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Bruddah Iz Memorial

In the SF Chronicle this morning, Annie Nakao writes about sculptor Jan-Michelle Sawyer's work on a bronze memorial to the late Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.

"Iz, having been larger than life in Hawaii and around the world, might have approved, I somehow think. Bare chested, except for two fishhook necklaces around the neck, this image in bronze is quietly majestic, massive in its presence, just as Iz was. The eyes are focused slightly downward at the middle distance, as if they are trying to see the horizon.

"I wanted him to face the ocean," said sculptor Jan-Michelle Sawyer, who calls both Hawaii and the Sierra town of Nevada City home. "I also wanted him to be looking to the future. Keep looking forward. That was always his message to young people."

But first, Sawyer will have to get him home. Fund raising has so far collected $10,000, but that's just half of the total cost of the casting, the pedestal construction and the preparation of the site in front of the Wai'anae Neighborhood Community Center, where the sculpture will be dedicated. Sawyer donated her work on the bust."

Donations to help complete the memorial are being accepted by The Friends of Bruddah Iz (P.O. Box 2217, Ewa Beach, HI, 96706). Link Discuss