K-1 Exploration Art on the Punahou Campus

K-1 artists took a break from the Wilcox art room to explore art on the lower
campus where the Academy students, the big kids, have classes. This adventure
included quite a long walk with many interesting places to see. They are seeing
how the K-1 'hood is connected to a much bigger neighborhood. Our first stop on
the tour:

Kirsch Gallery
Art show "Inspired by the Punahou Lily Pond"
October 30 November 13, 2014
Featured art from the middle school including, ceramics, drawing and digital art;
writings from Academy English students; poems from 4th Grade students; a
Hawaiian chant about the sacred KaPunahou waters written and chanted by
Hawaiian Language students; science experiments on the Lily Pond by Academy
students and collages by kindergarteners.
Our young artists loved the installation. "It's like being in a pond". They loved the
brightly glazed koi and 1 honu. They were amazed that the bar graph showed the
large numbers of 2nd graders falling into the lily pond. "They are so irresponsible,
Mrs. Merritt." The students practiced museum etiquette as they viewed the show
and also did some contour drawing of the koi sculptures. This lovely experience
will be stored in their hearts and memory-bank, as the lily pond will continue to be
a source of wonder and inspiration.

Our second stop on the tour: Thurston Memorial Chapel Doors

The heart and soul of the Punahou campus is the Thurston Memorial Chapel.
Vladimir Ossipoff, FAIA, designed it. He commissioned the artist, Jean Charlot,
to design the koa wood entrance doors. Charlot asked the K-12 students for
suggestions and from the many ideas that were submitted, he selected 32, as there
were to be 32 panels in total. Charlot asked artisan Evelyn Giddings to execute the
doors in copper using the technique called repousse. Repousse is working soft
metal by making impressions with wooden styles to the front and back of a metal
plate.
Our young students were given the task of cleaning the repousse panels. Cleaning
served two purposes: 1) the dusty panels were cleaned with recycled soft, cotton tshirt pieces. The children tippy-toed and gently cleaned as far as they could reach;
and 2) the children could "touch" the real art and feel the cold, hard metal and
bumps that is characteristic of repousse.
The Chapel doors are precious and priceless and symbolizes the core of the
children's education here are Punahou School. The best time to see the doors is on
a weekend. The doors are closed and you can see all the panels. The campus is
quiet and the courtyard is deserted. Take the time and bring the family; tell the
stories of the copper panels and enjoy this amazing work of art.

Jean Charlot, artist

Evelyn Giddings, artisan