This is the first of three blog posts that highlight each artist member that submitted work to our 2020 Members Exhibition. This, along with the online store and the window display, represent our efforts to share with you, our arts community, the vision and talents of our creative membership.
This year, we challenged our members to look back on 2019 and define their work in a submission to this exhibition. Many of the artists took the time to tell us a little bit about themselves and where their creative focus has been in the past year, and we have shared those thoughts with you below.
You can look through the images by clicking on the thumbnails below the main image. If you are interested in purchasing any of the artworks for sale you can do that through our online store which is accessible via the “shop” button on the menu bar above, as well as by clicking on the image.
Behind the Eight Ball Enterprises (J.E. Ilgen & C. E. Licka)
This project and artwork is produced by the non-profit consortium, Behind the Eight Ball Enterprises, which has been a member of the IGCA for the last 20 years.
T.V. Baranov
Tristan is a new member this year and we are excited to have another metalsmith with us. We asked him to tell us a little about what he’s been focused on this year…
“Work space and tooling changes brought about an exciting change to work in a larger scale than before, which has been a long term goal. This year I have been focusing on finish and patina, my goal is to be able to use low impact and local materials to complement the recycled metals I prefer to use.”
Find out more about Tristan and his work by following him on Instagram - @tristanbaranov
Daniel Becker
Daniel is a new member of the IGCA and has been focusing on film, photography and painting this last year.
Elizabeth Belanger
Elizabeth has been a member of the gallery for about a year. This last year she’s been working on exploration of style.
“I’ve been transforming my style from more realistic based portraiture into increasingly imagination based portraiture and scenes from memory.”
Discover more about Elizabeth and her work on Facebook - Elizabeth Belanger and on Instagram - @b_richie_b
Mandy Bernard
Mandy has been an IGCA member for the last two years.
Find more information about Mandy and her work on Instagram - @mandybernardstudio or on her website, mandybernard.com
Kayo Bogdan
Kayo has been a member for about a year and creates delightful fiber works based on nature. She is eager to “experiment with other fiber art skills” this year and we are looking forward to seeing those explorations. You can find her crocheted creations at various venues around town especially during the festival season in the summer.
Discover more about Kayo and her work on Instagram - @roomswithshrooms or on her website - roomswithshrooms.com
Albert Bowling
Jackie Bowling
Jackie has been a member of the IGCA for 2 years now, and her colorful pieces brought smiles to everyone during install and First Friday.
”I took painting classes Spring and Fall last year. These two pieces are light-hearted and fun. My ideas usually come from my dreams or from humorous events I see around me each day. “
Linda Brady Farr
Linda has been a member for several years now and we asked her to share a bit about where her artistic focus has been over the last year…
“In 2015, after working in and exhibiting fiber art in Alaska and the lower 48 for over forty years, I have turned my focus back to painting and printmaking. The 2016 presidential election and the resulting turmoil in our country motivated me to paint a series of tornadoes. By 2019 the political and actual climate had become so worrisome that I have continued to fill large canvases with turbulent skies and tornadoes.”
Abby Brown
Abby became a member of the gallery this year and we are happy to have her on board!
“I've been experimenting by adding depth to my work, finding ways to create unique textures. This year, I focused on the beauty and complexity of mental health. My works are reflections of sunsets, which embody the self-reflection process and aren't symmetrical to represent cognitive distortions like over-generalization. Going forward, I want to continue exploring psychology, particularly suicidal ideations. I hope we can a open dialogue and minimize the stigmas associated with seeking help.”
Find out more about Abby and her work on her website at www.themistyvalleystudio.com, or on instagram - @themistyvalleystudio
Meghan LH Bundtzen
Find more about Meghan and her work at meghanlhbundtzen.wordpress.com
Randall Carlson
Randall is along time supporter of the IGCA, a member since 2002.
"For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror which we are barely able to endure and are awed because it serenely disdains to annihilate us." ~ Rainer Maria Rilke
Discover more about Randall and his work on Facebook - Laniakea Dreamscapes.
Sally Carr
Sally has been a member of the IGCA for over a year now. This last year has seen lots of changes in her artistic focus with the start of her first year at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where she has been exposed to many new mediums.
Find more about Sally and her work on instagram - @sallycarr907
Joe Carr
Joe has been a member of the IGCA for the last 5 years. In addition to being a supporting member, he regularly volunteers his time on facility repairs and maintenance as well as serving on the board.
Find more about Joe and his work on instagram - @isaboja, and on his website, antiquatedpress.com
Joyce Coolidge
Joyce has been a member for about 10 years now and is a delight to have in the gallery. When asked what her artistic focus has been lately she shares…
“I've been working mostly in encaustic medium for several years,and my work has been focusing on line and repetition. There are times that I've had work in a group show that I struggle with a theme and remaining consistent to my aesthetic. This is a frustrating venture but is an opportunity to stretch myself. I'm currently working a artwork for a solo show in April 2020 at the Georgia Blue gallery.”
