Nordic Light and Darkness | Kim Jansson and Josefine Östberg Olsson

January 15, 2021 Karinna Gomez

JANUARY 2021
NORTH GALLERY
Nordic Light and Darkness | Kim Jansson and Josefine Östberg Olsson

Working across video and fabrics Nordic Light and Darkness, the two Swedish based artists first show together, revolve around this sort of situation-based logic, where both the landscape and cars works as amplifiers of the situation. In this exhibition through act of cleaning an internal combustion engine and a hunt for the first Sun after the polar night.

Statement from the artists:
We wanted to go to Alaska to experience and inhale the logic woven into the car launch event in Glacier View on 4th of July. Twice these last two years, we’ve booked plane tickets, both times it was cancelled. First time due to a financial crisis on a personal level, and the second was due to Covid19. The starting point of our now two-year long collaboration was this event in Glacier View, with the monumental Alaskan landscape as backdrop, and the name Glacier View, setting the mood, concept and title. Then... cars flying through the sky... Like the final scene in Thelma and Louise (1991), on repeat.

Josefine Östberg Olsson holds an MA degree in Fine Art, Valand Academy (2016). Östberg Olsson works mainly through performance and has exhibited at several galleries in Sweden and is represented in collections both in Sweden and internationally.

In Fluid and Dirt, a series of digitally printed fabrics, the motifs have emerged through the physical act of thoroughly cleaning a V8 engine, a performance by Östberg Olsson that lasted for 4 days, through layers of dirt, engine oil, gearbox oil, and other car-related liquids. The cloths have later been printed digitally on textiles, creating the distance needed from smell and stickiness to turn the motifs into images, resulting in abstract landscapes of darkness and light on cotton cloth, images of a heart-breaking goodbye, when she decided never to drive a combustion engine again.

Östberg Olsson writes: “Feeling a roaring V8 setting off at full speed gives me goosebumps, and through my performance practice I have, until now, driven a V8 engine many times. For me it’s about desire, a desire for risk-taking at full speed, all summed up in the car...”

www.josefineostbergolsson.se

Kim Jansson is a video based artist and holds a BFA degree in Fine Art, Valand Academy (2016). Her short documentary The Family Farm has been shown at several international film festivals including Anchorage International Film Festival in 2019.

Driven by a deep interest in traveling to remote places in the north, Kim Jansson has travelled by sea to the fishing village Berlevåg in the Arctic part of Norway. In Jansson’s video From Darkness, the viewer meets the sun after its return from the long-lasting polar nigh. A short glimpse of the sun is visible, as it emerges from behind the clouds.

Jansson writes; “Last winter I went on a five-day boat journey to Berlevåg. I wanted a slow way of travel, allowing me to adapt to the changes of the landscape along the Norwegian coast. I had a strong wish to be in Berlevåg when the sun came back after the polar night, as its breaking out of the dark. A manifestation of the polarities between light and darkness. This is as far as one can get on the Scandinavian mainland, it really feels like being at the end of the world.”

www.josefineostbergolsson.se

Virtual Exhibition Tour

Light | UAA Photography Students

January 15, 2021 Karinna Gomez

JANUARY 2021
SOUTH GALLERY
Light | UAA Photography Students

The word photography literally means “drawing with light” in Greek. Light is the source of all images. The task of the photographer is find, use or make light that describes their subject. In this darkest time of the year, this group of photography students from UAA interpret the subject and symbolism of Light in Alaska.

This exhibition was curated by Michael Conti. Artists include: Sarah Baktuit, Tyler Bartlett, Albert Bowling, Caitlin Cerimele, Cam Dolan, Connor Duffy, Connor Farrar, Emily Gordon, Anita Green, Christopher Hagel, Cassidy Johnson, Lei’Lani Kiana, Michael Leonard, Matthew Meyer, Aaron Porter, Kristen Reynolds, Ja’Nae Robinson and Liza Spencer.

Virtual Exhibition Tour

Three Series | Sheila Wyne

November 17, 2020 Karinna Gomez

NOVEMBER 2020
Three Series | Sheila Wyne

Sheila Wyne presents 3 ongoing series that explore our past, present and future connections to our changing environment.

Found and manipulated signage, create future stratifications.
Facial casts and found objects explore our current reactions.
Mixed media drawings document our past relationships with the land and current dilemmas.

Sheila Wyne is a visual artist based in Anchorage. Her studio work has been shown across the state, the Lower 48 and overseas. Her work is in permanent collections of the Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Pratt Museums. She has designed over 20 public artworks.

Wyne has also worked as a set designer with theatre companies in Alaska and the Northwest. She is a Core Member of The Light Brigade – an independent group of artists who design time-based, site-specific art interventions on the local landscape and built environment.

Wyne has been awarded a national NEA/TCG Fellowship in set design, a Rasmuson Artist Fellowship, a Boochever Fellowship and the Alex Combs Artist Award. She has also received grants from Alaska State Council on the Arts, the NASE Development Program, the Rasmuson Foundation, the Andy Warhol and Rockefeller Foundations. She has received the Governor’s Award for Individual Artist.

sheilawyne.com

Artist Q&A:

Can you tell us a little about your background?

My training starts with a degree in literature rather than in visual art. This approach has provided me with a much broader exposure to theories and movements not readily apparent in visual art history. It trained me to digest information and concepts from a different perspective.

After college, I moved to Alaska where my personal interest in art began. I discovered my background worked well with how I approached art making. I continued training by taking art courses at the University of Alaska Anchorage. My choice of courses followed my own interests within the visual art as well as practical skills I desired to acquire.

I also began to get acquainted with the regional arts community. I worked for more mature artists to learn their skills and to learn the practical nature of just how people could survive as an artist in our American culture.

For the first few years, I had to move my studio 7 times. As a sculptor, this was always highly disruptive. I knew that I wanted to make Alaska my home base. My goal was ownership of a studio. Once I found the studio compound in Spenard, it became a hub for art gatherings and my community expanded.

Can you describe a little about each of the series of work on display in the gallery this month?

Ingenerare by Sheila Wyne installed in the UAA Engineering and Industry building. — *Ingenerare* by Sheila Wyne installed in the UAA Engineering and Industry building.

The Strata Series is born from a large public artwork in UAA’s Engineering and Industry building. Typically an art process starts from small works to larger works. Here it was the opposite. I started large (Ingenerare / 12’ x 14’). I really enjoyed working on that piece, incorporating signage from our built environment. I wanted to revisit the process on a smaller scale and see what would develop. I had come back from a 21 day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon where the strata of geological time constantly surrounded me.

The Affectus Series is ongoing. Every so often, I create another ‘portrait’ that visually speaks to states of mind, disposition, feelings and mood. The horse collars are the framing device that speaks to what we are in harness to - in this case, some of our present responses to climate change.

The Drawn and Quartered Series documents some of our past choices and events. Some works expose a history of colonial neglect of the land and other species. Other works are reminders of the beauty and mystery of nature—from large natural events to the smallest species.

What led you to creating this work?

Much of these series were made during the pandemic. I’ve found the pandemic event to be a kind of warmup for a much larger, more complex event. It’s been a useful time to contemplate the much larger issue of climate change that will effect everything. Every species, every landscape.

