The month of March is National Youth Art Month and the Waimea Arts Council is celebrating by presenting the winners of the 32nd Annual Na Opio Youth Art Show and Competition during a reception Sunday at the Firehouse Gallery in Waimea.
The month of March is National Youth Art Month and the Waimea Arts Council is celebrating by presenting the winners of the 32nd Annual Na Opio Youth Art Show and Competition during a reception Sunday at the Firehouse Gallery in Waimea.
More than 92 students in grades six through 12 in the North and South Kohala and Hamakua districts, as well as home schooled students in that area, took part in this year’s show. Their artwork remains on display through March 26.
Awards for first, second and third place will be awarded to each grade level during the 3-5 p.m. reception.
The judges for this year’s show were Waimea residents Pat Hall and Cindy Yarawamai. Both are retired art educators and presently practicing artists.
Hall came to the Big Island in the early 1960s when she and her husband accepted teaching jobs at Hawaii Preparatory Academy. Her artwork has been featured in numerous shows and galleries in the state and she has also illustrated about a dozen books. She works mostly in watercolor but is comfortable in just about any other media. Her most recent emphasis has been in ceramic sculpture.
Yarawamai began her 32-year art teaching career as an elementary art consultant for Grand Rapids Public Schools in Michigan. In 1978, she moved to Hawaii where she worked as the assistant art curator for the Honolulu Academy of Arts. After she and her family moved to the Big Island she taught at Waimea Middle School and then 22 years at Hawaii Preparatory. In 2004, she left teaching to start her own fine arts business.
WAC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the arts on Hawaii Island. The gallery is located at crossroads of Mamalahoa Highway and Lindsey Road in Waimea. It is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and Sunday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
Info: 887-1052, www.waimeaartscouncil.org.
Grade 6
First place: Rusty Leialoha-Cabral, Parker Middle School
Second place: Lily Kassis, HPA Middle School
Third place: Natalie Macy, HPA Middle School
Grade 7
First place: Andrew Groves, Parker Middle School
Second place: Jamie Saito, Parker Middle School
Third place: Kayla Tadaki, HPA Middle School
Grade 8
First place: Hikari Shaver, HPA Middle School
Second place: Macey Van Tassell, HPA Middle School
Third place: Halia Buchal, Parker Middle School
Grade 9
First place: Maya Ellsworth, Parker School
Second place: Anna Gaglioni, Parker School
Third place: Jenna Harris, Parker School
Grade 10
First place: Soleil Fitzgerald, Parker School
Second place: Logan Von Elsner, Honokaa High School
Third place: Riley Herendeen, Parker School
Grade 11
First place: Romilly Benedict, Honokaa High School
Second place: Layne Kawe Lincoln, Parker School
Third place: Eric Fetsch, Parker School
Grade 12
First place: Mick Miller, Parker School
Second place: Katie Jefferson, HPA
Third place: Hoku Pagan, Honokaa High School