Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 11, 1 November 1988 — Folk Art Awards Honor Tradition Bearers [ARTICLE]

Folk Art Awards Honor Tradition Bearers

Six traditional artists and their apprentices have been selected to receive Folk Art Apprenticeship Awards by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts' Folk Arts Program this year. Designed to cover fees for the master artist and the cost of materials that are essential to the apprenticeship, the $2,000 cash awards give the master artists a better opportunity to share their expertise in a folk art with a chosen apprentice during the coming months. A grant to the State Foundation (SFCA) from the National Endowment for the Arts makes these awards possible. On the Garden Isle, master lauhala weaver Esther Makua'ole of Waimea, will be working with Ginger Alexander of Anahola, Kaua'i. The pair plans to concentrate on "kona style" hats with double "piko" in both one and two-toned weaves. Two artists were selected from the Big lsland. Master artist Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahele of the Ka'u District and apprentice Carleton Keali'i Reichel of Paia, Maui, were selected for an apprenticeship award in Hawaiian chant (oli). One of the two kumu hula for Halau o Kekuhi, Pualani Kanahele is a master of traditional Hawaiian chant and specializes in the repertoire and voice techniques of oli. Elizabeth Lee, a master lauhala weaver from Kailua-Kona, was selected by the SFCA to share her know!edge with apprentice Ivy Hali'imaile Andrade of Pahoa, Hawai'i. "Auntie" Elizabeth

began to wea ve lauhala at the age of seven and has been weaving for 52 years. A native speaker of the Hawaiian language, she is one of the few weavers who ean teach this art in Hawaiian. This will provide apprentice Andrade, who is an art major at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo, a rare opportunity leam the Hawaiian terminology of hat weaving. Lee has been a featured artist in the annual 'Aha Puhala weaving conference and sometimes gives demonstrations at the Bishop and Lyman House Museums. Auntie Nona Beamer of Honolulu will share the tradition of Hawaiian storytelling with Elroy Makia Malo. She learned storytelling along with hula and chant from her great-grandparents, her grandmother, and her parents. She is well known by Oahu's schoolchildren for her animated storytelling style. Since last summer Malo, originally from Moloka'i, and Mrs. Beamer have been presenting "The Kamehameha Dynasty" story as part of the Artists in the Schools Program. As a blind artist, Malo is interested in refining his abilities as a storyteller by adapting Beamer's animated presentation style. Employed by Parks and Recreation, Malo will be able to put his training to good use entertaining children. The duo plans to tape record their sessions for use in other projects. Hawaiian woodcarving is a traditional art form with few master practitioners carrying on the tradi-

tion. An apprenticeship award to master woodcarver Levan Keola Sequeira, whose work includes Hawaiian double-hulled canoes, paddles, kapa tools, traditional hand weapons, calabashes, food trays, spears, and ki'i (sacred images), will help to ensure that the art is perpetuated. Sequeira hopes to share with apprentice Stennett Keoni Woo of Lahaina, Maui the skills, the 'feel' and 'spirit' needed to be an accompIished Hawaiian woodcarver. SFCA Folk Arts Apprenticeship Awards encourage the diverse cross section of folk arts that are an important aspects of Hawaii's community. This year the majority of the applications submitted were in traditional Hawaiian folk arts. One 1988 folk arts apprenticeship award, however, honors "pha khouane" or Laotian flower arranging. Lanee P. Chounramany is a master of this art fo rm, whieh is an essential aspect of all traditional Lao ceremonies including weddings, births, funerals, and New Years. Apprentice Sengmany Southiphong will be studying pha khouane under Chounramany. The next deadline for submitting applications for a Folk Arts Apprenticeship Awards is tentatively scheduled for May 1, 1989. To apply, contact the SFCA Folk Arts Coordinator at 548-4657 for details.