The South Kona Artists Collective — SOKO — holds its fourth annual Artists Studio Tour Feb. 24-25.
Twenty-one artists will share their work at a dozen locations from Holualoa to Honaunau during the two-day event. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.
SOKO is a collective of dedicated professional artists seeking to share the varied ways they create. They are painters, potters, sculptors, photographers, jewelers, quilters, weavers, mosaic, assemblage, metal and wood artists. Living in this lush and wild, sometimes harsh, yet always inspiring environment that is the Big Island, they have come together to create opportunities for fine artists to share their vision and expand their audience.
SOKO hosts the yearly tour on the last weekend of February, in addition to group exhibitions, and other events.
The year’s art tour begins at the home of Andrea Pro on a coffee and macadamia nut farm, just north of Donkey Mill Art Center on Highway 180. Her woodcut and other styles of printmaking are inspired by the natural environment around her.
Follow the winding scenic road a short distance south to the studios of Jozuf Hadley and Jan Bovard on a farm located 3 miles south of Holualoa Village. Hadley is a sculptor that assembles wooden found objects for the wall, and Bovard is a respected ceramics artist.
Continuing south on Mamalahoa highway, also known as Highway 11, wind deeper into the heart of South Kona to Kealakekua. Look for Discovery Antiques, a large inviting red building on the makai side of the road. There, owner Peter Underwood has his studio and gallery. The antiques he acquires and sells have also given him inspiration to “re-imagine junk into art” and put together various assemblages ready for display in new ways.
Farther south on Highway 11 is Captain Cook. Make a quick detour makai of the fire station down the hill to the studio of two world renowned photographers. Kathleen T. Carr exhibiting her infrared and color landscapes and underwater images of turtles, whales and dolphins. Along with her is Tara Cronin, one of SOKO’s new artists this year. Cronin, an accomplished photographer, combines science and art in her work that includes, photography, works on paper, installations and book arts.
Returning to Highway 11, keep heading south and look for the Coffee Shack. A bit farther south on the mauka side of the road, turn up the driveway that winds up to the studio of Mark Martel, a fine artist, cartoonist, comic book illustrator and writer. Browse his varied selection of landscapes, wildlife, figures and abstracts in a diverse range of styles and media—drawing, watercolor, acrylic and pastel.
Continuing on Highway 11 south to Honaunau, head to SKEA, (South Kona Education of Arts), where you will find a long, white plantation-style building amid the coffee orchards with parking above and below the building. There, a treasure trove of artists will be displaying their work. On the front porch you’ll find weaver and fabric artist Kim Thompson, showing hand weaving, Eco print and natural dyes on silk. Inside you will find Ellen Crocker, a gifted sumi-e, watercolor and roketsu-zome artist, who will have her fabric designs on view, along with Joyce Monsky displaying her unique interpretations of the art of and craft of clay.
Downstairs, attendees will find the studios of some of Kona’s most talented potters and ceramicists. Lynn Peavy, showing hand-thrown, porcelain, functional and Raku pottery; Alysia Samaru, with her colorful designs; and Ina Koch’s imaginative wave designs, will guarantee to delight and inspire.
Continue south on Highway 11, and turn right toward Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park on Highway 160 to the studio of Linda Purcell Satchell and Pamela Colton Thomas on an organic mac nut and pineapple farm. On exhibit will be Satchell’s dramatic oil paintings and hand-carved ipu gourds and Colton Thomas’s vibrant watercolor paintings and mixed media, prints and cards tgat depict island life.
Follow the highway north past the Honauanu Bay, then head up Napoopoo Road turning onto Kahau Place to the studio of Roz Marshall. Marshall is a Canadian/Hawaiian artist who works in many different media and has more than 50 solo shows in Hawaii, Canada and around the world. Her influences are many and she is inspired by the light and colors of Hawaii. She is a new addition to SOKO this year.
Continue up Napoopoo and turn off at the yellow flag to the farm of Big Island Bees, owned by Garnett Puett. Gigi Goochey, a silver and gold artist and jeweler and worker in various stones will be showing her wares there.
Just a stone’s throw away, is the studio of Catherine Wynne, an extraordinary quiltmaker. Her studio is filled with colorful fabric quilts, wall hangings, sewing machines and a huge long-arm quilting machine. Along with her this year will be Willa Marten, a metal worker featuring pewter casting and sculpture using found objects.
Returning to Napoopoo Road heading up hill on the left hand side is a gate where you will turn into the studio of Michele Lacobucci. Her Kealakekua Bay Estates house/studio will be displaying mosaic art for the garden, using combinations of glass, pottery and substrates of found objects.
Continuing the climb up Napoopoo Road again, last but not least, is the stop at Kona Clive’s tree house/home and workshop, a testament to what a master can do with wood. He will have his tiki-style sculptures and modern distressed wood hangings on display.
Artists will be offering original work, framed giclees, matted art prints, books, pottery, quilts and cards for sale. Brochures will be brochures available with maps at local venues, studios, hotel concierges, and eateries and online at www.sokoartists.com.
Info: Visit www.sokoartists.com or www.facebook.com/SOKOartists.
Participating artists
Catherine Wynne
Peter Underwood
Kim Thompson
Linda Purcell satchell
Alysia Samaru
Clive Salmon
Pamela Colton Thomas
Andrea Pro
Lynn Peavy
Joyce Monsky
Willa Marten
Mark Martel
Roz Marshall
Ina Koch
Michele Iacobucci
Jozuf Hadley
Tara Cronin
Gigi Goochey
Ellen Crocker
Kathleen T. Carr
Jan Bovard
