Volcano Art Center - Admin Offices & Learning Center — Attraction in Hawaii

The site consists of two buildings, one with a few very small displays of local art, most of which looks like chopped firewood that has been polished and hollowed out to make velvet lined boxes... Maybe for jewelry, it was a little unclear. There were a handful of exquisitely detailed pieces like turned wood bowls with very detailed etchings, but they were all priced in the 3-5 k range.

The other building appears to function as a pottery or general art workshop, and had a couple of small rooms for showcasing event items. In this case they were showcasing woodwork that had been judged in some fashion... Again, it was unclear exactly what was happening, but I heard about it on the radio and decided to check it out. Many of these pieces were actual works of art, at least in the sense that they evoked an emotional response when you looked at them, but I'm not dropping 9k on a piece of finely polished koa suspended in resin forming a table that would only have function of I set it behind my couch...

The one interesting feature at the site was a nature trail thru the jungle, but with the gate latched as it was, it didn't feel very inviting, so we just packed it in at about the 20 minute mark so that no more time was wasted.

It was a wealthy feeling place considering it is literally just a couple of shacks in the middle of nowhere. But it has that artsy fartsy smarm to the atmosphere that makes us common, not excessively wealthy folk downright uncomfortable.

I might go back to check out one of the festivals, maybe if it is crawling with people it will feel more welcoming. As one of about 5 people wandering about, it was a soulless and unfulfilling experience. I can't recommend it...

The nature walk through the forest is amazing! I worked here over the summer 20 years ago clearing out the invasive ginger and tipuchina plants. It was hard work since we didn't use poison, all the ginger roots were dug out of the ground and carried out in 5 gallon buckets. I left Hawaii after high school and I was surprised at how nice the property looked during my recent visit. Honestly, this rivals most of the areas in the national park down the road. There are some nice old trees and hapu'u tree ferns and lots of native birds. If you walk the loop you will see the stark contrast at the border with the ranch land which shows the importance of conservation...

Actually went here as a part of a documentary crew that was filming the residents of volcano, and he arts center reached out and offered their board of members to be interviewed. They all have wonderful personalities and amazing stories to share, and the complex is full of beautiful local artwork that reflects the spirit of aloha and the culture of the volcanoes. They also have a cat called orange who is very friendly and you can pet her. Definitely worth a visit if you are passing through the area which...