John Hawaka’s latest addition to his North Brunswick home is sure to turn some heads.
By: Jim Boyle
When motorists slow down to gape, most homeowners shoo them away. John Hawaka welcomes the attention. When others see a tree branch lying on the ground, they think "firewood." John Hawaka thinks "art." And when husbands bring home tree branches to display on the front yard, most wives begin contacting either psychiatrists or divorce lawyers. Natasha Hawaka calls the newspaper.
After almost 43 years of marriage, Mrs. Hawaka is quite used to her husband’s impromptu art projects. Not content to simply paint on canvas, Mr. Hawaka has taken to experimenting with his property’s landscape by painting rocks and adding creative objects. After residing for about 37 years at 88 Ravi Ave. in North Brunswick, the couple is also quite used to rubberneckers checking out the colorful tableau.
"I can’t help myself," says the Scranton, Pa., native. "There needed to be color on our yard, so I started painting the stones. I painted some Delaware River stones blue and scattered them throughout the property. There has been a stone on top of our mailbox for 20 years. One day I painted it red, and our friends started noticing it like it was brand new. Once, a total stranger pulled up into our driveway and started looking around. I like the reactions we get, but that’s not the reason I do these things."
His latest project started a few weeks ago while jogging in the nearby park. Mr. Hawaka came across a downed tree and became intrigued by one of its branches. He dragged it home and then went searching for more. After he had accumulated enough, he painted them white and cemented them into flower pots, placing them around the driveway.
"He definitely has that artist’s eye," says Mrs. Hawaka, originally from Rahway. "He sees things much differently from other people. One time he was picking me up from my job in Dayton when he started to pull out of the driveway and slammed on the brakes. I screamed, ‘John, what’s the matter!’ He said, ‘Look at that treeline.’ Sure enough, on the horizon was this gorgeous landscape."
"I’ll usually sketch something real quick or keep a camera handy to help remember," says Mr. Hawaka.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Hawaka can’t always be there to watch the road when something catches Mr. Hawaka’s eye. His susceptible attention span almost got the better of him while driving with a fellow artist friend to St. John in the Mountain in Bernardsville.
"The church rests at the top of this long, winding road," says Mr. Hawatha. "There’s mountain on the left, deep valley on the right. In this valley was a meadow that had been flooded out, so all you could see was acres of dead trees and some black angus cattle. I told my friend to look, so we were both gazing at this incredible sight when the car drifted to the left and up the side of the mountain."
"Never leave two artists alone in the car," says Mrs. Hawaka. "That’s the moral of the story."
The occasional death-defying maneuver has not affected Mrs. Hawatha’s unwavering support of his career. When they met, he had just graduated from Montclair State University with a bachelor’s degree in fine art. While teaching a course at the local job center, Mr. Hawaka was approached by a friend to contribute some pieces to a gallery he was opening in Colts Neck.
"He wanted me to do some paintings for him," says Mr. Hawaka, a retired freelance graphic designer. "I had never worked with a canvas before, and we just had a huge snowstorm, so I couldn’t go out and get one. Instead, I glued some burlap sack to pieces of wood and made three paintings. I gave them to my friend and forgot about them. A few months later I received a thank-you card from a woman who bought all three paintings. That was really the catalyst for my career."
Life After Death by John Hawaka can be seen at 88 Riva Ave., North Brunswick.