Nelson Makua and Na Makua Designs have created a centennial design for Lili‘uokalani Gardens that brings the queen to the gardens named for her.
“For quite awhile, some of us have visualized what it might have been like for the queen to visit the gardens in Hilo, a place she visited often through 1913,” said garden enthusiast K.T. Cannon-Eger. “We know she considered having a home built for her in Hilo and corresponded with John T. Baker about those plans.
“Illness prevented her travel to Hilo after 1913. Although she knew the garden acreage was set aside in early 1917, her death on Nov. 11, 1917, precluded her ever seeing the gardens completed.”
Cannon-Eger said the board of directors of Friends of Lili‘uokalani Gardens is thrilled with Makua’s design that will appear on T-shirts and tote bags and for other centennial celebration uses.
Makua has been an artist and designer on the Big Island for more than 40 years. Born and raised in Kailua, Oahu, he and his ‘ohana moved to the Big Island in 1975, where they reside in Puna, the original home of the Makuas.
“My ancestors were part of the migration from Tahiti to Hawaii who settled in Kalapana in the district of Puna,” Makua said. “Living here gave me the opportunity to connect with ‘ohana, it was like coming home.”
He is best known for his design work, with clients in Hawaii, the mainland and Japan. He is a two-time Na Hoku Hanohano award winner for graphic design and is the only artist to have created six years of Merrie Monarch Festival posters with his limited edition “Pele” series.
As well as being an artist and designer, Makua has been the director of the annual Merrie Monarch Invitational Hawaiian Arts Fair for the Merrie Monarch Festival for the past 14 years. He is also the director of the Moku O Keawe Marketplace at the Moku O Keawe International Hula Festival. Last year, Nelson was honored as a MAMo awardee for 2016 in recognition for his artistic contribution as a Native Hawaiian artist.
In 1999, Makua and his son, Kainoa, created a line of casual Hawaiian wear under the brand of Na Makua.
Though Makua was classically trained in drawing, painting and photography, he has been a digital artist for more than 20 years.
“The digital age has opened up a whole new world of creating for the artist, with countless possibilities,” he said. “Guided by my kupuna before me, I consider myself a Hawaiian living in my own time, creating images that reflect my time and place.”
Gardens centennial merchandise is available at Banyan Gallery near the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel.
For more information about the gardens centennial or to purchase fundraising T-shirts or tote bags, visit the Friends of Lili‘uokalani Gardens page on Facebook or write to: Friends of Lili‘uokalani Gardens, P.O. Box 5147, Hilo, HI 96749.