Do you often work on multiple series at the same time?

I usually have several works going in the studio at the same time. I find it useful to be able to spin to another work when I hit a problem. This ‘pin ball’ art process allows the problem to rest in the back of my mind while I work on another piece. Usually when I then go back to the problem, I’ve found new ways to resolve it.

Typically, I don’t work on one series exclusively. However, the Strata Series is the exception to this rule. I created that series during the pandemic.

What are you working on now? 

Currently I am a finalist in 2 public art opportunities. So I’m refining concepts, 3D modeling and getting estimates for construction.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with the IGCA community?

My creative work reflects a personal view that an artist’s perspective is applicable in many venues. My pursuits as an artist include visual art, public art projects, set design, neighborhood-initiated environmental design and grass roots community art support. Just as moving through a day requires different combinations of muscle and intent, so too, my various artistic pursuits require flexibility in the imaginative process.

My own studio work, the most solitary of my creative pursuits, is similar to walking backwards. I cannot directly observe my progress toward a destination. I “see” where I’ve “been” through the trail left from assembling, painting, reading, writing and conversation. This trail grows clearer as I move into the unknown. By observing these markers, I eventually sense my arrival when the last view strikes my internal eye as a destination. When successful, this artistic mode can lead me beyond my own limited cartography to a surprising landscape. But it is always risky. There are times that I never reach a destination and find myself simply wandering in the wilderness. But it is there, within this process, that I make the discoveries that can lead to what I desire. To bear witness to what cannot be said and hopefully give voice through a visual poetry to what cannot be seen.

The media I use are as wide-ranging as the scale, scope and emotional content of my pursuits. No material is off limits. Everything is available for the creative act. The key is to follow the nerve of one’s own being and look around for the material that best serves each exploration. Looking, and sometimes waiting, till the right thing or moment arrives are crucial for me. My satisfaction is to unite disparate objects. I look for visual metaphors that embody life’s journey – the search, the thresholds, the pauses for reflection, the trials and tribulations found in daily living. My instincts in art making are similar to the Medieval alchemist, an allusive hope of turning the lead of the familiar into the gold of something that transcends what we assume that we know.

Sheila Wyne Strata #1 Repurposed signage 38” x 54” x 1”

Sheila Wyne Strata #2 Repurposed signage 69” x 45” x 1”

Sheila Wyne Strata #3 Repurposed signage 38” x 54” x 1”

Sheila Wyne Strata #4 Found and manipulated signage 98” x 57” x 6”

Sheila Wyne Strata #5 Found and manipulated signage 69” x 45” x 6”

Sheila Wyne Strata #6 Repurposed signage 41” x 50” x 8”

Sheila Wyne Strata #7 Repurposed signage 41” x 50” x 6”

Sheila Wyne So Much, So Little Time Cast and manipulated found objects, text

Sheila Wyne Myopic Cast and manipulated found objects, text 24” x 18” x 6”

Sheila Wyne Attachments Cast and manipulated found objects, text

Sheila Wyne Aura 23” x 18” x 6” Cast and manipulated found objects, text

Sheila Wyne Chrysalis Cast and manipulated found objects, text

Sheila Wyne Resurrection From The Inscrutable Series Mixed Media 22” x 22” x 5”

Sheila Wyne Another Life From The Inscrutable Series Mixed Media 22” x 22” x 5”

Sheila Wyne Turnagain Arm Fire From the Exercise in Atmosphere Series Mixed Media

Sheila Wyne Amchitka #1 Mixed Media 2’6” x 2’6”

Sheila Wyne Amchitka #2 2’6” x 2’6” Mixed Media

Sheila Wyne Project Chariot #1 2’6” x 2’6” Mixed Media

Sheila Wyne Project Chariot #2 2’6” x 2’6” Mixed Media

Virtual Exhibition Tour

IGCA -, Anchorage, AK, United States.

Borean Lines | David Hansen

October 21, 2020 Karinna Gomez

OCTOBER 2020
CENTER GALLERY
Borean Lines | David Hansen

Artist Q&A:

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I grew up in downtown Anchorage. I went to school on the East Coast and West Coast, but kept coming back to Alaska. Growing up in the environment of Anchorage gave me an opportunity to have the freedom to explore unconventional ways of building, doing, and being than you might have in a rural setting, or fully urban setting. You still have the connection to industry and art. There is the freedom of the rural, but the information and materials that come along with being in a city. It is the space and environment that keeps bringing me back, paired with the inherit wildness of the individuals who live here.

How do you think your work as both a wildland firefighter and architect influences your art?

I spend summers working as a Wildland Firefighter. This work influences me as an architect and artist. The reason I like architecture is the same reason I do art. It is the communication of one’s soul that drives art. My growing up with art was my means of learning and understanding the world. I was able to learn more about academics. This was my foray into architecture. From an early age I was showing understanding of learning by creating art to demonstrate my ideas. This was a direct tie to going into architecture.

Working as a wildland firefighter, we put a year’s worth of work into 5 months. This intensity parces away unnecessary aspects of life. For example, a wildland firefighter's pants are cut short, sitting just below the top of the boot. While it looks silly it keeps the cuffs from dragging in the mud or getting caught on sticks while a tree is falling. This willingness to remove any hindrances to functionality transfers to my art and architecture. Functionality and usefulness take precedence over fashion and convention. If it’s not working, you get rid of it in a direct way. There is a pragmatism embedded in my work as an artist that comes from my work as a firefighter.

Can you describe your installation Borean Lines?

This piece is a mirror of my experience with Anchorage, in which a rural birch tree and an industrial conveyor belt makes sense to me. The scale of the tree and the width and material qualities of the conveyor belt are in balance. Both objects come from within 45 miles of the other. The conveyor belt allows me to play with the rigidity of the birch tree. Birch are amazing, they are the first tree to come back after a disturbance. They are a hardwood, but they grow quickly. In a high wind, they have an expressive way of bending and moving- rather than breaking. This piece is about the qualities of birch tree brought to the extreme.

What are you working on now, or alternatively, what do you want to be working on next?

This sculpture is titled “Borean Lines”. I would like to explore this further in a set of pieces that explore the expressiveness of the material, in the sense of the place. I am currently working on a long term study of Alaskan winters that track the passage of time and the palette of light that we experience in the winter months.

Virtual Exhibition Tour

Summer Paintings | David Pettibone

October 21, 2020 Karinna Gomez

OCTOBER 2020
NORTH GALLERY
Summer Paintings | David Pettibone

David Pettibone is a figurative painter. He received his BFA in painting from The Rhode Island School of Design and his MFA from The New York Academy of Art. He regularly exhibits and has taught painting and drawing at various schools and institutions in both New York City and Alaska.

