Boar tusks, horse hair, volcanic ash, bottle caps and chess pieces are among the eclectic objects that Jozuf Hadley uses for his 3-D works of “assemblage” art.

He gathers materials from thrift stores, yard sales, antique shops and nature. He once filled three 5-gallon buckets with coral before arranging the 24 pieces with the weirdest “faces” in an old wooden soda box for a wall hanging titled “Spooks.”

“I’m open to whatever may unfold in any given moment,” said Hadley, who earned a master’s degree in sculpture from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and has been making assemblages since the mid-1960s. “Do I start a piece not knowing how it will end up? Absolutely! That’s the joy of it, not knowing. Putting everything that we think we know aside is the beginning of creativity.”

Hadley sometimes stores materials for years before he decides it’s time to create something with them. The process is often serendipitous: An idea he considered at the start usually changes, the next idea changes and so does the one after that until the piece’s shape finally begins to gel.

“I don’t operate according to any formula; I embrace the great mystery,” Hadley said. “I trust that things will come together, and they always do.”

He is a member of the South Kona Artists Collective, which will present its third annual SOKO Artists Studio Tour next weekend on Hawaii island. SOKO was formed in 2014 by eight artists who noticed their community was home to a wealth of talent that was largely unrecognized.

They invited other artists to join the group, the common goal being to expand their audience and visibility. Launching a tour was one way they thought that could be accomplished.

For this year’s event the work of SOKO’s 22 members will be on view at 11 homes, studios, galleries and shops in the 14-mile corridor from Keauhou to Honaunau. Creations run the gamut from paintings, pottery, sculptures and fiber art to photography, jewelry, quilts and glass mosaics.

“It’s a pleasure for us to show visitors what we do and to chat with them about our passions and techniques,” said photographer Kathleen Carr, founding SOKO member and the group’s chairwoman. “The tour is an opportunity for them to learn about what motivates us, what catches our eye, what makes us tick.”

Carr is known for her underwater images, striking landscapes and black-and-white infrared images, which she creates by photographing the near-infrared spectrum of light (just above the visible spectrum). To do this she uses a camera equipped with a sensor that records only infrared light. Shot in black and white, blue skies, for example, become black, and foliage becomes very light, exuding a mystical, ethereal quality. For added effect, Carr often colors the photos by hand.

The tour’s route goes through areas of South Kona that provide inspiration for SOKO members. Because there are several locations, some people prefer to complete the circuit in two days rather than squeezing all of the stops into one day. Others decide to focus on the few that most interest them.

“Art will be available for purchase at all the locations, and prices will range from a few dollars for a lovely notecard to well over $1,000 for an original painting,” Carr said. “Most of the artists accept credit cards and can arrange for packing and shipping to the mainland. A few of them work primarily on commission and can take special orders for later delivery.”

Even visitors who aren’t art aficionados will find the tour a great addition to their vacation itinerary, because it will take them to places they likely wouldn’t otherwise have discovered. These include printmaker Andrea Pro’s coffee and macadamia nut farm, the home of mosaic artist Michele Iacobucci in the gated community of Kealakekua Bay Estates, and the galleries of the Kona Potters Guild and the Society for Kona’s Education and Art, a nonprofit organization that hosts art classes, workshops and children’s summer camps.

“Although SOKO members work in diverse genres, we have a strong group identity and support each other as artists,” Carr said. “We’ve developed lasting friendships through SOKO, and our tour offers insights into why we have chosen to live and work in South Kona.”

Painter Pamela Colton Thomas moved to Hawaii island from the San Francisco Bay Area with her family in 1982, sight unseen. She had read extensively about Hawaii and was especially drawn to its culture, which cherishes ohana (family) and aina (the land).

“We were sightseeing on the west side for the first time when we came to a clearing that enabled us to see not only Kealakekua Bay, but the valley behind it,” Thomas said. “My heart jumped in my chest. The water was a brilliant blue, and the trees and foliage surrounding it were a thousand shades of green. Everything was bathed in the golden glow of afternoon sunlight. It was magnificent, and I knew in that moment that South Kona was going to be our home.”

Among the things Thomas has rendered in vivid, whimsical paintings are fish swimming in the sea, turtles dozing on the beach, coffee trees laden with bright red cherries, and flowers illuminated by moonlight.

“Those who go on SOKO’s studio tour will understand what I mean when I say I’m surrounded by beauty and endless subjects for my work,” Thomas said. “Most of my paintings reflect what I’m lucky to see every day.”

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.