Learning from master carvers and art instructors at BYU–Hawaii, Jared Pere, a local carver, Pacific Wood Carving course instructor and sculptor, said he devotes his time in learning and preserving his own culture. Pere said he has been involved in many big projects on the island including carving the tikis outside of the Polynesian Cultural Center, sculpting the legendry hook outside of Kualoa Ranch, and his latest work of sculpting three saints’ figures for a Catholic hospital.
Pere said he doesn’t let the title of an artist limit his ability to explore other things. “When I see stuff I want to learn about, I will read about it, study it, and try it. Once I got it down, I will go find something else.
“Some great masters in the past were not only painters and sculptors, but they were also engineers and architects. They were well-rounded artists.” He said Michelangelo is one of them.
Although carving machines are very advanced nowadays, Pere said, “There is something about carving with your hands that you put your mana and spirit into it.”
According to Pere, a fiber glass company he has been working with for years contacted him and asked him to sculpt three saints’ figures for a Catholic hospital in Honolulu. “They came with the designs of the panels that they wanted to put on the building. Upon getting their approval and starting to sculpt the big pieces, I drew a sketch of what I thought, and then I made models of the three figures.”
Throughout the years, Pere said he has been involved in various big projects and he loves carving and sculpting big stuff. Two of his most popular works have been the tikis outside of the PCC and the hook outside of Kualoa Ranch.
While working in the art field, Pere identified two challenges: time and design. “For art, there is no catalog like car mechanics have because everything you do is almost brand new, unless you are doing the same thing over and over. When it comes to time, it’s very hard to judge how long it’s going to take you to sculpt one of these figures, to quantify that, and to put numbers on things.
“Also, it takes time to figure out a design people will like and relate well and then execute it.”
A three-credit course, Pacific Wood Carving, which is taught by Pere, is offered in the fall, winter, and spring semesters. He said he is amazed by the students because they come with enthusiasm and learn things quickly. “Instead of me telling them what to carve, they choose their own designs, and I am just there to support them.
“I believe we were all born with talents, and we either choose to focus on one or are put in situations or given opportunities to develop certain ones. When I was taught how to carve, I was taught master carvers are not actually teaching someone how to carve, but they are pulling the carving out of that person.”
He explained how the church environment at BYUH benefits students. “Coming back and teaching here, it’s really cool to see students who can enjoy life without some of the distractions students in other schools have to deal with. For me, our standards here in school become freedom rather than a burden.”
Pere said he was an English major when he first came to BYUH, but switched to the art major when he discovered his love to create. He said calmly, “Art is my thing.”
He recalled his experiences of how his love of carving came gradually. “One of my uncles was a master carver at the PCC, and he gave us some chisels when I was young. I carved my first thing when I was 8 years old, but I didn’t learn how to carve until after my high school. I took my uncle’s class for two semesters. One day, when I was working in the Maori village, he came and asked me if I would like to join the carving. I started carving ever since.”
Jan Fisher, a former sculptor, ceramic teacher, and painting instructor at BYUH, was Pere’s influential teacher, according to Pere. “He always talked about how when he became a god, he wanted to throw a world on a wheel and create a new world. It interests me and I think to myself maybe lots of stuff that we are doing are just practices. When we become gods, we can sculpt figures and animals.”
Pere said carving is really popular in New Zealand because people appreciate its significance and importance. He added, “Also, there are amazing carvers down there, and people aren’t scared of prices because they value carving.”
When asked about Maori style of carving, Pere said, “It talks about family history and life. It talks about things in the heavens, history of ancestors and stories of legend. You will never run out of designs because you have so many to choose from.”
He shared the story of the hook at Kualoa Ranch and why it’s buried partially, “The name of the hook is called Manaiakalani, and Maui used it to pull up the islands. Poetically, he pulled an island up out of the water. But it really is talking about him being a great navigator and finding all these places."