Maui Crafts Guild: Happenings

Spread the word!  We’re looking for new artists!

Our co-op gallery exhibits fine crafts and features ceramists, woodworkers, print-makers, jewelers, textile artists, glass artists, basket weavers, natural fiber artists…and other crafters who defy classification.  The upcoming jury is open to all artists.

The next jury is scheduled for July 12th at our monthly membership meeting.  Each applicant must be a current full-time Maui resident, for at least 6 months, before being considered for membership and members are required to participate in operating the store and attend monthly meetings.

For more details on membership, please review the “Letter to a Prospective Member” on the “Contact” page of our website.  Here, you will also find the “Application Form” and “Jurying Guidelines”.  To submit artwork, please deliver it to the gallery, with your completed application form, before July 12th.  It may also be helpful to contact our Standards Chair-person, Barclay Hill, at 575-9041.

Spread the word!  We’re looking for new artists!

Our co-op gallery exhibits fine crafts and features ceramists, woodworkers, print-makers, jewelers, textile artists, glass artists, basket weavers…and other crafters who defy classification.  However, ceramics or jewelry are not being accepted at this time.

Jurying is scheduled for May 3rd at our monthly membership meeting.  Each applicant must be a current full-time Maui resident, for at least 6 months, before being considered for membership and members are required to participate in operating the store and attend monthly meetings.

To fill out an application and submit artwork, please visit the gallery.  For more details on membership, please review the “Letter to a Prospective Member” on the “Contact” page of our website.  Here, you will also find the “Application Form” and “Jurying Guidelines”.

Whether you’re a local and enjoy shopping at the Maui Crafts Guild for all of your hand-crafted gifts and artwork for your home, or you’re a visitor and make sure to include a stop at the Guild every time you’re on Maui –  you should become a fan of the Maui Crafts Guild on Facebook!

We will be posting updates on our artists’ latest work, featured artist openings and exhibitions, special events and sales!

Also, we would love to here about your favorite experience at the Guild — please make sure to leave a review!  We hope you become a part of our Maui Crafts Guild ohana!

Under the palms by Pa’ia Bay, a band of artists-hippies, really decided to take a chance and sell their work to tourists on the beach during Christmas in 1981. Within a few weeks, they had sold everything. Inspired by their success, they did something uncharacteristic of artsy hippies: They formed a business cooperative, leased a retail space and started a guild. “At first, I resisted becoming a corporation and wondered, ‘Why do we have to go through all that baloney?’” says Sandy Vitarelli, a founding member who is still active in the Guild. “We didn’t know if we would even last a month.” But with artists eager to join, few art galleries on the island and growing demand, the business flourished. Today, the Maui Crafts Guild is a cornerstone of the Maui arts community.

As in the early days when she sold pottery on the beach, Sandy has remained true to ceramics. She throws exquisitely detailed pots using a method called “high-fire scraffito,” known locally as “the Vitarelli style.” By layering and scoring the clay, Sandy creates decorative pots with raised, high-contrast images that reflect themes of Island life. “Over the years, the Crafts Guild has encouraged people like me who are interested in staying in the arts to take it seriously,” explains Sandy. “It is a place where people who put their heart and soul into art can make a decent living.

“The Crafts Guild is Maui’s only art gallery owned and operated wholly by local artisans. Its members, who currently number about forty, do it all: They run and clean the store, serve in leadership roles and somehow find the time to make all the art: whimsical fish prints, dream-like collages and silky-smooth woodcarvings. The selection includes ceramics, jewelry, fabrics, glass, prints, hand-made paper, woodwork and musical instruments at prices ranging from a few to a few thousand dollars.

Maui’s growing economy has brought the Guild both success and challenge. This year, amid competition from other galleries and skyrocketing rent, the Guild celebrates its 25th anniversary.

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