Volcano Art Center Gallery
Building #42, HI 96718
The Volcano Art Center invites you to attend Brought by Canoe: That Which Sustains Us, a fine art exhibition featuring the photography of Heidi Fickinger and the glass sculptural carving of Heather Mettler. This free exhibit will be on display from August 1 through September 27, 9AM-5PM daily at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. While the exhibit is free, park entrance fees apply. The public is invited to meet the artists at the opening reception on Saturday, August 1 from 2-4PM.
Canoe plants, brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Polynesian voyagers centuries ago, have sustained generations of people by providing food, medicine, shelter, tools, and clothing. Beyond their practical uses, these plants continue to nourish through their beauty, symbolism, and deep cultural significance. As artist Heidi Fickinger reflects, these treasured plants “feed the soul as well as the body.”
Through photography and hand-carved glass, Brought by Canoe: That Which Sustains Us explores the beauty, resilience, and evolutionary uniqueness of these essential plants while honoring their enduring role within Hawaiian culture. Together, the artists invite viewers to look closely at the forms, textures, and essence of the plants that helped shape life in Hawaiʻi.
Photographer Heidi Fickinger grew up along the edge of the Teton wilderness in Wyoming; for the past twenty years she has called Hawaiʻi Island home. Inspired by the remarkable diversity of species found here, she faithfully documents each plant’s flowers, fruits, leaves, and structure while seeking to reveal what she describes as “the inner spirit of the plant through its veining, light, color, and unique connection to its environment.” This collaborative project led Fickinger to work closely with growers, kumu, and cultural practitioners who generously shared ʻike (knowledge) about the traditional uses, history, and significance of canoe plants and their remarkable journeys across the Pacific.
Artist Heather Mettler has spent her life immersed in the flora, fauna, and ocean landscapes of the Kona coast, “a magical place to call home.” Working with glass for more than 20 years, Mettler is drawn to designing patterns on glass through stenciling and sandblasting. Influenced by the ever-changing waters of the Pacific, her carved vessels emphasize layers and patterns, celebrating the beauty and significance of Hawaiʻi through luminous sculptural forms. In thinking about this project, Heather writes, “Glass has always been my canvas, but the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands is my true inspiration.”