chameleon productions

The Trailer "Nona Beamer: A Legacy of Aloha"

2011-12-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

This is the first trailer to be posted for the feature length documentary

"Nona Beamer: A Legacy of Aloha."

The documentary is a portrait of Aunty Nona Beamer

shaped by some of the many people whose lives were changed by her.

This trailer features everyone who appears in the film,

as interview subjects or performers (or both).

Aloha and Mahalo to each of them.

The film is still in the edit phase and

hopefully will be completed by the end of the year.

I appreciate your feedback.

"Nona Beamer: A Legacy of Aloha"

2011-11-19T14:52:00.000-08:00

"Nona Beamer: A Legacy of Aloha" is a portrait in film painted with the words of some of the people profoundly effected by this remarkable Hawaiian woman. She was a musician, hula dancer, composer, teacher, at a time when Hawaiian culture was still being suppressed in Hawaii. She was a major force behind the Cultural Renaissance of the 1970's that helped restore dignity and pride to Hawaiian children.

I have been working on this feature length film close to three years now and the end is in sight. This is a one woman project and a work of love. The first time I saw Aunty Nona was when my husband and I were on Hawaii Island celebrating our 25th anniversary (1998) and saw a post for a talk at Volcano National Park on Sweetheart Grandmother. Not knowing anything about who this was, we decided to go up to Volcano and see. Aunty Nona and her hanai son, Kaliko Beamer Trapp (my valued advisor on this film) talked to us about her grandmother, Helen Desha Beamer, famous composer and dancer. And then two of Helen Desha Beamer's hula students, now somewhat elderly, got up and danced hula for us. It was quite an unforgettable evening.

A few days after that we stayed at the Kohala Bed ad Breakfast where the owner, Nani Swendson, told us about how Aunty Nona came to their school when she was in the fourth grade. She said that children then weren't allowed to speak Hawaiian, at school or at home, and parents tried their hardest to make sure their children fit into the caucasian teachers' expectations. Then Aunty Nona arrived, in her Hawaiian garb, with Hawaiian instruments and stories, and told these Hawaiian children to be proud of being Hawaiian. Nani was very emotional about Aunty Nona.

I later came to know Aunty Nona through a cultural program she started in 2004, the week that we moved to the house we found during out 1998 trip in the same town. After she passed away in 2008 I wanted to do something in her memory. "Nona Beramer: A Legacy of Aloha," is my way of thanking Aunty Nona for all she has done, and my hope is it will continue to spread her aloha.

Bar at the Folies-Bergere

2007-08-10T15:20:00.001-07:00

This is the last painting Edouard Manet finished before he died. It is considered his most enigmatic masterpiece. A google search of "Manet's 'Bar at the Folies-Bergere'" will take you on an interesting journey. I recreated the scene in a diorama, and want to show how it went together.

Suzon is the name of the woman in the painting. I use 1/6" scale figures in my dioramas (Barbie, Ken, G.I. Joe, and so on), so I selected a non-smiling Barbie, pretty much like the one on the left. Since Suzon doesn't look too much like Barbie, I had to make some major changes.

That Barbie hair had to go! I pulled it out by the roots.

Her neck was too long. I didn't want to do it, but I had to remove a section of her neck and re-glue her head back on.

Barbie's lags were unnaturally long. Lucky Suzon's legs were hidden behind the bar, but she needed to be shorter. The next step was "chop!" from mid-calf down.

Then I used paper clay to make her face more like that of Suzon, as shown in th photo on the right.

I dressed her up.

I arranged the diorama.

I would love feedback.

Man Ray Woman

2007-05-12T00:56:00.000-07:00

This 12" by 12" by 3" diorama, my smallest so far, is my tribute to Man Ray. Man Ray is one of the most creative and innovative photographers that has ever played in the medium. When I took photos of the diorama so I could post it to the blog, I caught my own reflection in the glass. I liked being a part of that scene, so chose the "Refecting on 'Man Ray Woman'" to post.

Man Ray's original image, a photograph of Kiki de Montparnasses, is posted on the wall behind the figure in the diorama. Whenever black and white photographers have played with their images in the darkroom, or done tricks on the film, Man Ray was undoubtedly there first. He made this photograph 83 years ago.

I am currently working on another small diorama, a Manet painting. Stay tuned...

Michelangelo at Work

2007-04-10T05:32:00.000-07:00

This is another of the dioramas I just completed, "Work in Progress". It is 24" by 36" and designed to hang on the wall. On first view one sees the bottom of the platform supporting Michelangelo while he works, Michelangelo's God and Adam, and the partial figure of the artist reaching out with his brush. If one peeks through the slats, there are buckets of plaster, paint pots, various necessities of the trade, and Michelangelo's lunch (bread, cheese, and a bottle of wine). As a blog exclusive, here is the view that no one will ever see (except you)!

2007-04-09T16:34:00.000-07:00

"Gauguin's Model" by Linda Kane 3/30/2007

Tribute to Gauguin

2007-04-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

I am a long time photographer who has accidently strayed away from photography. First I ventured into video which is very exciting and rewarding. Through video I began plotting a film I wanted to make. I tried storyboarding it, but hated drawing and redrawing little squares. I decided to use Barbie type dolls and set them up for the storyboard scene. Then I decided to dress them in the style needed, then began creating backgrounds, and the next thing I knew I was making diaramas! I worked on three at a time, which let me allow the glue or paint to dry on one and work on another. The three are all tributes to some of my favorite works of art.

Annah the Javanese" by Paul Gauguin. This diorama is 18" by 22" by 14" high, and is currently (April 2007) on exhibit at the East Hawaii Cultural Center in Hilo, Hawaii.