Five years ago a group of alumni gathered for a great week at Hui Ho’olana, a retreat center on the island of Molokai. It was magical. Hui is known for its homegrown salads and delicious meals that focus on locally grown produce. It is also known for its lovely simplicity. Outdoor showers for example. (You will be hooked!) The property sits at an elevation of 1300 feet and looks out on a spectacular view of the western half of Molokai, the Pacific Ocean, and distant islands. It is a one hundred acre oasis for artistic retreats. Tropical plantings, a rock swimming pool, and organic garden compliment the grounds. It is owned and operated by Bronwyn and Rik Cooke, and supported by a volunteer community of friends including Dewitt Jones and Bill Allen, all important people in the world of photography and artistic vision. Hui Ho’olana (www.huiho.org) has been in Rik’s family for over a hundred years, and since 1989 has been a center for photographic and spiritual workshops.
I want to invite you to join me at Hui Ho'olana this January. There are many good reasons to come along. Have you experienced that delicious feeling when a warm tropical breeze skims across your body? Your eyes close and everything cold, and everything stressful, melts away. In those spaces I find a place to relax and also create. It is what a retreat should be. A chance to simplify and be clear. A time to experiment and be curious. A week of opening our eyes beyond the ordinary. This is a wonderfully creative time in my life, and I want to share that journey with you. When I first went to Hui I wrote the group about an experience I recently had. It still explains how I feel right now:
"Sometimes you are really ready for new ideas. Last month I sat in front of a Mark Rothko painting at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. My eyes swam through it. My heart soared. I moved next to Van Gogh’s “Starry night”. Wow! The vibrancy of colors and the depth of brush work dropped my jaw. I finished the day in front of an enormous Jackson Pollock. I left the room and circled back four times. Everywhere I turned that day I was magnetically pulled to riveting work. I was ecstatic! My creative ideas were soaring on a very exciting ride. I was being challenged and I loved it. I was ready for it. These paintings connected with ideas I think about. They reinforced my attempts at expressing what I see and feel."
With those thoughts, I want to surround us with ways we might interpret this tropical paradise. Our days will be gentle, but full. This experience is primarily about being on Molokai and making photographs with a fun group of people. We will gather for meals and short sessions, but you will call your own shots as to whether you want to join others on an adventure, or head off on your own. We will have a chance to see some of your work from home, and there will be a couple occasions to celebrate images you make on the island.
It would be quite possible to spend the whole week on the center's grounds. The lure of macro and flower photography alone might be enough, or perhaps bathing under the stars in one of the outdoor tubs (Not to be missed!), but Molokai offers a lot more. Isolated beaches and great waves on one side, and tropical rainforests on the other. Or the palm plantation in town, and a kids' baseball game in the community park.
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HERE ARE THE DETAILS:
Prerequisites: This experience is open to all photographers and artists wishing to push their seeing in new directions.
Lodging: Rooms in the lodge or in exterior cabins are a combination of singles and doubles, and I will be happy to accommodate room mate requests. All rooms are nonsmoking. Lodge rooms have shared indoor bathrooms and showers, and outdoor cabin guests walk a minute to outdoor toilet and shower facilities. (People get hooked on the outdoor tropical showers!) The Hui is known for its food. Meals are primarily vegetarian plus fresh local fish and chicken. (On a daily basis we were blown away by the gourmet meals.)
Location: Hui Ho'olana is 15 minutes from the Molokai airport and a 25 minute flight from Honolulu and Maui. Plan your flights so that you arrive at Hui Ho’olana after 2 pm and before 6 pm on January 6th. The workshop will start at dinner that evening. The workshop will end at breakfast on January 12th. You should plan to check out before noon. While a rental car is not required, it will give you the flexibility to visit the ocean and other parts of Molokai. If you request, I will be happy to give out your contact information to other participants wishing to share a rental car. I will help arrange transportation from the airport to Hui if you are not renting a car. Other travel details pertaining to connecting flights to the mainland will be sent upon confirmation.
Photographic Logistics . . .
There will be a chance to show your images from home as well as a couple opportunities to show images made during the week. You are welcome to bring prints to share, but if you would like to participate in image reviews, you will need to bring a laptop, software, and flash drive so you may select images and transfer them to the workshop computer for projection. In short, you would need to be proficient and self-sufficient in the digital workflow.
I will send out a list of equipment you might consider bringing.
Costs . . .
$2,425.00 per person. What is included in the fee: Workshop, six nights lodging and all meals from dinner January 6th through breakfast January 12th. What is not included: Transportation to Molokai and on the island, alcohol with meals, optional massages. Lodging is based upon two people to a room or cabin.
Payment schedule: A $500.00 deposit ($300.00 of which is nonrefundable) and a registration form are required to hold a space in the experience. Final payment is due November 25th. Payment may be made by check (payable to Eddie Soloway), Visa, Master Card, or American Express.
Cancellation policy: My contract with Hui Ho'olana is under very strict cancellation policies, and exceptions can not be made. Please read this carefully. $300.00 of the deposit is nonrefundable. If cancellation is given before November 25, all money except the $300.00 will be refunded. If cancellation is given on or after November 25, no money will be returned. I strongly suggest that participants take out travel and trip insurance to protect themselves against unseen circumstances that may arise. In the event that I have to cancel the workshop for any reason, all fees will be returned or you may choose to receive credit to a future session.
CONFIRMATION DATE . . . You will receive an e-mail by October 20th giving the experience a final confirmation.
To hold a place, 1.) Send me an e-mail or give a call and request that I hold a space for you and that I send you a registration form. 2.) I will send the registration form as a pdf file, and will hold your space for one week while waiting for your form and deposit to arrive in the mail or by e-mail.
Upon payment of your deposit I will confirm your space. Upon confirmation of the experience I will send out information which will include an information request form that will gather details about your travel, medical concerns, and emergency contacts. You will also receive a list of contact information, directions, and recommendations about what to bring.
Please get in touch if you have any questions.
I hope to see you at Hui Ho’olana!
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