Student Sells Artwork Inspired by the Fire

Following the Lahaina wildfire, Devyn Gruber, a senior at Lahainaluna High School, decided to “turn that grief into art.” She made two vases decorated with memories of Lahaina, which she sold for $900. 

Lahaina Town “was where I grew up, it was my entire childhood,” said Devyn, who was so heartbroken after the fire that she didn’t know what to do. She had made paintings and other things in the past. Though it was unclear why she finally chose to make the vases. Nevertheless, the process, she said,  “really helped with my grief so much, it made things come to their senses.”

Her first vase, Remembering Lahaina, is covered with representations of Lahaina: people's houses, the rock wall that goes through front street, the “Welcome to Lahaina'' sign, Nagasako’s, the Banyan tree, and many other things that made Lahaina Lahaina. At the top of the vase there are 101 crosses, representing everyone who was lost on August 8th.

The second vase, Unity, has an upside down Hawaiian flag. There is an L with a hole in it, representing “the hole in our hearts that will forever be empty for Lahaina town and the memories we made.” Devyn also added a beautiful poem in Hawaiian that Kumu Jamie Palakiko helped her translate. The poem reads “We Together, are Lahaina Together we are one We are the people of Lahaina And together we will rebuild.” 

By making the vases, Devyn didn’t just hope to heal her own pain, but all of the community’s pain as well. “I want my vases to touch everyone’s heart and help them relive the memories of Lahaina.” She had her vases displayed at the student showcase where she had everyone write down their memories of Lahaina and put them inside the vase to keep forever. “It’s just like a keeper of our memories.” 

The details Devyn included on each vase are things from her personal experiences in Lahaina. “There’s not a single little part that isn’t meaningful to me,” she said. 

The first vase took Devyn around 5 months to make, and the second vase took 6 months. “It is definitely my favorite piece of art I’ve made. It has touched so many hearts, including mine.” 

Devyn’s auntie bought her first vase for $500. The second vase was bought for $400 by a woman named Holly, who saw Devyn’s speak about her work  at this year’s student showcase, an event attended by students from several Lahaina schools. Devyn donated $450 to Lahaina Strong, and the other $450 went towards her college fund.

In the future, Devyn plans on opening a ceramics studio or a space where people can do ceramics. “I want to make an entire business to help people grieve for the loss of our town. I want to help the community through ceramics.” She hopes that others can make art for Lahaina to help them grieve and heal, the way making the vases helped her.

Devyn’s beautiful vases have touched the hearts of our Lahaina community, and hopefully will continue to touch more hearts.