VAC exhibit to benefit Ka’u Hospital Foundation

The Volcano Art Center will display “Ka’u and Kilauea Reflections,” featuring paintings and ceramics by Dr. Douglas Davenport in an effort to raise funds for the Ka’u Hospital Foundation.

Davenport work will be available for viewing 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday through July 10 at the center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. A special opening reception is 5-7 p.m. Saturday in the Hale Hoomana building.

The works by Davenport in this exhibit display his appreciation for the unique district of Ka‘u through a multitude of landscapes.

“I came to the Big Island with my wife and three children 25 years ago and fell in love with Volcano,” Davenport said. “We built a small house as a refuge from the busy life on Oahu. Volcano became a place for us to be together as a family. We worked the land, the children included, hand-clearing the forest of ginger and tibouchina. As the years went by, our love of the place grew, as did our family.”

Davenport retired as an emergency room doctor after 25 years on Oahu and took up a part-time position at Ka’u Hospital. With his background as a professional potter on Oahu’s North Shore and a family history in oil painting, Davenport explains his artistic endeavors in Ka’u as “a natural progression.”

Ka’u Hospital, located in Pahala, is a 21-bed facility with 16 long-term care beds and 5 acute beds. It also operates a an always open Emergency Department. Replacing the last sugar plantation hospital on the island, the hospital was built in 1971 to serve the needs of the vast rural area.

Proceeds from artwork sold, as well as donations received, go directly to Ka’u Hospital Foundation.

Info: www.volcanoartcenter.org, 967-8222. ■