Artist Statement
Nature has always been the thread that sews my paintings together. Instead of being a part of nature, we see ourselves as existing in tandem with it: separate but together. This is, of course, an illusion. The complexities of our relationship with nature are infinite and they run the gamut from peaceful to the sublime and from pleasant to the horrifying. From large, figurative narratives to small, plein air sketches, my work explores the many levels of our relationship with nature and seeks to convey the visceral emotions that come about when we are reminded of just how connected to our environment we truly are.

https://davidpettibone.com

Morning View From the Shop , 2020 Oil on canvas 14x18 inches

Looking Down the Hill , 2020 Oil on canvas 12x12 inches

View From Lookout Mountain Trail , 2020 Oil on canvas 6x8 inches

Sunrise Over Alder , 2020 Oil on canvas 6x8 inches

Crisp Afternoon Sky , 2020 Oil on canvas 6x8 inches

Richard’s Tractor , 2020 Oil on canvas 10x8 inches

Spring View From the Shop , 2020 Oil on canvas 8x10 inches

House At the Dean Family Farm , 2020 Oil on canvas 8x10 inches

Study of a Broken Tree , 2020 Oil on canvas 18x14 inches

Back Yard, Overcast , 2020 Oil on canvas 8x6 inches

Front Yard, Overcast , 2020 Oil on canvas 6x8 inches

Anchor Point Beach Looking South , 2020 Oil on canvas 10x8 inches

Sunset On Clouds , 2020 Oil on canvas 8x6 inches

Waiting For the Wife To Come Home From Work , 2020 Oil on board 5x7 inches

The Neighbors , 2020 Oil on canvas 8x16 inches

Slough At Anchor Point , 2020 Oil on canvas 8x16 inches

Fireweed And Pushki, 2020 Oil on canvas 48x36 inches

Self-Portrait At Sunrise , 2020 Oil on canvas 52x30 inches

Beetle Kill Cathedral , 2020 Oil on canvas 36x48 inches

Virtual Exhibition Tour

Alder Studies | Elissa Pettibone

October 21, 2020 Karinna Gomez

OCTOBER 2020
SOUTH GALLERY
Alder Studies | Elissa Pettibone

Elissa Pettibone has been exploring historic and local dyes for over a decade, experimenting with plant based dyes as an alternative to caustic dyes within the textile industry. Her experience with plant dyes started at The North House Folk School in Minnesota, throughout college at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and professionally on the east coast, primarily in Philadelphia and New York City, and now throughout Alaska. She has lectured, taught classes and produced custom natural dye orders for corporations, designers and artists. Her work is an investigation into the limitless spectrum of color that exists in our surrounding flora.

Artist Statement
Biology and chemistry dictate the outcome of all plant based dyework. Last summer, I learned that the combination of iron and alder provide a basic gall ink on fiber, almost fully black in color on protein fibers, which describes the high concentration of tannic acid within the plant. I hadn't seen another plant do this here in Alaska with such a strong reaction to the iron, so it only made sense to delve deeper. These works are studies of different mark making techniques using alder leaves, iron and a few other pH modifiers on linen. I look forward to working further with these processes with different parts of the alder plant along with different harvest times.

http://www.blueredyellow.org/

Virtual Exhibition Tour

Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth | SAQA Juried Exhibition

September 4, 2020 Karinna Gomez

SEPTEMBER 2020
Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth | SAQA Juried Exhibition

In an arc along the western shores of North America to the archipelago of Hawaiian Islands, the Pacific Ocean is a source of life and livelihood. Yet threats to the Pacific ecosystem are growing. These perils challenge our perception of the ocean as limitless bounty. Overfishing and global warming threaten not just oceanic life, but the human communities that depend on it. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch draws in waste material from across the ocean, including coastal waters of Canada and the United States. The ocean knows no boundary. The convergence of these ecosystem issues requires communities and governments to also converge in finding solutions.

Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth focuses on the current state of the Pacific Ocean ecosystem, its marvelous natural diversity, and the human activities that both sustain and threaten oceanic life. Whether one lives on the ocean or in the interior, the Pacific touches many lives and economies. As residents of this greater North Pacific region, artists share personal narratives and statements about what exists, current threats, and needed actions. The exhibit includes a representative range of North Pacific mainland and island habitats and issues. The selected works may focus solely on one area of flora, fauna, geology, oceanography and human activity, or may combine them. Subject matter may be inspired by sources as personal as vacations or fact-based as current scientific research. Through the variety of artistic styles and viewpoints from realism to abstraction, Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth will delight and challenge viewers to assess their own perceptions regarding the interplay of oceanic and human communities.

Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth features the artwork of members of the Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA). SAQA was founded in 1989 as a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development, documentation, and publications. Visit the SAQA website to find out more about the organization.

The exhibition is juried by textile artist Ann Johnston. Find out more about this artist at her website.

Audio Presentations
To hear each artist speak about her artwork, call (703) 520-6404 and enter the Cell Guide number followed by the # sign on your phone.

You can begin by listening to an introduction to the exhibition by Denise Oyama Miller: Guide by Cell #: 2171. Then find a Guide by Cell number for each work below.

Clare Attwell

Surging Tides of Consequences, 2018

Acrylic inks & paints, wheat paste, polyester sheers, photo print on cotton, cotton fabric, polyester batting, thread
55 1/2 x 39 1/2 inches

Cell Guide #: 2172

When Milton Friedman used Leonard Read's essay, "I, Pencil" to illustrate the wonders of 'the invisible hand of the market' in a lecture on free market economics, it captured the imagination of the Western world. The yellow pencil became a symbol of this 'miracle'. One thing Friedman's economics didn't capture was everything that didn't fit neatly onto a spreadsheet – thus, if it wasn't captured on the spreadsheet, it wasn't given value in the new economics. The social and environmental consequences of this approach are now everywhere, from climate chaos to mass human migration and species extinctions. Like the emotional impact of Hokusai's wood cut print, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, there is a growing sense that life on earth is on an ominous precipice, driven headlong into the violent storm by an economic system incapable of valuing what really matters.

Purchase Surging Tides of Consequences

Karen Balos

Port of Oakland, 2017

Paint, cotton fabric, commercial felt, thread
33 x 40 inches

Cell Guide #: 2173

The Port of Oakland links the West Coast to the Pacific Ocean. As an economic entity, it has both the problems (pollution, dredging spoils) and benefits (carbon-saving 'green' routes, i.e. train to ship; ferry commuting service), of that connection. It is our portal to the world, and our responsibility to ecology of the sea.

Photo credit: Sibila Savage

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Nancy Bardach

Rising Tides, 2018

Cotton prints, marbelled, and hand painted fabrics, 80/20 batting, cotton texturing threads
60 x 38 inches

Cell Guide #: 2174

Rising seas caused by climate change are threatening to all. Whether urban seawalls collapse or beaches for sea lions and elephant seals erode, human beings suffer and lose. We seem to be surfing uphill in our current battle to avert this tragic future.

Purchase Rising Tides

Diana Bartelings

Help Me!, 2018

Hand dyed cotton fabric, commercial cotton fabric, netting, plastic and a bead
24 x 37 inches

Cell Guide #: 2175

A turtle tangled in a seining net spies a diver and swims for help. Thankfully the divers are all to happy to help these poor creatures whose ocean has become polluted by our carelessness.

