UH Hilo art major Luana Zablan wins cover art contest for Spring 2015 issue of Hohonu
The winning print is called “Kamaliʻi ʻike ʻole i ka helu po,” which translates to “children who do not know how to count the nights.”
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
Art student Luana Zablan won the cover art contest for the Spring 2015 issue of Hohonu, the journal of academic writing published by students at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, released today (copies are available in front of room 215 at the Campus Center). Criteria for the contest was for the art to include aspects of Hawaiian culture or illustrate Hawaiian traditions. Students were encouraged to be creative with multiple depictions.
Zablan’s winning print is called “Kamaliʻi ʻike ʻole i ka helu po,” which translates to “children who do not know how to count the nights.” Zablan says that in a deeper meaning, there is a connotation that describes a person who is as ignorant as a child because he knows not the phases of the moon.
“As a part of the daily life for the Hawaiian people, their daily work did not begin with the rising sun but the moon of that day,” says Zablan. “These phases of the moon were seasonal cues and warnings of when and when not to fish and plant. Since the theme for this project was based on the word ‘relative,’ my interpretations focused generally on the connections the Hawaiian people had with their environment and the importance of practicing ancient traditions such as being able to know all the phases of the moon in the form of chant.”
The base of the print depicts Maunakea in the orange glow of the afternoon. “As you work up to the top of the image, through the different levels of heavens, there is the cycle of the moon phases,” she says.
The medium of the piece is a printmaking process called a relief print, where areas that are carved out remain white and the raised areas are used to print a positive spaced image. An additional process of stenciling was used to help block out areas of ink for the transitions from the light to darker colors.
The first place win also included the prize of a Wacon Intuos Pro Pen and Touch Tablet.
Zablan is a junior at UH Hilo majoring in art with a minor in history. She hails from Waimea on Hawaiʻi Island and graduated high school from Kanu O Ka ʻĀina.
Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
