Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 6, 1 June 2017 — MAKING ART HAPPEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

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MAKING ART HAPPEN

By Sabra Kauka ) For Marie McDonald's lifetime of dedication to and mastery of the ffawaiian arts of kapa and lei, for the books she has published and the projects she has led, the Office of kiawaiian Affairs honors her. From crazy idea to award winning project When Maiie McDonald called in 2010 to ask me to join her in making a kapa pa'u for kiālau O Kekuhi to wear at the 2011 Merrie Monarch Festival Hō'ike, I told her the idea was crazy. When she stipulated that the kapa must be made in the traditional way and the dyes must be natural, I knew how mueh time and effort it would take. When she asked if I would do it, I and 28 other kapa makers agreed. The result of this collaboration was a magnificent explosion of creative pa'u designs at the 2011 Merrie Monarch Festival using painstaking traditional kapa techniques. A documentary film entitled "Ka Hana Kapa" was produced about this project with funding from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and featured on Hawai'i Public Television. Contemporary creations on a traditional foundation Marie McDonald's passionate wish is for Hawaiian artists to express new visions using traditional techniques. "Make new things happen," she said. "I have explored past history to death, now it's time to go on." She expects people to produce more graphic, draSEE MCD0NALD ON BACK PAGE

Nā Mamo Makamae o Ka Po'e Hawai'i: Living Treasures of the Hawaiian People

MARIE MCD0NALD

Photo: Roen Hufford

> MCD0NALD

CONTINUED FR0M INSIDE matic, vivid and strong work. To be creative in their own right. To have crazy ideas and to act on them. She wants to see a lot of people with crazy ideas eome together to create the art that is unique to our time. "I want peopleto continue maldng kapa. I want them to continue making natural dyes. I encourage them to be as creative as they want in their designs." In her own art works, the colors and designs that she uses on her kapa art pieces show an amazing and unique creativity. History and abbreviated list of accomplishments > 1926 - Born on Moloka'i from the Mahoe hne of chiefs, and the Adams family of New England > Graduatedfrom KamehamehaSchools and Texas Women's University > Art teacher in the public schools > Lives on Honopua Farm, Waimea, Hawai'i with her daughter Roen Hufford and son-in-law Ken Hufford. > 1985 - KaLei: TheLeis ofHawaii. the authoritative source on the subject > 1990 - National Endowment for the Arts, National Heritage Fellowship > 2003 - Na Lei Makamae with eoauthor Paul Weissich. Received the Samuel M. Kamakau Award for the Hawai'i Book of the Year. > 2008-2009 He Ho'ala Ana exhibit, Honolulu Museum of Art > 2010 - Alfred Preis Honoree by the Hawai'i Arts Allianee > 2010 - HOEA, Hawaiian 'Ohana for Education in the Arts, instructor and supporter > 201 1 - Kapa Pā'ū Project at the Merrie Monarch Festival Hō'ike > 2014 - Kapa Pā'ū II project for Hālau O Kekuhi at Maui Arts & Culture Center > 2014 - Mohala Hou Ke Kapa, Exhibit at Maui Arts & Culture Center > 2016 - Kapa Kahilu, exhibit at Kahilu Gallery in Waimea, Hawai'i. ■