Alice Beasley

In My Wake, 2018

Silks and cottons (both commercial and printed by artist), organzas (silk and polyester); felt backing
56 1/2 x 37 1/2 inches

Cell Guide #: 2176

We all know our oceans are "drowning" in our packaging. But this exhibition has forced me to recognize that ocean pollution isn't just "somebody else's problem", it's my problem too. Each item shown is a fabric replica of packaging culprits that I found in my own house -- the plastic, cardboard, glass, aluminum and paper containers that will eventually have to be disposed of somewhere. (A recycling center? A landfill? An ocean?) This piece shows a worst case scenario: my household disposables adrift in an ocean in the wake of a container ship bringing still more rubbish to me.

Photo credit: Sibila Savage Photography

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Beth Blankenship

Nowhere To Run To, Nowhere To Hide, 2018

Polyester and rayon thread, water-soluble stabilizer, commercial fabric, fusible interfacing and glass beads
48 x 27 inches

Cell Guide #: 2177

The Pacific Ocean is warming. This reality spells trouble for many sea creatures, especially those living in frigid northern waters. Cod, pollock and northern shrimp—seafoods we enjoy eating—rely on very cold water to feed and to breed. The range where they thrive is shifting further and further northward. Soon they will run out of "north"—Arctic Cod already have.

Bonnie M. Bucknam

Estuary–Anaheim Back Bay, 2014

Cotton hand-dyes by the artist
60 x 30 inches

Cell Guide #: 2178

I grew up in Southern California where oil production sometimes blended into the environment. The estuary was a place where shorebirds flourished among the oil derricks.

Photo credit: Mark Frey

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Sharon Carvalho

Colors of Melting Glaciers, 2018

Materials involve variety of both commercial and personally designed and printed fabrics as well as rice paper. Cottons, sateen, linen, and muslin were used.
41 x 32 inches

Cell Guide #: 2179

"Colors of Melting Glaciers" is second in a series of works providing a visual narrative to accelerating environmental damage.

Glaciers are 10 percent of all land area and are melting at a rate that makes them critical signs for climate change. For example, glaciers in the Cascades have shrunk by about 50 percent since 1900. Worse yet, as global glacial melt continues, sea level rise could reach 230 feet. The chilled waters from glacial melt will do nothing to mitigate warming ocean water. That means not only more frequent and severe hurricanes but also decimation of marine life, including coral reefs—all of which will result in limiting major food supplies for the world.

Photo credit: Melinda Knapp

Barbara Confer

Requiem, 2018

Cotton, chenille, lace, yarn and trims
25 x 36 inches

Cell Guide #: 2180

On the North Coast many old oak trees have become victims of a disease known as Sudden Oak Death, a sickness brought in to the state on plants from South America. Hundreds of old oaks have perished from this disease.

The tree pictured here lived in the large regional park behind my house. Even when no longer alive it is still beautiful.

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Judith Content

Sea Change, 2018

Thai silk, various threads, organic cotton batting and raw silk lining
54 x 22 inches

Cell Guide #: 2181

A sea change isn't a modest change, but something that no longer resembles what it once was. If rising temperatures continue and increasingly massive Pacific storms result, coastal ecosystems could experience a perilous metamorphosis. As I worked on this quilt, images of storm surges and flooding swept through my mind and onto the cloth I was dyeing and quilting. "Sea Change" was inspired by an ocean on the brink of radical change.

Photo credit: James Dewrance

Purchase Sea Change

Phyllis A. Cullen

The Burning Sea, 2018

Cotton fabrics, hand dyed and commercial, cotton batting, wool roving, cheesecloth, silk and rayon threads, misty fuse, tulle
33 x 38 inches

Cell Guide #: 2182

A photo I took from a boat 10 feet from the lava rushing into the sea was my inspiration to depict the tumultuous events defining our island. The water around us was steaming, and lava bombs were flying.

Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry

Splash, 2018

Paint, ink, 100% cotton fabric, acrylic & polyester thread, 100% wool blanket as batting
41 x 41 inches

Cell Guide #: 2183

In June of 2018 we took a photographic expedition to the north end of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. We spent two twelve-hour days on a small boat viewing wildlife. In the Broughton Islands we encountered a pod of 200-200 Pacific white-sided dolphins. They followed in the wake of the boat, jumping through the wake and splashing back into the water, looking like they were having lots of fun. My husband Ron was shooting ten frames per second with a fast shutter speed and caught several pictures of the frolicking dolphins. With Ron's permission, this quilt is based on the most graphic of those photos.

Purchase Splash

Judith Quinn Garnett

2050, 2018

Over 150 shopping bags, my daily newspaper bags, plastic netting from a neighborhood garage sale, a discarded plastic party table cloth from the recycle center, 100% ECO recycled polyester felt, a repurposed cotton bed sheet
50 x 41 inches

Cell Guide #: 2184

2018 began with the daunting reality that China would no longer accept plastic recycling from the US due to the comingled abundance of contaminated waste.

I was impelled to observe the use of plastics in my own home and began collecting our discarded bags. The pile of seemingly thoughtless waste multiplied as I realized that even our Portland newspapers arrive in plastic bags. As my concern grew, I began fusing the bags as the surface of this piece.

As we ignore this growing mound, research states that by 2050 the plastics that have migrated into the North Pacific will be greater than the population of fish. I hope we can shift the tides of consumption before we drown in the plastic ocean we created.

Photo credit: Sam Garnett

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Alisa Golden

Undersea Colonies, 2018

Cotton, silk, linen thread, metallic paint, oil-based ink, black tea, dye, printed cotton
60 x 43 1/2 inches

Cell Guide #: 2185

Vivid colors in a newspaper article opened a world previously unknown to me. Deep in the Pacific Ocean, where plates collide below the cold, earth's kitchen builds lava chimneys, black smokers, and a hot hearth at the Juan de Fuca ridge. Here, tube worms, palm worms, and deep-sea creatures co-exist as they did long before us and will, if we let them, live long after. Already elsewhere, people have disregarded similar life and packed probing tools, intent on dredging for minerals, claiming magnesium, cobalt, and gold for their own. While humans are just dots on a timeline, we still have the choice to impact or respect our collective home.

The fragmented text shifts and collides as follows:

We will not

be planting

a flag on

Juan de Fuca ridge.

The plates rattled

before dinosaurs.

The volcano will spew

after robots.

Tick tock.

Tectonic.

Purchase Undersea Colonies

Louise Hall

Atomic Atoll, 2018

Hand dyed and commercial cotton fabrics, batting, thread, and fusible interfacing
36 x 36 inches

Cell Guide #: 2186

The Dome on Runit Island is a legacy of the United States atomic testing from 1946-1958. Runit is one of 40 islands in the Enewetak Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands. Runit Dome, or The Tomb as the locals call it, is a legacy of the 43 nuclear tests the United States conducted there. The 18" thick concrete dome was constructed in 1979 in one of the old bomb craters. The crater, unlined due to cost considerations, is filled with nuclear waste and solid chunks of highly toxic plutonium. The sea level has risen and is penetrating the dome due to the porous nature of the sand and coral that comprises the atoll. With climate change, the increasing ferocity of storms is of enormous concern because Runit is only 2' above sea level. The contents of the dome, as well the surrounding sediments, are dangerously radioactive.

