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Charlene Hughes
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  COMMUNITY SERVICE: Honolulu Advertiser (newspaper) auction, fund raiser , Woman's Legal Association, fund raiser, Women Helping Women (domestic abuse shelters), Maui Animal Refuge, Honolulu No-Kill cat shelter, Honolulu Humane Society, hospitalized Veterans of Wars, Hawaii Kai Retirement Home, Aids Foundation Honolulu and Maui, Behavioral Medicine,Kaiser, Honolulu, Honolulu Zoo, fund raiser, Generational Association, Washington DC, Breast Cancer Research, Mayo Clinic, Minn. MY PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: Hawaii Quilt Guild, Maui Quilt Guild, Association of Hawaii Artists, Hawaii Craftsmen, Hawaii Quilt Research Group
ARTISTS STATEMENT
People ask, "Why quilting? Why art?" Because it is like breathing to me. I turn to fabric for expression, taking advantage of the colors, textures and combination of patterns to delight. Sometimes the work is intense, sometimes subtle. I am completely at home with fabric in a way that I have never been with paint and canvas. I do not seek bewilder or daze the viewer, nor make what is going on in this art work a mystery. I want viewers to enjoy themselves and to let the quilt speak to them of sheer joy and pleasure. For me, the true test of my artistry is to translate the ideas in my brain and bring them to life with my fingers.
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BIOGRAPHY: Charlene Hughes began quilting in the 1970's, when only one person on the entire island Maui taught the subject. This teacher's efforts were directed only to tourists interested in learning Hawaiian quilting. Two sorely outdated books on the topic were available in Maui 's public libraries. In addition to learning the topic, in 1996 Hughes remedied the lack of resources by founding the Maui Quilt Guild. Forty members attended the first meeting. Today the membership numbers 160. Hughes has actively taught for the Maui Quilt Guild, the Hawaii Quilt Guild, the Hawaii Quilt Research Group and Quilt Hawaii. And in the tradition of many quilters who used their medium as message, Hughes has donated quilts to survivors of Hurricane Katrina, domestic and animal abuse shelters, hospitalized veterans of wars, residents of retirement Home, the AIDS Foundation and breast cancer research. During her life as a quilter, Hughes has been honored by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts purchase of two art quilts; other of her quilts have been purchased for collections on the mainland and in Hawaii. She has been an invited artist in a broad array of local and national shows, as well as a juried contributor to the state's most prestigious Artists of Hawaii exhibition at the Honolulu Academy of Art. Other of Hughes' quilts have been featured in books, magazines and college catalogs. Never at a loss for concepts and inspiration, Hughes says she has, " Ten quilts in my head right now, just bubbling to get out. I do not think that this is unusual and most quilters will say the very same thing. For me, the true test of my artistry is to translate the ideas in my brain and make them come out through my fingers--many times this is an impossible task. I have also been fortunate in having what I call happy accidents happen to my quilts as they are being made. I run out of fabric and have to use another, I accidentally abut two clashing colors, a full idea pops into my brain, unaccountably. I cannot take credit for these things. Most times they work wonderfully and I am as astonished as can be. Being a nurse, I often think that the nerve impulse jumped the track when I see these things!" CONTACT: Phone 595-3416 Contact: chughes@hawaii.rr.com
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