There’s just something about the towering beauty of Mount Hualalai that inspires acclaimed Kona artist Jing Jing Tsong.
From its silhouetted slopes highlighted by the rising sun towering over Kona to the smell of coffee in all seasons wafting through the air, Tsong drew upon Hualalai’s bountiful beauty and the things she feels make it special to create the official art piece for this year’s Kona Coffee Cultural Festival. The vibrant textile-based coffee art piece will be featured on all official 45th annual festival merchandise including the festival button, event poster and magazine.
To create the piece, Tsong said she drew by hand the slopes of Hualalai and then incorporated traditional print-making techniques, including stenciling and block printing, to add additional details. She then collaged and applied color digitally. She also drew upon memories, such as driving the couple’s kids to Holualoa Elementary School through Kona’s many coffee fields, and her favorite view of Hualalai while perched atop a surfboard waiting for waves at Kohanaiki, to add uniquity.
“Capturing the geographic location and showing the ocean and town and the terroir of the coffee is so unique,” Tsong said about her vibrantly colored piece that depicts Mount Hualalai towering over Kailua Bay with coffee trees and a cup of Kona coffee, with its blossoms and blooms emanating over the area. “I was hoping just to capture the very special nature of that.”
She added, “When I look at the poster, I’m still happy about it — I feel like I captured how I feel about this place. I just love love this place so much and that glorious morning that just makes you want to sing.”
Tsong, who’s lived in Kona with her husband, Mike Austin, and two children since 2001, is well-known for her illustration work combining traditional printmaking and digital techniques to create vibrant compositions of color, pattern and texture. Her illustrations and images have been featured in national and international publications, including Graphics and Communication Arts and a New York Times best-selling children’s picture book. Her artwork has also been featured on two Forever stamps from the U.S. Postal Service and she is the featured artist for the 2015 National Cherry Blossom Festival, which is underway in Washington D.C.
No matter the accolades, Tsong told the Big Island Entertainment Scene this week that she is humbled being chosen to create the festival’s official art piece.
“It’s such an honor to be part of such a tradition,” she said. “It’s such a big event in the community and it’s fun to be involved this way.”
The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival has featured an official art piece to represent the festival for the past 43 years of the festival’s 45-year history, said Mel Morimoto, KCCF president, noting the first two years did not feature official artwork or a button. The artwork is evocative of Kona’s coffee heritage and integrates the festival’s yearly theme, which this year was “Cup of Excellence.”
“Each year our board selects artwork to become our official Festival art piece. This year, we knew we wanted to do something different to mark the 45th Annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival,” said Mel Morimoto, president. “Jing Jing Tsong was selected late last year as the official artist for our Nation’s Cherry Blossom Festival. Learning that she and her husband were Kona residents, made it really exciting to reach out to her for our festival artwork consideration. When she agreed to partner with the 45th Annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, we were all so excited.
“Her piece is fresh, colorful and brings a bit of happiness. Our Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Board of Directors and volunteers could not be happier with the final piece. It’s the start of a great year leading up to November’s 45th Annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.”
The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival will be held from Nov. 6 through Nov. 15 at various locations throughout North and South Kona. For more information on the festival, visit konacoffeefest.com or Facebook Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.