Photo credit: Rhames Photography

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Janet Hiller

An Instance of Change, 2011

Hand dyed and over-dyed cotton and cotton/bamboo blends
35 x 40 inches

Cell Guide #: 2187

Every evening is the same--as regular and peaceful as clockwork. Yet every evening presents a different drama in that one instant before the setting of the sun. A shift in light, perhaps. Or the sudden, alarming change in direction of a flock of seabirds.

Photo credit: Jon Christopher Meyers

Purchase An Instance of Change

June Jaeger

Topical Metamorphism, 2018

Both the blue background and the tan map are Kona Cotton solid fabrics. I used Dream Cotton batting and a cotton print fabric for the backing. For hand stitching I used Valdani Pearl Cotton thread, and for machine topstitching I used Aurifil thread.
46 x 36 inches

Cell Guide #: 2188

The Northwest contains a great diversity of climate and landscape including desert, mountains, forests, rivers and ocean side. Our Pacific Ocean maintains our planet's equilibrium, playing the major role of our climate. Thousands of species of birds, fish, and mammals inhabit the Northwest. The mixed ecosystem of sea and land are essential to life. The sediments deposited into the ocean from our rivers help to curb the ocean erosion, creating breakwater, thus protecting the shoreline. "Topical Metamorphosis" portrays a topical map section of the northwest shoreline where rivers meet the ocean, constantly changing...a metamorphosis continues.

Photo credit: Paige Vitek

Lisa Jenni

Rings of Eternity, 2018

Hand dyed and commercial cottons, cotton batiks, quilting threads, Setacolor® textile & puff paint, TSUKINEKO® ink, genuine American recycled fishing net, plastic rings from food and beverage packaging, recycled string
33 x 41 inches

Cell Guide #: 2189

A gigantic collection of plastic, trash and lost fishing nets is floating halfway between Hawaiʻi and California. Its size is said to extend over an area bigger than the State of Texas. However, this floating mess is not unique to the northern Pacific, a similar patch of debris is found in the Southern Pacific, North & South Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

Much of the plastic trash, such as the little safety-seal rings on food and beverage containers, could be avoided, if consumers, producers and waste managements worldwide would work together to find better alternatives. Especially these colorful rings have been found in carcasses of chicks of albatrosses, who die eventually of malnutrition.

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Jennifer Hammond Landau

Mighty Mussel, 2018

Wool fleece, tulle, silk, and synthetic sheer fabric
34 x 38 inches

Cell Guide #: 2190

Mussels thrive along the Pacific coast, providing a critical role in the ecosystem as well as a tasty meal. Like other bivalves, mussels are a natural filtration system, cleaning toxins from tidewaters. In using mussels to test the pollution levels in Seattle's waters, disturbingly, scientists are finding high levels of caffeine and opioids. I admit that this "household cleaning" function makes me wonder a bit about what I am ingesting when enjoying the family favorite, "Moules Frites.

Photo credit: Sibila Savage Photography

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Cat Larrea

Tidewater Glacier, 2018

100% cotton, cotton thread, eco-fi felt batting
30 x 36 inches

Cell Guide #: 2191

A tidewater glacier is one that reaches the sea. Having lived for over thirty years in Alaska, one of the most dramatic indicators of global warming I have witnessed is the alteration and thermal erosion of our sea level "ice rivers". My representation simplifies how multiple glaciers, like rivers, can flow together. However, in a relatively short time, my imaginary glacier will become two independent ones as it melts and seemingly withdraws up each valley. Gone will be its icebergs, its thunder as it fractures and calves, and in its place will be new exposed earth, ready for the change vegetation brings.

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Sherly LeBlanc

Pacifica, 2018

Commercial and hand dyed fabrics, yarns, sequins and beads
59 x 41 inches

Cell Guide #: 2192

The vessel "Pacifica" symbolizes the rapidly diminishing livelihood of the single commercial fisherman. With the deleterious effects of rising water temperature, pesticide runoff, radiation mutation from Fukishima, oil spills, and continued silting of the ports and harbors, not to mention historical over-fishing, the future of this way of life is bleak.

Photo credit: Jon Christopher-Meyers

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Nancy Lemke

Seaside 2, 2018

Commercial fabrics, acrylic paint, antique crocheted doily, beads
27 x 42 inches

Cell Guide #: 2193

When I was little, my family vacationed on the beaches of Oregon and Washington each summer. We walked for miles along the deserted sand, dug clams, and at low tide, we'd visit the odd creatures that live in tide pools. Sometimes my dad fished for salmon. Something about the beach dissipated my mother's chronic depression, and we all basked in the warmth of her happiness. Despite growing development, Pacific beaches remain magical places for me, reminding me of the times when I could reach out for my mother and she would be there for me.

Photo credit: Gary Conaugton

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Jacqueline Manley

Widening Gyre of Flotsam, 2018

Monk's cloth, satin, Czech crystal beads
26 1/2 x 39 inches

Cell Guide #: 2194

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a manifestation of harmful human practices on the Earth, perhaps more explicitly visible than overall climate change. Located between California and Hawaii and twice the size of Texas, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch formed within an ocean gyre of circular currents. Contents are estimated to weigh at least 80,000 tons and contain 180 TRILLION pieces of plastic—250 for each person in the world! Various plans are being created for cleaning up the garbage; none are quick fixes, and all emphasize reducing the use of plastics and the improvement of recycling efforts.

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Kathleen McCabe

A Quiet Moment, 2018

Commercial and hand painted cotton, batting, and thread
28 x 42 inches

Cell Guide #: 2195

The sound of waves crashing, the smell of fresh, salty air, the calm of the vast horizon; all these sustain us in an otherwise chaotic world.

Photo credit: Phil Imming

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Amanda Miller

Jumping the Gorge, 2017

Commercial cottons and silk
42 x 30 inches

Cell Guide #: 2196

Summer is fire season in the Pacific Northwest, but in recent years, annual wildfires have taken on more intense and frightening aspects. Smoke chokes communities for weeks, Homes are destroyed while people and animals flee the blazes. Last summer fire even jumped the Columbia Gorge to continue burning on the far side. There is not complete agreement or a singe solution for mitigating the damage of these fires. Increased educational efforts along with restrictions on fireworks and campfires during dry seasons could decrease human-caused blazes. Changes in forest policies could restrict the size of the fires. More careful land use planning and restrictions on developing high risk areas should also be considered.

Photo credit: Jon Meyers Photography

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Denise Oyama Miller

Pelagic Produce, 2018

Commercial and hand-dyed cotton fabric, fleece, fusible
59 x 24 inches

Cell Guide #: 2197

The kelp forests are recognized as one of the most important and productive ecosystems in the world, providing shelter for fish and other animals and protecting the coastline from potentially destructive storms. In addition, they are a nutrient dense food that is low in fat/calories, high in iodine/calcium/vitamins, and that strengthens your immunity. Kelp are used to not only make the wrappers for sushi rolls, but are also included in products from toothpaste to ice cream. We need to continue to look towards the ocean to help provide healthy food for the world's population and to protect that ecosystem from destruction and pollution.

