Board of Directors
Welcome our new board of directors! An incredible group of passionate and creative people.
Cecilia (Ceci) Chenault | President
Cecilia believes that Art Maui is very important and she understands the positive effects it will have for artists as well as the community. She believes that art can be used to heal the hearts of many and bring people together in wonderful ways. As vice president and secretary she strives to bring her education in art and business into the organization.
She has been an artist and instructor for over 40 years and has participated in art exhibitions in California and Hawaii including past Art Maui events.
She is classically trained as a portrait and figure painter and known for her confident brush strokes and radiant color. She loves to paint en plein air but also paints in the studio. Sun-drenched beach scenes and luminous landscapes are her favorite.
Beginning in 1992 she taught for the Lahaina Art Society’s art outreach for children, public and private schools and private lessons. Cecilia has advocated for children's art programs on Maui through county grant testimonials, fundraising and community awareness.
Cecilia enjoys ancient history, gardening, painting and outdoor adventures in her Jeep. She lives in Wailuku with her husband Solon and her little Pomeranian Ozzi.
Christine Waara | Vice President/Community Liaison
Christine is a passionate painter whose mediums range from watercolor, to oil, pastel, encaustic, and mural painting. She has been a painter for over 30 years and enjoys teaching other students of all ages and backgrounds. It is her belief that art connects us to each other, to our time in history, and to our ever-changing world. Art has the ability to inspire, inform, beautify, and entertain.
​
After moving from Rochester, NY, with her husband Pat a decade ago to her home in Haiku, Christine has focused on getting involved in her Maui community with her art and teaching skills. Along the way she has developed her ohana, learning more about Hawaiian culture, and has challenged herself with many art projects.
Stephanie Sachs | Treasurer
Stephanie is a long-time member of the Maui art scene. She first made her living as an artist drawing portraits on Front Street and currently selling her artwork at the Four Seasons in Wailea.
She knows that Art Maui has been essential to her career, introducing her to many artists and collectors. It has offered her a place to stretch her creative process.
Stephanie has joined the board to see this legacy kept alive for the artists in the community now and into the future.
​
Carl Yoshihara | Design, Web, Social Media
Carl is 5th generation from Maui and has been an artist all his life. He has works in collections nationally and internationally. He loves creating in a multitude of media.
Before moving to Maui, he lived in the San Francisco, Bay Area for 40 years and all over the country and overseas. He worked as an art director and graphic designer for his own firm and many notable companies in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Currently, I’m enjoying photography, surfing, painting, life and trying to remodel my house. But you know how that is. :)
​
Taryn Alessandro | Programs, Community Outreach
Contemporary Mixed Media Master, Taryn Alessandro, has gained an impressive amount of exposure & recognition due to her innovative use of up-cycled materials & avant-garde approach to traditional fine art.
​
Classical style painting is uniquely contemporized when harmonized with Taryn’s textural layers of found & up-cycled materials. Aluminum cans, sand, fabrics, glass, cardboard, jewelry, etc. filter light reflections created by precious metals, iridescence, metal leaf, and resin for an illuminating experience unlike any other.
​
Taryn is a classically trained painter with a BFA from Boston University. She has studied at Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, Decordova Museum School, & abroad in Italy. She currently resides on Maui, where island living inspires much of her work.
​
Lorayne Lipps | Membership & Events
Artist, jewelry designer, installation and mixed/multimedia artist. Her art ranges from small scale fine silver & gemstone jewelry to paintings as well as immersive, interactive installations.
Lorayne serves as partner at the Maui Institute of Art & Technology. She has developed many programs & events that bridge diverse mediums and cross pollinate sectors.
Lorayne perceives the process of creation an essential aspect of humanity.
​
Kirk Boes | West Maui Liaison/Art Education
“I lost my home and studio in the Lahaina fire, and all of my work that was being shown in two separate galleries in Lahaina Town; literally a lifetime’s worth of art. I began painting eleven days after the fire and started working with kids three weeks to the day after the tragedy. Art heals. Art helps us remember and gives us hope for the future. I am so grateful for the gift of art.”
Kirk’s family moved to Lahaina in 1973 when he was fifteen years old. He graduated from Lahainaluna High School in 1976 and went on to earn a Master’s in Education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He joined the Lahaina Arts Society in 1989 and first sold his work under the Banyan tree and in the historic Lahaina Courthouse galleries.
Fast forward several decades and Kirk became Gallery Director for the Lahaina Arts Society and his work was being represented by Gallery Behl on Front Street. He is currently the Arts Education Director for the Lahaina Arts Guild; a non-profit that provides children’s art programs in the community. Boes also co-founded an online art exhibition platform that hosts both local and national juried exhibitions.
“Marc Chagall said, ‘love is the only thing that interests me’ and I concur,” says Boes.
“Love is the only thing that lasts forever. I hope that’s the spirit that comes through in my paintings (and in my life). Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy the art.”
​
Patrick Waara | IT
Pat recently retired as the owner and principal developer at Art Web Development. He has been developing websites since 2003 and has been working with WordPress since 2004. He also did IT support and consulting in a range of technologies from Linux and Windows servers to networking and security. Pat had clients, large and small, all across the United States.
​
Pat is also a songwriter, composer, producer, and musician. He has been passionate about music his entire life and is currently focusing on creating music for film and television as well as artist projects.
​
Pat earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Computer Science from Michigan Technological University. He currently lives in Haiku, HI with his wife and has two adult children.
​