{"id":232533,"date":"2026-04-20T14:07:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T00:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=232533"},"modified":"2026-04-20T14:15:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T00:15:27","slug":"experimental-student-art-leeward-cc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/20\/experimental-student-art-leeward-cc\/","title":{"rendered":"Experimental student art work from Leeward CC<\/abbr> wins award"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"people
Printmaking class<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Students from Leeward Community College are showcasing their work in the Honolulu Printmakers\u2019 98th Annual Exhibition at the Downtown Art Center<\/a> (DAC<\/abbr>) in Honolulu.<\/p>\n

\"Smoke,
“Smoke” by Spencer Miller<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A highlight of the exhibition is “Approximation”—a large-scale collaborative installation created by students in Assistant Professor Erika Molyneux\u2019s digital printmaking class.<\/p>\n

The piece draws visitors into the gallery with its dynamic arrangement of 60 individual prints and recently earned a $300 award sponsored by Hawaiian Graphics and Art Source & Designs Custom Framing and Gallery.<\/p>\n

In the course, students design imagery digitally before translating their work into physical matrices for hand printing.<\/p>\n

For this project, students explored letterforms as visual art, inspired by movements such as Futurism and Dada. They then assembled the individual works into a unified composition resembling a tilde (~), a symbol often used to indicate approximation and the inspiration behind the project\u2019s title.<\/p>\n

\"floral
“Intuentis oculus” by Helena Noordhoff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I wanted students to think about typography in a more experimental way—how letterforms can move, interact and create meaning beyond language,” Molyneux said. “The final installation reflects their creativity and willingness to take risks.”<\/p>\n

Student artists included Eric Blazek, Julian Calzo, Ronald Carnate, Meagan Dean, Karlie Godfrey, Rashad Maynard, Mia Park, Dominika Pope, Hayley Teehera and Mia Yonashiro.<\/p>\n

Printmaking on campus<\/h2>\n

Leeward CC<\/abbr>\u2019s presence in the exhibition also highlights growing opportunities in printmaking on campus.<\/p>\n

\"Blue,
“Blue” by Lis Pivotto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition to the installation, students Spencer Miller and Lis Perola Pivotto contributed collagraph prints that demonstrate experimentation with materials and process.<\/p>\n

A newly renovated printmaking studio—made possible through the efforts of multiple faculty and staff—supports this work. Helena Noordhoff, who is a printmaking instructor, manages the studio and helps expand hands-on learning opportunities for students.<\/p>\n

“The studio is really about giving students space to explore, experiment and learn through making,” Noordhoff said. “It\u2019s exciting to see that energy reflected in the work being shown here.”<\/p>\n

The exhibition is on view at the DAC<\/abbr> on Nuuanu Avenue through April 25. Additional details and gallery hours are available on the Honolulu Printmakers website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"2
Student, Ron Carnate and Erika Molyneux<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sixty individual student prints combined for one art installation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":232586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[105,65,71],"class_list":["post-232533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-art","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-uh-community-colleges","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t