Photo credit: Sibila Savage

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Cathy Miranker

Whither the Waterfront?, 2018

Commercially available polyester wall tapestries, 12 wt variegated threads, 30 wt cotton and polyester threads
57 x 41 inches

Cell Guide #: 2198

With sea level rise already remaking shorelines and cities worldwide, this quilt offers a deliberately alarmist vision of what might happen to San Francisco's iconic downtown. It deconstructs images of real buildings that hug the water's edge and reconstructs them … in different places, akilter, even partially submerged. Machine embroidery hints at an additional, ever-present threat: seismic upheaval.

Photo credit: Douglas Sandberg

Deborah Runnels

Promise of the Pinecone, 2018

Hand dyed and commercial printed cotton
46 x 32 inches

Cell Guide #: 2199

The pine cone has been an inspiration to cultures throughout history. Dionysus carried a staff with a carved pine cone symbol on its' tip. So does the papal staff of the pope. To the Celts, it was a fertility symbol and our own human pinal gland looks like a pine cone (hence the name) and is the epicenter of our enlightenment.

There is hope that evolves naturally after the presence of fire. We can look to the pine cone as our symbol for the promise of new growth.

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Nancy Ryan

Water, 2018

Cotton fabric, acrylic paint and specialty threads were used to create this piece
25 1/2 x 36 1/2 inches

Cell Guide #: 2200

Not all trash ends up at the dumps. The great Pacific Garbage patch stretches across a swath of the North Pacific Ocean forming a nebulous, floating junk yard on the high seas.

Plastic that begin in human hands yet ends up in the ocean endangering our marine life. It is time to shift tides and we humans need to protect instead of polluting our waters.

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Roxanne Schwartz

Agua Caliente, 2018

Hand-dyed and commercial cottons, wool batting, poly and cotton threads
60 x 29 inches

Cell Guide #: 2201

Heat ripples through our Pacific Ocean as her currents undulate to sister oceans across the planet. Sinuous stitching lines and fluid shapes suggest streaming, bubbling movement. Color suggests both coolness and warmth, and perhaps a disturbing muddiness. A bright line breaks the flowing shapes, radiating change. Our oceans are connected but troubled. Since 1880, ocean temperatures have been tracked; they show a warming trend, with some dips in the mid-twentieth century. But no dips have been recorded since 1985. Warmer oceans now surge through the planet, affecting sea life, food security, weather, coastal habitats throughout the world. What is our next step?

Photo credit: Dana Davis

Janet Scruggs

Plastic Chowder?, 2018

Various fabric types including cotton, recycled unknown fibre, cheesecloth, and flannel. Felt, polyester and rayon thread, and beads.
24 x 22 inches

Cell Guide #: 2202

The issue of plastics causing harm to marine life and birds in our oceans has been widely publicized. But did you know you could be ingesting micro-plastics when you enjoy that bowl of clam chowder, steamed mussels or oysters? Researchers at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia have found that many shellfish farms are polluted by micro plastics. These can come from plastic that is breaking down (fibres from clothing, carpets and other textiles), plastics used in the industry itself, or microbeads that are used in personal care products. These micro-plastics are being ingested by shellfish and then we in turn consume them in clams and other shellfish. This growing concern inspired me to create a collage reflecting the breaking down of the plastic and how microbeads are becoming part of the clam food chain.

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Maria Shell

Break Up, 2018

Vintage, contemporary, and hand dyed fabrics, batting, thread
40 x 30 inches

Cell Guide #: 2203

Northerners have special names for the mucky weather of spring. In Alaska, we call this time of the year Break Up. Snow from the mountains begins to melt and dirt roads become creeks. Ice rots and mud rules. The change is so slow that we all grow impatient wanting the light, the sun, the dry land. I love this season. Everyone's yard looks like a junkyard. There is no snow or leaves to hid your business. You spend your days adding and subtracting layers of clothing, and the sunlight just keeps coming. It is a restless naked season I think.

Photo credit: Chris Arend

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Sue Siefkin

Blue Reverie in Peril, 2018

Acrylic paint on habotai silk; hand-dyed cotton; glass beads
41 x 31 inches

Cell Guide #: 2204

The deep, mesmerizing blues of our oceans are relentlessly threatened by the impact of global warming and thoughtless human activity.

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Sigrid Simonds

Oil On The Beach, 2018

Cotton, embroidery floss, dye, wool batting and cotton thread
38 x 25 inches

Cell Guide #: 2205

While vacationing on California's central coast and walking on the beach in early mornings the patterns left on the sand by the ebbing water caught my eye. The patterns were dark lines. After a little research I discovered the dark lines are tar ground fine from natural oil leaks or manmade oil spills. This piece is my abstract version of these lines. These are the colors of the sand and oil and the red is my interpretation of warning, the oil should not be there.

Gail P. Sims

Spiraling Out of Control, 2018

Cotton, evalon, silk ribbon and King Tut thread
30 x 23 inches

Cell Guide #: 2206

California and the entire North West US and Canada have been greatly affected by horrendous fires in the last few years. Since the recent fires are more and more reaching into urban areas, the toxic pollutants will cause dangers on both land and sea.

This piece was inspired by the recent Santa Rosa, Redding and Paradise fires with smoke and air quality the like of which we have never seen before. The wind patterns pushed extremely hazardous air quality into the San Francisco bay and inland to the central valley. Although I was just an hour away, the worst quality was over three hours away. Total damage is not yet known in the most recent fire because the blessing of rain has its own issues.

Photo credit: John Sims

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Bonnie J. Smith

Moss Beach, 2016

Hand dyed silk & cotton fabrics; Kona Cottons, Cotton Polyester batting, cotton and polyester threads
43 x 39 inches

Cell Guide #: 2207

So many times in my life I have visited Moss Beach that is situated on the Pacific Ocean in Northern California. With each visit I make my way around the worn foot trail, walk up the incline to view this piece of nature's wonderment and I am never let down. But, lately in the last few years it is different, the waves have gotten so wild and almost mean that rock boulders have been pulled away and I cannot see that most prefect view that I used to take for granted

I fear climate change and what humans have literally dumped into the ocean has caused the Pacific Ocean to rear its head and say "no more", I will teach you a lesson my way.

Photo credit: Spring Mountain Gallery

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Amanda Snavely

Life in Abstraction, 2018

Silk Organza, Cotton, Wool Interlining, Metallic thread, Silk thread, Cotton Thread, Acrylic Paint
48 x 33 inches

Cell Guide #: 2208

Wandering along the water's edge, one glimpses the magical world beyond the hazy veil of salt spray. Encrusted on the rocks are gooseneck and acorn barnacles, limpets, anemone, and mussels packed tightly together. These intricately patterned creatures face environmental damage-the crashing surf, the drying sun, harvesting as delicacies, and damage from humans in their quest to view this delicate ecosystem. The barnacles chatter as they move inside their shells reminding us to observe without disturbing. The organisms arrange themselves so closely together that the creatures visually merge: the eye cannot distinguish where one creature ends and the next begins. An abstract pattern emerges as the contrasting shapes compete for space in one small crevice. Delicate beauty such as this reminds us we must look with our eyes instead of our hands to preserve this natural art form.

Photo credit: Sam Garnett

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Carla Stehr

Diatom 8, 2015

Ecofelt, three layers of hand dyed cotton fabric. Fabric paint.
28 x 33 inches

Inspired by a scanning electron microscope image I photographed during my career as a Marine Biologist.

