Bring home beautiful works of art

STEP inside the doors of the former R&C Tours office in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Saipan in Garapan and you will get a rare treat — a smorgasbord of breathtaking works of art created by the island’s artists.

Allow your senses to roam and feast on the products the artists will be sharing to the public for a whole month. Take a tour and you will be transported from the past to the present through beautiful artwork as seen through the eyes of each artist.

Take home works of art to adorn your favorite spots in the house, made but the island’s traditional artists Martin Castro, Maria Camacho, Mariana Ebilane, Prescilla Pangelinan, Melchy Billy, Ginni Bachani, Rodney Camacho, Edward Terlahe, Priscilla Pangelinan, Vicente Duenas, Lucy Sablan, and Carmen Gaskins.

From stone mortars and pestle, mats and baskets painstakingly hand-woven from leaves, intricate wooden carvings where each piece tells and records interesting stories of the islands, knitted shawls and hanging decorations from indigenous materials, vases and household ornaments made out of recycled materials, and more.

All over the room are simple shells and stones found on the island’s beaches everywhere, but when they came through an artist’s hands, they come out as stunning pieces of necklaces, earrings, bracelets and other ornaments you would be proud to wear anytime.

Framed along the walls of the exhibit area are big and small paintings and photographs of the island’s inland, aerial and underwater attractions captured through the lens by the CNMI’s well-known photographers, and through the brushes of the skillful painters including Greg Elliot, Jack Hardy, Leslie Ware,  Lawrence Lee, Joseph Weaver, Ernie David, Maritess Sablan, and Rosana C. Villaraiz who generously share their talents through inspiring paintings and photos that you would want to bring home to hang on your walls.

These and more are available for viewing and for sale at the ongoing Cultural Heritage and Arts Pacifica Exhibit hosted by the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture. It runs until September 30.

Visit the exhibit area anytime from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday for a real art feast for free.

The whole Arts Council family under its executive director Angel S. Hocog is inviting the public to come and support the local artists, and bring home a piece of these treasures with you.

For more information about the exhibit, call the Arts Council at 322-9982/3.

Bring home beautiful works of art | around-the-island.