The first day of May is celebrated with the beauty and craftsmanship of lei makers while celebrating Hawaiian culture.
While lei are known for their floral adornments, a local nonprofit has given the art form a new twist.
For the first time, the Honolulu Printmakers have displayed the finished project for the annual Lei Day celebration, which is exhibited at the Hawai‘i State Library.
Instead of real flowers, every lei is made of paper.
“The project has evolved quite a bit from where I originally imagined it today,” said Denise Karabinus, executive director of the Honolulu Printmakers.
The Printer Lei Project, which launched last year, was created by the Honolulu Printmakers and funded by a $10,000 grant from the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities.
Printmakers and lei makers have combined the two art forms, learning not only about the art style but also about the culture and history.
Printmaker Mary Ching has her lei poʻo and ti leaf lei displayed at the library. To create her ti leaf lei, she twisted the paper enough to mimic the style before cutting and adding other paper to look like leaves.
Her lei poʻo is more complex. Ching made it out of kapa, the traditional Native Hawaiian barkcloth, and feathers.
She received help from a friend who makes feathered lei.
“She was very reluctant because it’s not tradition, and she thought I was a little crazy at first, but when she got into it, she wanted it done the proper way of making lei,” Ching said.
Ching said it took several hours to make it and take it apart until she got it just right.
“I tried to keep the integrity of the paper, the kapa and the prints and use them as they are to create something that is permanent and yet looks pretty good,” she said.
The project will be on display for the rest of May.
Karabinus said she hopes to do the project again on a different scale as it’s coming to a close.
She noticed that the lei makers and printmakers are both meticulous in their work.
“That translated well into the paper-made lei because there is a certain amount of rigor and discipline required to create the pattern and get the rhythm right in the lei,” Karabinus said.