Cell Guide #: 2209

Diatoms are tiny, single-celled aquatic plants. A microscope reveals they have complex multilayered cell walls with stunning patterns. A liter of sea water may contain up to a million of these microscopic algae. Diatoms generate about 25 percent of our oxygen and absorb 30 percent of earth's carbon dioxide. Water temperature and nutrients influence diatom growth, but this complicated balance is also affected by climate change and ocean acidification. Some (including toxic species) are becoming more prevalent while other species are declining or moving to colder waters. These changes may affect the future ability of the ocean to sequester excess carbon dioxide. Fish, bird and mammal populations may also change because they depend on the diatom-based food chain. The microscopic beauty of diatoms is a reminder that even the tiniest organisms are incredibly important for life on earth.

Nan Thompson

Copper River Flats, 2018

Hand-dyed and commercial cottons
46 x 37 inches

Cell Guide #: 2210

This is an image of the Copper River Delta in Western Alaska where my husband works as a commercial salmon fisherman. The changes in ocean temperature have affected the Alaskan wild salmon runs. The Chinook (a/k/a King) species is the largest; commonly weighing over 30 pounds. They are born in freshwater streams and live three to eight years in the ocean before they return to their freshwater river birthplaces to spawn. Commercial fishers harvest them on the river deltas like the one in this image, where the fish leave the ocean and begin traveling upriver. Over the last thirty years, Chinooks have gotten smaller in all of the ten rivers studied by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. That agency has restricted the allowable catch for commercial and sport fishers and people who live along the river who depend on salmon as a food source.

Photo credit: Kwangsook Schaefermeyer

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B. Lynn Tubbe

Pacific Garbage Patch(work), 2018

Sun printed and hand dyed fabrics, hand dyed cheesecloth, commercial fabrics, fabric paint, cotton and polyester threads, cotton batting, upcycled items of plastic less than .5 inches deep
41 x 35 inches

Cell Guide #: 2211

This piece reflects my concern for our Pacific Ocean, and its huge "garbage patch" filled with plastic and trash. 80,000 metric tons floating between Hawaii and California, it has become an ugly monster. The debris abandoned by fishermen and the plastic trash discarded by nations bordering the Pacific are killing wildlife, polluting our ocean, and fouling our beaches. Recently a dead whale was found to have over 1000 pieces of plastic in its stomach. And videos of rescuers cutting creatures free from entangled fishing lines are wrenching to watch.

My little fish, curious about the plastic garbage around it, may suffer the same fate.

By raising our awareness of the dangers of plastic, which does not decompose, I hope solutions can be found for this menace to the Pacific Ocean and, indeed, our entire planet.

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Carolyn Villars

Low Tide at LaJolla, 2016

Cotton, procion dyes, Superior threads
43 x 32

Cell Guide #: 2212

A golden evening with the family at the tide pools, watching the sun sink into the Pacific. The long beach was a sheet of shimmering reflections, the children romped with bare feet on the sand, and even the teenager was present, phone in hand.

Deborah Weir

Haida Waters, 2014

Cotton
36 x 24 inches

Cell Guide #: 2213

Water is a daily concern for those who live near the Pacific Ocean. We experience its beauty, its life-giving powers, and its fragility. We also misuse it wantonly; billions of dollars and countless human hours are spent retrieving it and cleansing it. Life and death in one mighty resource.

Haida Waters is the dance of wild salmon programmed to climb unimaginable heights just to spawn.

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Jean Wells

SOLVE Works!, 2019

Linen, cotton, silk
42 x 39 inches

Cell Guide #: 2214

Oregonians are blessed with the pristine beaches of the Pacific Ocean. In recent years SOLVE, a voulteneers-based organization has an annual event to clean the beaches of debris left behind by people who recreate on our coastline. This effort has positively impacted our beaches in Oregon. Manzanita is our family's favorite beach. We are pleased the clean up allows us to continue our enjoyment of the seasonal rhythmic movement of the waves as the ocean meets the shore.

Photo credit: Gary Alvis

Libby Williamson

Ripples Untended, 2018

84 used tea bags, hand-painted papers and fabrics, cotton, wool, silk, upholstery fabric, burlap, vintage linens, non-woven fabrics and acrylic paint
60 x 44 inches

Cell Guide #: 2215

Glaciers melt, seas rise, waters warm and chaos ensues. While the absurd debate over climate change persists, consequential damage is hidden beneath the dazzling aquamarine currents, the cresting waves, and the steadfast tides.

Giant kelp forests, harboring complex and balanced ecosystems, struggle to resist the destruction. Their demise triggers a cascade of turmoil, unseen from above.

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Amy Witherow

Sandpipers at Ebb Tide, 2018

Cotton cloth, thread, and batting. Tsukeniko inks
30 x 30 inches

Cell Guide #: 2216

At ebb tide, sandpipers forage in a reclaimed salt pond that was once part of the Cargill Salt Ponds—originally covering 16,500 acres in San Francisco Bay. These once-stagnant industrial ponds were returned to tidal wetlands as part of a 30-year project, the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project. Now, with a healthy flow of water pulsing through these ponds, the area provides habitat for waterbirds and other wildlife. Outdoor enthusiasts enjoy the scenery while walking and biking on trails in an area that once was inhospitable.

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Ann Johnston

JUROR’S QUILT

Wave 15, 2017

Whole cloth cotton, monoprinted and hand painted with thickened dye, machine stitched

37 x 35 inches

Cell Guide #: 2217

I have spent a lot of time staring at ocean waves and wondering how to make that sensation into a quilt design, imagining the complex forces that create a wave, imagining what it feels like the color of—among other things—heat and anger. It won’t be long before the many of the changes occurring in our ocean will be irreversible.

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If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now | Counsel Langley

August 18, 2020 Karinna Gomez

Counsel Langley. *All These Constellations We Constructed*, 2020. Acrylic, ink, graphite, paper, sequins, glitter, and beads on board. 30 x 30 inches.

AUGUST 2020
NORTH GALLERY
If You Lived Here You’d Be Home By Now | Counsel Langley

If You Lived Here You'd be Home By Now is a scifi imagining of the raw, nascent beginnings of the epoch that will immediately follow the Anthropocene. A time of beauty and menace, thrills and mistakes, it is inherently hopeful in that it imagines a distant future in which we are not only still here, we have managed to work together as one–as the star stuff we all are.

