KAPA‘A — Profiles in Creativity, Kaua’i, a series on the elements and senses, will present the results of the “Slippah” entries on Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Into Bright Space Gallery, in the Golden Lotus studio building, located
KAPA‘A — Profiles in Creativity, Kaua’i, a series on the elements and senses, will present the results of the “Slippah” entries on Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Into Bright Space Gallery, in the Golden Lotus studio building, located at 4-941a Kuhio Hwy. in Kapa‘a.
The “PICK SIGHT Forum” event will include a hula blessing. A $20 entry fee goes to support and sustain local artists and includes pupus (refreshments) from partnering restaurants Tiki Taco and Shivalik.
This is the second of five contest events with a creativity focus on one of the elements or senses, said Leonora Orr, an artist, educator and gardener who put together the series of events.
“To me this is a display of creative people on Kaua‘i,” Orr said. “This island has so many people and this is to honor and respect what is already here.”
The Slippah entries have been collected since Aug. 20, and present a variety of drawings, paintings and multimedia works all presented on an 8.5-by 11-inch paper. Attendees are invited to view the entries around the gallery, followed by a video on the French artist, Matisse, a discussion on the a natural, rhythmic life of artists on Kaua‘i and finally the awards to contest winners.
The purpose of the series is about taking notice of the things that separate and bring together people in the community.
Our nationalities, cultures, languages and religions are things that make people distinct, but there are things that people have in common, Orr said.
“The elements and the senses are something that we all share, and we all keep,” Orr said.
“We all want to be good stewards and to live harmoniously.”
Orr said people tend to gravitate to one sense more than another, based on their own experience. As a visual artist, she said sight has been a highly used sense for her skill in painting.
The series of events over a one-year period is to generate creativity and connectivity in the community, she said.
The first event in June focused on sound and engaging resonance, Orr said. Puna Dawson offered a hula blessing with her halau.
John Dumas played the didgeridoo and a flute, while yoga instructor Jules offer a healing session with brass bowls.
The next event in November will focus on taste. The variety of flavors and creative ways of making food is a way to show how cooking is also an important part of enjoying life.
The series continues in February with “touch” followed by “feel” in June.
“It is all a celebration of energy,” she said.
As an artist, Orr said she works to engage and serve the community in energetic ways. This series produces work that merges the Western way of processing through concepts, with the African way of ritual and music through the arts, she said.
“I lived in Africa for 10 years and to me all of life is a dance,” she said. “It’s all one to me in a way. It’s a pathway of energy to live through that which encourages peaceful ways on the Earth in general.”
Regular gallery hours are Monday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For information call 651-5845.
