Leolani Wai Aka O Ka Lo’i, Sculpture by Rachel Lyra Lahela Hospodar
I have been dreaming of this work ever since I first came to Volcano 20 years ago. Listening to the rain on my uncle’s roof while I learned guitar, I imagined a percussion instrument sounded by the rain. Working the lo’i where I live now on the leeward side of Kaua’i, I watch the sky reflected in the water and think of the way my aunty taught me to say, “Hele mai ka ua!” and always welcome the rain. In this artwork I return to Hāloa as the source of all life, and deliberately bring him up to the rarified altitude of Volcano to celebrate the abundant water and shining light in this remote and peaceful place. The lifeblood of the people thrives in reflective contemplation and revels in the blessings of water.
Rachel Hospodar is a lifelong artist with an iconoclast streak and a mastery of multiple media, Rachel was born in Pittsburgh. Her creative voice is rooted in her blue-collar and Jewish heritage. Living in San Francisco, her distinctive style of landscape collage paintings sold on Haight Street to customers from all over the world. She was first invited to Moku o Keawe in 2002. Rachel now lives on Kaua’i and is continually working to create a representation of place as unique as Hawai’i.
