Choosing to live your adult life in the arts is not for the weak-of-heart. It takes courage, strong intention and commitment to the creative urge, and many artists find this path financially unsustainable in our modern society. Sometimes, family members caution the young adult with, "Your artistic talent is a nice hobby, but you can’t make a living at it."

However, 14 Kauai artists decided about 30 to 40 years ago to pursue their passion for the arts and have sustained that commitment. They have gathered together to present "Back to the Future," running through Aug. 19 at the Kauai Society of Artists Gallery in Lihue’s Kukui Grove Center.

Carol Ann Davis, a society board member and longtime artist and teacher, conceived the exhibition, thinking "it would be fun to get a bunch of us old-timers to create an eclectic show."

The show comprises works of the past three decades, including ceramics, fiber, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, wood and functional pieces.

Some of the artists are well established, with works in the state’s Art in Public Places Collection as well as national collections. Others have a strong local following.

Many of these artists earned college degrees and taught art to students from elementary school to college, which allowed them financial stability while pursuing their own artistic vision.

Show participant Carol Kouchi Yotsuda, a teacher for decades, is highly respected across Hawaii for her devotion to the arts.

Besides being an educator, Yotsuda has devoted herself to arts organizations, most notably the Garden Isle Art Council. She is recognized as a major voice on Kauai for both visual and performing arts — and she still finds time to create her own artwork.

Woodworker Ray Nitta is a quiet force. Born in Aiea, he attended college in Berkeley, Calif., in the late 1960s to earn a teaching degree in industrial arts. Nitta also immersed himself in "the mecca of social change" of the era.

In the early 1970s, Nitta joined the Peace Corps as a community developer and lived for two years in primitive conditions in central Brazil. He loved the experience and the people he served, and yearned to create a simple life for himself.

When he moved back to Hawaii to a modest beach house on Kauai, he taught briefly at Kauai High School then decided to dedicate himself to a woodworking business.

Nitta creates items that many a skilled woodworker would make: functional pieces such as lamps, furniture, tables and chairs. But he also crafts fine items such as turned bowls, paddles and replicas of ancient Hawaiian tools. All of these are sold in commercial galleries.

But Nitta’s skill and effort extend beyond these commercial ventures — he also makes taiko drums.

Taiko drums come in a variety of sizes, from 15-pound drums to more than 150 pounds. Drums from Japan can cost between $6,000 and $14,000, but after careful research Nitta began to make the drums for a fraction of the cost.

Nitta’s expertise is so highly regarded that he was approached to teach local taiko groups to make their own drums. These are now used at summer obon festivals and other events all over Kauai.

There is no limit to Nitta’s skill with wood. He recently assisted in the building of the Lawai International Center’s Hall of Compassion, a replica of a 13th-century Japanese Buddhist temple. The center promotes the exploration of Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese and other cultural traditions.

Nitta says he considers it an honor to have contributed to the project.

Clearly, Nitta is a man who set his intention early in life and chose to follow his heart.

When asked whether his work sustains him, he answered with a reserved smile that he lives "a simple and frugal" life.

Others may call it a rich life, indeed.

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ON THE NET:
» gardenislandarts.org
» kauaisocietyofartists.org
» lawaicenter.org