oil "Three Tomatoes," somehow reminiscent of Magritte-like oversized fruit.

Runge comes to the Islands from Germany, though he spent time in New York creating art and music as part of the East Village underground art community in the 1980s.

Now working as a tai-chi teacher, Runge is beginning his graduate studies in painting this fall at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

Like Hodges, he is a consummate craftsman in his application of paint and control of his medium.

Third-place winner was Iolani School art teacher Cheri Keefer, for her mixed-media "Picnic Pie."

All in all, this is a fun, light show in an unusual setting that certainly merits a visit.

Portable art

Meanwhile, back at school, Behlke is organizing another exhibition that promises to be an intriguing event over an extended period of time and space in celebration of peace.

Artists are invited to submit by mail portable works designed to explore what peace means to different populations, sometimes within the same community.

Works on paper or works easily reproduced on paper no larger than 11 by 17 inches, (8 by 10 inches if you're an out-of-state e-mail participant) are to be mailed in without frames, mattes or glass.

No entry fee is required.

No work will be returned, but it will be shown worldwide.

The premise of the exhibition is that art is a vehicle to express diverse points of view without violence, and that making art is a healing act in and of itself.

The initial exhibition in the Koa Gallery and Lama Library will provide a forum for visual artists to express their unique viewpoints of peace on a personal, regional, national or international perspective.

The Koa Gallery's 900-square-foot space is an extension of the classroom to show students and the community the works of Hawai'i's leading artists.

The Lama Library, with a display area of more than 1,200 square feet, is visited by more than 1,500 people daily.

The July 4 opening ceremony and artists' reception will feature a potluck barbecue and fireworks over Waikiki.

At the close of the show, the works will be packaged and sent to other regional and international locales for display.

Each time the exhibition travels to a new spot, additional artists and community members will be invited to contribute.

The purpose of the show is to demonstrate that everyone can become involved in discovering peace at a fundamental level, a visual peace train.

At the end of the exhibition's journey, the works will be returned to KCC and become part of the archives in the Lama Library.

Retreat

Finally, at least for this summer, Behlke is launching an ambitious set of July workshops dubbed the "Second Annual Retreat into Your Creative Self."

It features many enticing offerings. They include: "Marbling: A Mysterious Ancient Art Form," with artist and Advertiser art reviewer Victoria Gail-White, and creativity workshops, ranging from Behlke's workshop on dealing with creative blocks to Melinda Caroll's "Sweat Your Prayers: Ecstatic Dance."