{"id":70675,"date":"2017-11-11T10:32:29","date_gmt":"2017-11-11T20:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=70675"},"modified":"2020-03-06T14:15:44","modified_gmt":"2020-03-07T00:15:44","slug":"unmasking-a-leeward-community-college-artist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2017\/11\/11\/unmasking-a-leeward-community-college-artist\/","title":{"rendered":"Unmasking a Leeward Community College artist"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Michael Harada working late hours in the art studio.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Crafting real and imaginary worlds through masks is both a challenge and a joy for Michael Harada<\/strong>, Leeward Community College<\/a> assistant professor of art. He’s been working tirelessly on the current Leeward Theatre<\/a> production of She Kills Monsters<\/em><\/a>, sculpting a masterful brigade of papier-mach\u00e9 demons and ogres for the comedic romp through the world of fantasy role-playing.<\/p>\n

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An ogre mask in progress.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More than a dozen full-head masks were created for the theatre production, along with an array of props. Harada spent an average of 10-12 hours on each mask.<\/p>\n

“I knew how important these visual elements were going to be in the intimate performance space,” states Harada. “The play is an ambitious project for such a small space. The visual impact of the masks was really important, so when Betty (Burdick<\/strong>, the director) asked for my help, of course I jumped on board.”<\/p>\n