After two years of planning, designing, painting and firing, volunteers installed a 20-by-9-foot tile mural, Celebrating Diversity in Our Community, Kaulana Na Ano Kaiaulu Like Ole, at the Holualoa Elementary School campus. The collaboration was funded by the Holualoa H+ Community Foundation, whose founding was under the leadership of retired principal Daniel Yoshida and retired teacher Iris Cantor.
After two years of planning, designing, painting and firing, volunteers installed a 20-by-9-foot tile mural, Celebrating Diversity in Our Community, Kaulana Na Ano Kaiaulu Like Ole, at the Holualoa Elementary School campus. The collaboration was funded by the Holualoa H+ Community Foundation, whose founding was under the leadership of retired principal Daniel Yoshida and retired teacher Iris Cantor.
The mural illustrates colorful confetti fluttering around a parade of taiko drummers, hula dancers, paniolo and children picking up candy in Holualoa. Birds, a pig, a donkey and cat are also depicted in the mural along with an oversized hawk in an orchard of coffee trees. The hawk is the mascot of Holualoa Elementary School. A green and blue balloon is floating in the sky in memory of the two Holualoa Elementary School boys who tragically lost their lives during the production of the mural.
Students from Konawaena High School and Holualoa Elementary School glazed more than 800 tiles. The high school students mentored fourth- and fifth-grade students to help them paint their original designs of Hawaiian flowers on the tiles which were used for the border. The mural was conceptualized, designed and glazed by Michelle Obregon and her art students. The mural was installed by Konawaena High School teacher Craig Fuller and Brad Chung Hoon. The tiles were fired by arts instructor Chris Pascual.