Keeping the Peace: Honoka'a High School
The mural uses the metaphor of farming to depict the idea of planting seeds and creating roots for our future. In keeping the history and traditions of the Waipio Valley, a fatherly figure is centrally depicted, demonstrating to the youth how to grow taro. The fatherly figure not only symbolizes a strong leader, but the ancestors of the Hawaii Islands, teaching us how to take care of the land. A Hawaiian Crow is also illustrated on the lower right side of the mural. Currently the Hawaiian crow is endangered, and as a community we must “Keep the Faith” for its species to survive for future generations. Also depicted are Ipu’s, symbolizing the music and poetry of the Hawaiian Islands.
The mural was created to celebrate the life of the Wesley Batalona, who tragically lost his life in Iraq. Wesley was a man who cared about youth, played the guitar and enjoyed talking story with young people. Wesley also cared about world peace. In keeping with the idea of world peace, in the background, letters are camouflaged into the hills, spelling the word PEACEType your paragraph here.
Michelle Obregon
KONA HAWAII
HALE HALEWAI, KAILUA KONA
The Hale Halewai Mural project was started during winter break 2003. The mural is entitled Birds of Paradise and was designed and supervised by Michelle Obregon, an instructor at Konawaena High. The mural was funded by Healing Our Island Community Grant with the assistance of Family Support services of West Hawaii. The mural celebrates the beauty of Hawaii's endemic and introduced species of birds, highlighting the endangered Nene and Hawaiian Crow. During winter break, students from Konawaena High School and Kealekehe Intermediate School helped with the mural, along with adults from Kona Kraft and the Community Federal Credit Union. The community mural provided local youth an opportunity to work with an artist, learning how to paint an outdoor mural and to participate in a beautification project
Never Again Konawaena Elementary School Mural 2013
Making of the mural video at Vimeo https://vimeo.com/66295849
This was a joint project with Konawaena Elementary School. and Konawaena High School in Kealekekua Hawaii. This is a five panel mural painted on board, and was completed in May 2013.
The mural depicts children getting ready for school in the morning, including parents drroping their kids off. Butterflies are painted throughout the mural symbolizing how education and a nurturing environment transforms the keiki of Hawaii. While painting the mural the tragedy at Sandy Hook happened. The entire country was shaken by this horific event. We wanted to show our Aloha in Hawaii to the families of the twenty-six victims who lost their lives.Included in the mural are twenty flowers symbolizing the children, and six bees for the teachers..Never Again ! The mural also has a camouflaged message painted into the
flowers .
CALIFORNIA MURAL PROJECTS
2001 Wizard of Oz
Serennia Elementary School
2000 Vintage Elementary School, North Hills
2000 Don't be a Butthead,
anti tobacco mural, James Monre HS
1999 Bear Facts, Roscoe Blvd, freeway underpass, North Hills
1999 Golden Way, El Oro Elementary, Chatsworth
1998 Don't Wish for the Stars, El Oro Elementary, Chatsworth
1996 Cut it Out
Panel mural, collaboration with California State University Northridge
1995 Underwater Fantasy
Nordhoff freeway underpass
1994 The Three Sisters
Salvation Army Bld, downtown Los Angeles
Big Island of Hawaii Murals
2016 Celebrating Our Diverse Community,
Tile MuralHolualoa Elementary School
2015 Konawaena High School History Mural
Living History Museum at Konawaena HS
2014 Never Again: Honoring family and victims of Sandy Hook
Konawaena Elementary School
2010 UpMauka
Konawaena High School
2009 "Staying the course" ceramic mural, Kealekehe High School, Kailua-Kona
2009 "Ho'oula" mural, Konawaena High School, Career Center
2008 It’s a Honu World Project: Kailua Kona
2007 Kailua Kona Pier Beautification Project
2007 Bridging the Pacific, tile mural, Konawaena High School
2006 Honu
Hale Halewai, Kailua Kona
2005 Keeping the Faith
tile mural, Honoka’a Middle School
2003 Birds of Paradise
Hale Halewai, Kailua Kona