July 2022 at the Gallery
Volume 13, Issue 7
Artist of the Month:
Shannon Nakaya
Kailua Village Artist’s Gallery will feature Origami Designer and Sculptor Shannon Nakaya throughout the month of July. While origami is more commonly thought of as craft rather than art, Nakaya takes paper folding to an entirely new level with seven foot dragons and toothy sharks, amongst other fantastical creations, all of her own design.
Nakaya is yonsei, or a fourth generation descendant of Japanese great-grandparents who migrated to Hawaii in the late 1800s and early 1900s. While she’s dabbled in origami during different times of her life, it never really grabbed her until she discovered “extreme” origami with hundreds of steps and impressively detailed figures. Then, when she couldn’t find instructions for what she could visualize and wanted to fold, she transitioned to designing and sculpting and creating her own signature style. That was around 2016 and she has not looked back.
“Many of my subjects are animal forms — some real, some mythical, some fantastical. My style tends towards happy and whimsical. I aim to create more than just representational objects but pieces with enough character and personality to tell a story and engage an audience.”
“For me, being yonsei means embracing parts of my Japanese heritage as well as having the freedom to evolve. I appreciate the geometric folds of origami design to create a strong structural foundation. However, bringing origami to life requires “listening" and allowing a creation’s story to shape its body language and facial expressions. I spend as much time wiring, gluing, shaping, and sculpting as I spend folding.”
More about Nakaya's origami art.
Manta and Monstera
An odd coupling, but Manta and Monstera does kind of have a ring to it, like maybe the name of a meditation group? One is a sea creature. The other a plant. Both are kind of larger than life, relative to their respective brethren, which gives them presence even in their silence.
They are also soothing and appealing subjects for art, as demonstrated by several of our artists at KVA. The names of these two disparate things reflect their enormous size. Manta is Spanish for cloak or blanket, and their wingspan can reach up to 29 feet across. Monstera deliciosa, the scientific name for the plant comes from the Latin which means “abnormal” or “monstrous” in size, referring to the large leaves that can reach up to two feet in length. The majesty and beauty of these large beings inspires artists and visitors alike.
Click on any image to view as slide show.
Art Journeys
with Tamisha Lee:
Playing with Glass
Part I: Glass is Old
Our neanderthal ancestors used naturally occurring glass like obsidian all the way back in the Stone Age. The earliest known working of glass reaches back around 4000 years ago during the Bronze Age, along the Eastern Mediterranean. Glass is quite challenging to produce as it must be heated to very high temperatures and then cooled slowly to prevent cracking. Consequently, it was a luxury product and archaeologists have found small vessels in the tombs of Egyptian elite. These early bottles were created by wrapping molten glass around a rod core in the shape of the vessel. Semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli and turquoise were added to the glass to create color.
The Greeks and Romans continued and expanded the traditions of glass. Romans developed a glass blowing technology that remains relatively unchanged to today. Silica is heated in a furnace and sodium carbonate is added to bring down the melting point. Additives were included to change the color. A ball of molten glass is picked up on the end of a hollow blow pipe and the glass manipulated or blown into a mold to shape. Blown glass was less expensive and more easily mass produced such that most homes in the Roman Empire had glass vessels for drinking, wine storage, perfumes, as well as other decorative elements.
Glass without impurities is naturally clear. Impurities like iron or manganese tended to tint the glass: iron resulted in a green hue and manganese turned glass slightly pink. Today we add other elements to get color: copper and cobalt for blues, sulphor for yellows, and gold for pinks and purple. Glass expense is largely determined by which elements are needed to get color.
"Bigger. Grander. More"
Nakaya thrives on pushing herself and being at the cutting edge of discovery. She came up with "Bigger. Grander. More" while considering what elements caught her attention when viewing other people's art. There are, for example, many glass blowers. And then there's Dale Chihuly. "B.G.M" has become her modus operandi for origami as she challenges people to see origami as a medium for sculpture and fine art.
Supersizing origami actually requires a lot more structural engineering than palm-sized or table top models. Otherwise, the piece just collapses. Nakaya essentially folds a "skin," and then strategically implants a wire skeleton in order for her supersized origami sculptures to hold their shape.
As to Grander, Nakaya's designs are rich with anatomical detail. Her shark has teeth; her owl has feathers, toes, and claws; her dragon has scales; and her menehune have fingers and toes, and enough facial detail that they are capable of expressions.
Sometimes, you just need More. One of Nakaya's installations at KVA during the month of July will be a wall of origami koi fish.
Being a member artist at KVA has given Nakaya an opportunity to display her art. "It's not for the faint of heart. It takes hutzpah to put yourself out there. Interestingly, it seems like a lot of people are cautious about entering art galleries. I can relate to being a working person on a budget, but a gallery is kind of like a museum -- a visual feast for the eyes and a place to be surrounded by and inspired by human creativity. Unlike a museum, you can buy things if you're so inclined. But as an artist, it's reaffirming just to have people contemplate my creations. Even if they don't want to live with it, the fact that they take the time to study it and form an opinion means that I've engaged a mind. At some level, that is what fine art is all about."
For those who wish to engage, Shannon Nakaya will be at the gallery on Friday, July 1, Friday, July 8, and Friday, June 22.
