“As a child growing up in Manoa Valley, on Oahu, I recall, with great fondness, playing under my grandparents’ Monkeypod tree ---going to their house after a morning building sandcastles next to the old canoe parked on the beach at Waikiki. When playtime was done, Tutu (grandmother) would call us into a house where lauhala mats graced the floors and glass floats collected by my mother in her childhood sat on the bookshelf.
My memories of childhood and of stories told to me of a Hawaii gone by, serve as my sources of inspiration. Whether painting the old plantation house or the still life composed of items from my memory closet, I find myself transported to a golden period in Hawaii --- one where the pace was a little slower, the tradewinds carried the light scent of plumeria, and the tuahine mist (light rain) of Manoa arrived every afternoon.”
A graduate of Punahou School, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Sandra Elizabeth Blazel majored in Painting, Drawing, and Graphic Arts, at the University of California at Los Angeles, and is a past recipient of a Ford Foundation grant for her artwork. For twenty years she maintained a career in the high-tech industry, while challenging herself in various aspects of the art experience. Now, a full-time artist, Sandra works with a broad range of subject matter and is available for commissions. Her emphasis is “old Hawaii” and she works with a variety of media, though her favorites are graphite and acrylics.
Recent work has included commissions from several hotels in Waikiki. In 2003 she was awarded the “Outstanding Newcomer Award” from the 25th Anniversary Japanese Chamber of Commerce “Commitment to Excellence” art exhibition. In 2005 she was awarded the “Castle & Cooke Award for Artistic Innovation” and the “People’s Choice Award” at the Oahu Arts Center’s ‘Dreams’ Art Show. She was a regional finalist in the 2009 Schaffer Portrait Competition.
Sandra Blazel’s work may be seen at various galleries on Oahu and the neighbor islands.