About
Hawaii artist Nora Yamanoha draws inspiration from the landscape and light of nature. She interprets her impressions in abstracts images in Monotype and mixed media.
Since 1988, Yamanoha has been creating artwork from her custom-built press. She has worked in oils, watercolor, collage, etching, and woodblock printing. But mixed media monotypes has become her hallmark calling. And monotypes have enabled her to go in different directions with her creativity.
In recognition of Yamanoha’s sensitivity to this medium, she has received numerous awards and has an extensive collection of works purchased by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. In 2000, 4 of Yamanoha’s monotypes were selected from the Art in Public Places collection & reproduced for an anthology of literature, entitled The Quietest Singing.
For the monotypes with ‘ohi’a, a popular native wood, Yamanoha decided to literally embrace it by incorporating actual thin pieces of the o’hi’a, some charred, and old o’hi’a charcoal made over 60 years ago by the previous owner of her brother’s Volcano land. Using symbolism of textures & color, a unique image of the o’hi’a’s life cycle, from seed, seedling, flower (lehua), tree bark to charcoal emerges. Some of the monotypes have paper thin strips of o’hi’a woven into the prints.
Mixed media also includes chine colle’ ( French for collage), pen & ink, wax crayons, and metal leafing. View more » Mixed Media Monotypes
The year 2020 began, as usual, with feelings of optimism & hope. I started some preliminary prep work for printing some monotypes, planned wedding gifts for my grandniece & her fiance, getting married in September. But by February, when we first heard of the pandemic, I realized this year was going to be different: Cancelled trips and no more social gatherings for awhile.
We needed hard to find masks with the proper hepa filters. My worries about family & friends led to anxiety & the inability to focus on my art. So began my steep learning curve to make masks that fit comfortably and worked effectively. Now at the end of 2020, after giving away hundreds of masks, I will continue to make them. But with a positive outlook for 2021, I’m back in my studio, starting a new series, ‘Art Interrupted’. View more » Art Interrupted
SCROLLS (KAKEJIKU)
Yamanoha attempts to expand her printmaking in a new direction in which “kakejiku”, (scrolls) can hang alongside conventionally framed prints & paintings. Long enamored with the beauty and portability of this ancient way of hanging art, the artist has mounted her most recent abstract monotypes (printed onto kozo, better known as mulberry paper) as scrolls.
For a local Hawaiian twist, some prints are mounted onto blank tapa and the O’hi’a branches are the rods at the top & bottom. View more » Scrolls
The miniature stone collage series developed from an abundance of printed kozo paper. Using most of them as background, Yamanoha combines her love of miniature stones and o’hi’a wood strips bound with bonsai wire to create appealing 3-dimensional wall pieces.
View more » Mini’s
Using an assortment of stamps collected over the years, Yamanoha incorporates them into her monotypes. A series if works began with an incongruous yet connected title, GONE POSTAL. View more » Gone postals
Working within the guidelines of a jigsaw puzzle, a group of 6 printmakers decided a few jigsaw exhibits would instigate a series of the wide range of imagery developed from the mystery of puzzles. Yamanoha’s theme for this series of prints are the footprints of the legendary Menehune, the Hawaiian miniature creatures who roamed at night and were rarely seen by humans. The Menehune completed impressive engineering wonders, played pranks and performed magical feats. These industrious creatures also enjoyed dancing, thus the Hawaiian Menehune jig. Puzzling imagery and their footprints on lava are the result.
View more » Monotype Jigsaws or » Collograph Jigsaws
Kadomatsu, literally meaning “gate pine”, is a culturally inspired New Year décor placed at the entrances of people’s homes and businesses. Here in Hawaii, descendants of the Japanese immigrants continue the tradition of mochi & kadomatsu making. So to welcome the New Year, Yamanoha decided to turn a yearly kadomatsu making effort into a business, Kona Kadomatsu.
The Kadomatsu is made with live bamboo & pine, which represent good luck & fortune for the upcoming year. Also added is a touch of orange color representing the tangerine, symbolic for longevity. Everything is biodegradable except for the plastic tangerines, which can be recycled every year.
Please feel free to » contact me for prices & order information. View more » Kadomastu
1. KADOMATSU: The most popular free-standing Kadomatsu is made with 3 stalks of bamboo of differing heights.
2. KAR-DOMATSU: Just as farmers once placed straw offerings on their tools and farm carts, so modern drivers decorate their vehicles, meant both as thanks for the automobiles’ past service and as a prayer for continued safety on the road. The KAR-DOMATSU is usually placed on the car’s grill or the home computer.
3.FOREVER MOCHI: This décor is based on the mochi or rice cake making tradition of decorating a place in the home with the Kagami mochi, ( 2 slightly differing sizes of mochi stacked with a tangerine on top). The mochi part is made with white cement, thus no spoilage and it can be brought out every year for good luck.
