Maui artist carves hope to uplift community

MAUI, Hawaii -- In the wake of devastation, Maui wood artist Dale Zarrella is carving hope and helping rebuild. Zarrella has been creating wood sculptures for more than 50 years, but after the deadly Maui wildfires in 2023, he wanted to use his gift to support the Lahaina and Kula communities.

Zarella shared three pieces with ABC7's Drew Tuma that came from the fires in Lahaina, "There was a very well-known female protector of the fishpond in Lahaina back in history and I feel that is her," Zarella said of one of his sculptures.

The artist partnered with nonprofit Treecovery, whose mission is to provide free trees to residents of Lahaina and Kula who lost their trees in the fire. Half of the money Zarella makes from his artwork goes directly to Treecovery.

Drew asked, "What does it mean to you that you're taking a very tragic event and, almost like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, you're creating beautiful artwork?"

"I didn't think of it when the fire initially happened, but then several days later I started having visions of sculptures from the trees there because I did shows in Lahaina on Friday nights for over 30 years and I would go and walk around the town and the backroads and visit the giant trees. To be able to utilize them and bring back their beauty is so satisfying, extra satisfying to me," said Zarella.

You can learn more on Zarella's website.