See Artist Demonstration

In Naupaka, by the late Aunty Nona Beamer (Bishop Museum Press, 2008,) the famous Hawaiian legend of the “half flower” is told, with illustrations by Caren. The project was the last combined effort of Caren and Nona, with Hawaiian translation by Kaliko Beamer-Trapp and CD featuring Keola Beamer on slack key guitar and Nona telling the Naupaka story. Lono and the Magical Land Beneath the Sea (Bishop Museum Press, 2006), Caren’s last book, is a retelling of an important legend found in the Archives of the Bishop Museum. Hawaiian Legends of Dreams (University of Hawai`i Press, 2005) is a companion volume to Caren’s first book, Hawaiian Legends of the Guardian Spirits, which received two Hawai`i Book Publishers Association Ka Palapala Po`okela Awards for Illustration and Children’s Hawaiian Culture. Pua Polu, the Blue Hawaiian Flower, (Bishop Museum Press, 2005) written by Nona Beamer and illustrated by Caren, is a children’s picture book in English and Hawaiian. Caren also illustrated Tree of Souls (Oxford University Press, 2004) written by Howard Schwartz. Her book cover for Birth and Death of the Miracle Man (University of Hawai’i Press, 1999), won a design award at the Bookbuilders West Competition, and her art appeared on the jacket of Leper Priest of Moloka’i; The Father Damien Story (University of Hawai’i Press, 2000). She was awarded “Best Designer” in the Beckett International Honors Competition. Her stories and illustrations have appeared in Parabola, Tikkun, and many other publications. Her work is exhibited and collected in Hawai`i and throughout the world, and Caren enjoys sharing what she has learned through demonstrations and workshops for children and adults.


ARTIST STATEMENT:

I am a second–generation carver, having learned the art of block printing from my mother. When I was a child, my mom carved wood blocks on the beach. I loved watching her, unaware that I was learning this amazing technique by her example.

Many years ago at an exhibit of old illuminated texts; I fell in love with the hand–colored woodcuts that graced the pages of those ancient books. I began experimenting on my own black and white prints, using colored inks to add another dimension to the bold, straightforward lines. Besides being fun to do, the color enabled me to more fully express the emotional fire in the legends, and the natural beauty of Hawai’i.

My intention and greatest challenge as an artist and “reteller” is to give voice to the legends while remaining true to the source, often a transcription from the Bishop Museum Archives. I hope to capture the energies that the characters in the legends represent, and have their stories be understood by people from all cultures. After reading, researching, designing and playing with all the possibilities, I leave the window to my unconscious open and let dreams be my guide.