The Big Island of Hawaii is the Southernmost of the islands in the Hawaiian chain, and is, to date, the youngest of the islands. The Big Island is also home to the most active and the longest continuously erupting volcano on the planet. Kilauea Volcano has been erupting since 1983, and is currently building new land on the South-Southeast end of the island.
While driving from Hilo, on the Eastern coast of the Big Island to Volcano National Park, you'll find Dan DeLuz Woods at the 12-Mile marker on Highway 11.
Nestled in tropical foliage of these volcanic slopes, you will be treated to an extraordinary array of tropical wood creations by Master Wood Turner Dan DeLuz.
In the shop you will find a feast for the eyes, which you can also purchase and take back home with you; unique works of art in wood.
After touring the shop and selecting your personal favorites, dine on delicious local home-style meals and desserts at the Koa Shop Kaffee. The restaurant is the domain of Dan's wife MaryLou, where you can choose from her daily specials and featuring her Porterhouse Steak and a local-Hawaiian favorite: Portuguese Bean Soup.
The grounds surrounding the wood shop and restaurant contain a variety of flowering plants and shrubs, as well as fruiting tropical trees that transform the grounds into a tranquil tropical garden. What a relaxing way to unwind from your travels and start your vacation "Hawaiian Style!"
Largely self-taught, he has in turn, taught most of the younger generation of Hawaii's bowl-turners. Passing on his skills, wisdom and knowledge gathered over the years. The techniques he has developed is masterful and results in bowls which will become cherished family heirlooms.
Dan chooses the best and finest examples of native Hawaiian and other rare woods, which he then carefully studies in order to discover and bring out the natural beauty of the wood-grain in each piece.
Time is an important element in curing the wood for the bowls and other pieces Dan turns. Often, a year or more passes between the different stages of the development of a piece. This careful, patient curing is what allows Dan to create the paper-thin, shell-like and translucent bowls for which he is justifiably famous.
Painstaking care in sanding and finishing: "....is what really makes the bowl.", says Dan. "I strive for a silky smooth texture". The final stages of a piece are buffing, rubbing and dipping in mineral oil to give the bowls and other pieces a luster like non-other.
The rare Hawaiian mahogany called Koa is Dan's favorite wood, although he works in many different kinds of rare woods from Hawaii and around the world. His specialties are covered bowls, that have a tightly fitting lid, unlike other covered bowls where the top just sits on top of the bowl; and nested sets of bowls. Both are unique to Dan's artistry. See sample photos on the accompanying pages.
(Portions of the above are extracted from and been edited and updated:
Hawaii Island Artists and Friends of the Arts-2nd Edition 1990)
In 2001 Dan relocated the wood shop to Mountain View, away from the hustle and bustle
of downtown Hilo, and expanded the business to include the Koa Shop Kaffee.
Together, he and his wife MaryLou welcomed the new century with the two business
ventures that compliment one another: Art and Food!
There are two Dan DeLuz Woods stores exhibiting Dan's art; both owned and operated by Dan.
The one in Mountain View at milepost 12 on Highway 11 between Hilo and Volcano National Park.
The other in downtown Waimea on Highway 19, (Mamalahoa Highway-Hawaii Belt Road).
So, Please, make us part of your itinerary when traveling the Big Island of Hawaii. We'll be waiting to share Aloha with YOU!
