Pay a visit to Pauahi Tower and you’ll see the fruition of Ghislaine Chock’s longtime dream hanging from the walls. The spacious, high-ceilinged lobby of Bishop Square is well suited to the dozens of lengthy handwoven fiber works that add color, texture, warmth and drama to the space. The pieces are part of "The Canvas of the Weaver … Exquisite Handwoven Yardage" exhibit, which is on display through June 28.

"Many people didn’t think this show would ever go, because handwoven yardage usually needs to be presented as a sewn piece or as artwork," said Chock, who organized it on behalf of Hawaii Handweavers Hui. "But this show is all about the ‘moral fiber’ of yardage, yardage textile in its purest form. The yarn is washed, maybe dyed, then woven. This is about only the fiber itself."

Chock first proposed the show to the hui in 2009, but it was a challenge to find the proper location because works must be hung to be completely visible. After she secured Pauahi Tower for 2012, the building switched management, requiring Chock to resubmit her request. That pushed back the show to this year.

"There aren’t too many places to show 18 yards of fiber," said fiber artist Paula Rath, who served as juror for the show, referring to Chock’s piece, the largest on display. "There needs to be lots of space and good lighting."

Because the walls of Pauahi Tower’s lobby are made of glass, lighting was not a problem. In fact, the space’s changing light throughout the day adds drama to the show.

"It’s interesting how much the look of the show changes as the light changes. I recommend that if someone can, they should go in the morning and again in the late afternoon to see how different the show looks," Rath said. "Fiber is so alive when the light plays through it. It’s really spectacular."

Submissions were required to be at least 3 yards long, and 29 weavers from Hawaii, California and Japan entered 52 pieces. Rath put them all in the show.

"I put the pieces in different light to look at them every which way. I studied them up close to examine the dyeing and weaving techniques," she said. "I finally selected them all. There was not any piece that did not deserve to be in the show, and since we had the space, I knew I wasn’t limited."

The show offers a good representation of natural fibers, including silk, linen, cotton, hemp, paper, wool, rayon and Tencel. Many yarns were dyed by weavers. Chock often dyes her yarn in colors derived from plants such as lemongrass, walnut, safflower and sandalwood. These are cooked with mordant, a substance that sets dyes.

Weaver Laurel Hayama grew her own cotton, spun it into yarn, dyed the yarn and wove it. Her piece, sporting hues of green, blue, purple and pink, won the Hawaii Craftsmen award, among eight prizes awarded.

Darius Homayounpour wove cotton and painted it with colorful splashes of flowers. Mary Macmillan’s cotton and linen piece interacts playfully with its title, "Wind from the Sea — Curtain." The work comprises dozens of miniature windowpanes so loosely woven they’re transparent, mimicking the real window the piece is meant to adorn.

Unlikely weaving media includes plastic bags, papyrus, paper, bamboo and strips of photographs that were reconstructed in the weaving.

Several pieces were dramatic for their absence of color. White-on-white works emphasize the textures of various weaves.

But no matter the diversity of the yardage, each piece brings a spotlight to the art of weaving. And for Chock that’s the whole point.

"In this day and age, everyone wears clothes, but it’s all machine-made, so nobody pays attention anymore. But just a few hundred years ago, everyone had a loom in their house," said Chock. "Why do we weave? It goes slow at first, but once you get going, you can produce something. I can make something every month."