Find more information about Joyce and her work at joycecoolidge.com
Carla Cope
Carla is a new member to the IGCA and we asked her to tell us a little bit about herself and what her creative focus has been over the last year.
”I’m an artist and a mother. At times these two identities struggle to co-exist, but being a mom has also focused and intensified my drive to make art. In 2019, I embarked on a series of creative experiments, playing with new materials, ideas and forms. My new work is about relationships: to the self and to each other. I paint to find balance and to express the contradictions within these relationships. I'm inspired by the cycles of the natural world, and the human place within it.”
Discover more about Carla on instagram - @carlacope, or on her website, carlakcope.com.
John Coyne
John is a multimedia artist that has been a member of the gallery for the last two years. We asked him to share a little bit about himself and what he’s been up to artistically over the last year.
“I am a painter and a sculptor, and although these cross disciplinary practices influence each other, I've mostly kept them separated. But this summer I combined the two forms, and under Alaskas municipal Percent For Art Program I completed a sculptural installation on the corner of Spenard and Benson. The title of the piece is "Spen", and it combines mixed media, stainless steel and cast bronze, and I've incorporated hand painted murals into "Spen". “
Find more information about John and his work on his website, johncoyneartist.com
Katie Ione Craney
Katie has been a member of the IGCA for the last two years. When asked to explain where her creative focus has been over the last year, she shares…
“Discarded and found materials continue to guide my process. I've been working with imagery and qiviut gathered from the Norton Sound area outside of Nome, alongside single-use, human-made ephemera, to explore historical and contemporary ways we buy and sell Alaska.”
Discover more about Katie and her work on her website, katiecraney.com, and on instagram - @decipheringchange
Darin Crow
Darin just recently became a member of the IGCA and has spent the last year sculpting in both stone and wood “attempting to retain the organic form the material.”
Lloyd Crow
Not only is Lloyd a long time member, he regularly volunteers his time to gallery sit and is always happy to have a conversation about the art showing in the gallery and the arts community in general.
Graham Dane
Find more about Graham on Facebook - Graham Dane, and on his website - grahamdane.com
Monica Devine
Monica has been a member of the IGCA for 6 years. We asked her to share a little bit about herself and her practice…
“I am a writer and visual artist who exercises an eclectic approach to the creation of ideas. I draw from my participation in sculpture and painting to explore the existential quandary of humans, animals and objects through the medium of ceramics, and often use my poetry as a springboard for inspiration. “
Find more information about Monica and her work on her website, monica devine.com and on Instagram - @monicadevine.art
Tea Di Ramos
Tea has been an IGCA member for the last 3 years and you can find more about her and her work on Instagram - @teart_design
Adria Dobson
Adria has been a member of the IGCA for the last 2 years. When asked where her artistic focus has been this last year she says…
“My practice this year has included acrylic painting in the Baroque Revival and creating more color of vibrancy. Practicing lots of painting with acrylic ink and some water color has been the recent mediums I have worked with.”
Zelma Denise Gallup
Zelma, a member of many years, works in a variety of mediums…
”My practice consists of many media; fiber, printmaking, drawing, painting and mixed media. I explore methods and concepts in no particular rhythm but my own.”
Find more about Zelma on Instagram - @zdenisegallup
Dianne Gillis-Robinson
Dianne has been a member for about a year now, and she is also a dedicated volunteer, who is always happy to chat about art. This last year she has “taken a deep dive in Alaskan landscapes beginning with small studies and progressing to larger works.”
Discover more about Diane and her work on instagram - @dianne.makes.art or on her website, studio3519.com.
KN Goodrich
A member since at least 1999, Kay tells us a bit about her artistic focus over the last year…
“I've spent most of the last year focused on recovering from knee surgery. The pieces I've submitted were completed in 2018 between spine and knee surgeries. My goals are to create somewhat mysterious compositions that symbolise or resonate with a narrative which remains impenetrable, allowing the viewer to find a parallel in their own life experiences. My practice involves combining traditional painting mediums with modern digital technologies.”
Find more information about KN on her website, studiogoodrich.com
Ann Gray
Ann has been a supporting participant of the IGCA community since it first started in the 80s. She is a consistent member, practicing artist, and a generous volunteer as well!
“I have always been an 'observer ' and easily distracted by things that I see around me. My attention is often drawn to the graphic arrangement of things and the juxtaposition of people or objects in different situations that I see. I enjoy having a camera or my cell phone at hand to help me capture a moment or something that I find visually interesting. I often use my photographs as a source of inspiration for printmaking images.”
