The "No. 4"

 Design Copyright Roland Lee 2012

Design Copyright Roland Lee 2012

Design Copyright Roland Lee 2012

I've emerged from my cave to begin posting some of my latest art designs and work. Recently, I've been motivated to do some woodblock carving and printing. Inspired and facinated by the work of the Japanese Ukiyo-e greats such as Hokusai, Hiroshige, Kunishige, Yoshitoshi, etc... I've sat down, got my carving tools out, drew a design, and began cutting. After doing a few prints on inkjet paper, I wasn't happy with the result. So with a roll of rice paper, I cut them to size and the results were better than expected. I could go on and on but the results are the above entitled the "No. 4"

Wind Chime Revisited

During the Labor Day weekend, a friend's daughter came over and was enamored by the wind chimes that hung by our front door. Little did she know the inspiration of making them came from the Bishop Museum and a wall display. Inspired to own this display I set out to make two panels by nailing over 3500 pailettes to these two boards. I purchased the pailettes from Cartright Sequins. She asked if she could pay me $.25 to make her a small panel. I made an offer that she couldn't refuse.
 I said, " What if I did this for you for free?"
Her eyes lit up and everyone in the room thought that I was just putting her on but here I am creating a hot pink board for her with left over pailettes.

Making a 2x2 ft. Wind Chime takes over 600 pailettes

She'll be so surprised when she receives this.

2 2x6 ft. wind chime boards that took over 3500 pailettes to create and over 40 hours of labor nailing them

Forty Views of Diamond Head

Splash!

Hi everyone, I've been quite busy so I wanted to be the first to wish you Happy New Year for 2012! Yay!!! Wooohooo!

I know that it is winter and chilly so I thought that it would be a great time to share a flavor of summer with this post through some of the outtakes from my project of compiling photographs into a book called  "Forty Views of Diamond Head." The book was inspired by Hokusai, a great Japanese woodblock printer who is probably most famous for his print of the Great Wave. He did a series of 36 prints of Mount Fuji in Japan called, "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji." Being that I'm not very good at printmaking, I decided to use a camera instead chipping away at woodblocks like the old master. These photos were taken with a Nikon D-40. Although not obvious at first, all of the images shown have an image of Diamond Head in the background.

I love the red Lehua flower... legend has it that if you pick it, it will rain.

A lifeguard stand and Diamond Head in the background.

This house was burnt and totally ruined!

To my surprise, a kitty cat was there to greet me!

Japanese tourist missing Diamond Head behind them as they were busy photographing Koko Head.

Deborah Butterfield displayed at TCM and Diamond Head peering through branches.

A couple enjoying the day at the beach and a view of Diamond Head.

For some a view of Diamond Head is right at their doorstep!

A view from one State monument to another

A nostalgic drive in and a view of DH with a big honkin tree blocking my shot!

I wish that that lady didn't step into the shot!

University of Hawaii

We have VOG... Volcanic ashes causing a cloudy haze over the city!

A blurred background of Diamond Head! 

The view of Diamond Head was too small.

They turned away once they saw the camera come out.

All Tied Up

 

As a sailor of the high seas in old ships, Mike Lawnsby has been to corners of the Earth that most of us would only be able to view in shows like Planet Earth. One evening over a shots of espresso, he told all about sailing to the Midway Atolls Wildlife Refuge and the natural beauty of this protected bird sanctuary. As an amateur photographer, he captured stunning and breathtaking shots of the landscape, the seascape, and the wildlife. In describing his two month expedition it led into a conversation about his knot tying knowledge which is a requirement for sailing the types of old fashioned ships that he did. 

Pulling out a green glass flask with raised lettering at the bottom which read, "POISON" he showed me a complex weave decorating and protecting the narrow body of the bottle. Inspecting it with my fingertips, my first impression was that some kind of adhesive must have been holding the weave together for it to adhere so tightly to the slick surface of the glass. Mike explained that the decorative quality is repetitive knot tying and the tightness of the entire weave is pulled by hand and leveraged by an awl like instrument one knot at a time. He was very generous with his knowledge by giving me a Turk Head knot tying lesson on the spot.

Pulling out a needle case that he crafted from bamboo and a wine cork, Mike used raw materials to make cool functional art that had a pulse. Of course he highlighted the art of tying tight knots on this piece and it's decorative quality. He burnt the image of the ship that he had sailed onto the bamboo as modern day scrimshaw on wood instead of on bone.

Thanks Mike for the lesson and for the opportunity to hear about your experiences!

The Childbirth Discussion

Natural Childbirth

When my wife was pregnant, we had spirited discussions about natural childbirth versus non-natural methods such as inducing labor and cesarean sections (c-sections) . The irony of it all was that we were hurled in the middle of a debate that wasn't ours. Although we were talking about the same thing, about which childbearing method is the safest for her and for the infant, we couldn't seem to see eye to eye. In the end we had a natural birth and the experience was wonderful but traumatizing for me. I was inspired by all of this to create two pieces to depict the debate.

NCB 1

 

C-Section Light

The beads nailed to the piece on c-section represents of the discomforts of medical intervention. This piece also functions as a light. It hangs in our living room as a conversation piece.

C-Section Lights off

Wine Crate and Wind Chime

Yesterday's post illustrated the intense labor that is involved when creating a design with origami. Above are two wind chimes that consists of over 3500 nailed silver pailettes on two painted 2x4 ft. boards. It is quite an intensive project to undertake. They hang in an entrance way reflecting light and shimmering and simultaneously resonating the sounds of running water when a light breeze flows through the space. The experience is absolutely mesmerizing and calming. How long does it take to make these wind chimes you might ask? It took nearly 35 hours to nail all of them in place if you work fast.

Click here to get pailettes.

Wind Chime (top) Wine Crate Shoe Boxes (bottom)

Wooden wine crates are becoming a thing of the past. Now days, wine is shipped in cardboard boxes which means that these crates are becoming a bit more rare. Some wineries still use wooden crates to pack their wine but after they are unpacked they are discarded. There is a local wine shop that sells them for just a few dollars each where I picked them up and made them into shoe boxes. Measuring about 7"x13"x20" they save a lot of walkway space.

 

Front View

I

Front View Opened

Side View 

I am writing the plans on making these wine crate shoe boxes. If you would like a copy, then please click here  or email me directly at apartmentarthawaii@gmail.com and I will send you a copy when I am finished writing.