I work right at the edge of abstraction, allowing drips, pours, flow and scatters to be both simply themselves and also represent natural elements–weather, water, clouds, smoke, atmosphere...And I use architects’ tools, templates and compasses to draw controlled lines, concentric circles, grids, repetitive dots, a mountain range of triangles...which reflect structures and infrastructures that we build.

www.counsellangley.com

All These Constellations We Constructed , 2020 Acrylic, ink, graphite, paper, sequins, glitter, beads on board 30 x 30 inches

Nixie, Moments Before Sleep , 2020 Acrylic, ink, paper, my best shirt on board 30 x 30 inches

I Love Your Precious Heart , 2020 Acrylic, ink, glitter, paper on board 30 x 30 inches

Privacy Archive , 2019 Acrylic, ink, graphite, paper on board 30 x 30 inches

She Put the Cup to Her Lips , 2016 Acrylic, ink, glitter on board 24 x 24 inches

Planet Seeding , 2020 Acrylic, ink, graphite, paper, sequins, glitter, beads on canvas 30 x 40 inches

AM Radio: Honey Hills , 2019 Acrylic, graphite, on board 18 x 24 inches

At Sea You Can See the Bones of the Sky , 2020 Acrylic, paper on board 12 x 12 inches

AM Radio: The Architects , 2020 Acrylic, graphite, on board 24 x 18 inches

Casting Nets (Stage 2) , 2020 Acrylic, ink on board 12 x 12 inches

Casting Nets (Early Phase) , 2020 Acrylic, ink on board 12 x 12 inches

Amp Year, 2018 Acrylic, ink, paper, glitter on linen 8 x 8 inches

Lost Highway , 2020 Acrylic, ink, paper on board 10 x 10 inches

Where it Rains Rubies and Sapphires , 2020 Acrylic, ink, paper, glitter, fabric on board 16 x 16 inches

The Seventh Mountain Peak , 2019 Acrylic, graphite, paper on board 12 x 12 inches

Waters Rise , 2020 Acrylic, paper on board 12 x 12 inches

AM Radio: No. 1 Crush , 2019 Acrylic, graphite, on board 24 x 8 inches

Anthropocene | Invitational Group Exhibition Curated by John Coyne

August 18, 2020 Karinna Gomez

AUGUST 2020
CENTER AND SOUTH GALLERIES
Anthropocene | Invitational group exhibition curated by John Coyne

Anthropocene: the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment. Extreme weather, dying oceans, extinction of species and novel viruses, this show explores the ramifications of our out-sized impact on the natural world. We are all under the sway of the Anthropocene, and the artists in this exhibit offer their unique approaches and perspectives on this phenomenon.

Alex Rydlinski | Home

July 18, 2020 Karinna Gomez

JULY 2020
SOUTH GALLERY
Home | Alex Rydlinski

Alex Rydlinski is an oil painter from Fairbanks currently living in Kenai. He spent over a decade living in the lower 48, traveling around the country, and trying to get back home to Alaska. In 2017 he studied in Norway with the master painter Odd Nerdrum. He’s been living on the Kenai peninsula for nearly a year, creating a body of work steeped in the old master tradition with special interest in the human being in the Northland wild.

Artist Statement
The things we find most beautiful in nature are often the scars of tremendous violence. The beautiful fjords — the result of glaciers scraping and carving through the rocky cliffs. The beautiful rivers— rushing meltwater relentlessly eroding the earth. The beautiful mountains— the smashing of tectonic plates, sending crumpled crust miles into the sky. Our most beautiful sights could be the plains of Ares.

I try to paint in this same way; coarsely, with a lot of energy, scraped down and taken again, over many sessions over many months. I’ve scored the paint film with beach-washed volcanic pumice stones and scratched at it with kitchen knives. Whole figures have been moved a few inches to the left or right, hand gestures and facial expressions changed, colors endlessly modified - look for these traces and you’ll find them still.

The ideas evolve in this way, too. I start with broad themes and discover ways to reinforce the narratives over time. The old woman picking berries, for example, a picture about human resilience, originally had companions out in the field. But the focus is really about her personal struggle, and it becomes more emotionally intense now that she is all alone. When you think of Sisyphus, do you picture him with friends and family sharing in his burden?

I hope you enjoy my rough, Dionysian pictures, the fruits of my first year back home in Alaska. I’ve tried to strip them of all superficiality and delicacy, and get straight to the raw energy and emotion. In their coarseness, with their conspicuous scars of continuous change, I hope you find their beauty.

www.rydlinski.com

Listen to an interview with Alex and Anchorage artist Graham Dane on Out North Radio.

Sandra Talbot | Third Nature: Divining the Scientific Archive

July 18, 2020 Karinna Gomez

Sandra Talbot. Invaders Invading. Digital imagery printed on glass. 15.6 x 21.6 inches. From archived imagery taken during a scientific expedition to Simeonof Island, Shumagin Island group, July-August 2014.

JULY 2020
NORTH GALLERY
Third Nature: Divining the Scientific Archive | Sandra Talbot

Archives of scientific activities and expeditions can be viewed simultaneously by both artists and scientists as repositories of knowledge, ways to satisfy the desire for order and control, and as mirrors of ourselves, of the collector, and of culture and society. In Third Nature: Divining the Scientific Archive, I leverage archived science-made materials and imagery gathered during my own scientific expeditions to remote treeless islands of southwestern Alaska and the Aleutian Island Archipelago. The work explores the impact of scientific expeditions—including the mid-18th century Bering Expedition—and subsequent colonial expansion on the ecology of these harsh but beautiful geographies.

Artist Statement
The dichotomy between the science and art worldviews provides a gateway through which both artists and scientists can explore a personal and collective relationship with the world via the platform of the archive. Scientists (like me) and artists (like me) can leverage scientific collections—fossil compendia, field notebooks, nautical logs, herbaria sheets, genetic data and imagery, or the myriad other objects collected or created during scientific activities and expeditions—to generate knowledge, and archives of these collections can be viewed simultaneously as repositories of knowledge, ways to satisfy the desire for order and control, and as mirrors of ourselves, of the collector, and of culture and society.

For the past thirty years, I participated in scientific expeditions to treeless, windswept islands of Alaska’s Aleutian Island Archipelago and allied island groups. Landfall was made on a number of those same islands during the ill-fated 1741 Second Kamchatkan Expedition (also known as the Bering Expedition). This experience provided an unparalleled opportunity to place imagery emerging from archives generated via my own lived experience straddling the 20th and 21st centuries within the context of archived records and the lived experience of 18th century scientific explorers. My artistic research tracks document and imagery archives from the voyage of the packet boat, St. Peter—which carried Captain Commander Bering’s crew from Kamchatka to southeast Alaska and, after many trials, including sickness and death of the Commander, back to Kamchatka—during 1741-1742. My own field research activities and archives—mostly materials from botanical expeditions conducted between 1988 and 2019—span much of that 18th century track, and I use in my art-making those archived science-made materials to explore the impact of scientific expeditions and subsequent colonial expansion on the species and indigenous people that occupied and continue to occupy these remote treeless islands. In an example of ArtScience, I leverage insight emerging from art-making, science-making and my own lived experience to erect and test a new hypothesis to solve a mystery that has puzzled nine generations of biologists exploring these same harsh but beautiful geographies.

www.sandratalbot.com

Trine Bumiller | In Memoriam

July 18, 2020 Karinna Gomez

JULY 2020
CENTER GALLERY
In Memoriam | Trine Bumiller

In Memoriam is an installation comprised of fifteen large watercolor paintings of spruces, one golden. Through the story of the Golden Spruce, it honors the memory of living things, both trees and humans, in a time when life seems more precious than ever.

Artist Statement
There was once a very special tree, on an island off the northwest coast of Canada, called the Golden Spruce. It was a Sitka spruce tree with golden needles, missing the chlorophyll to make it green. The Haida Native Americans, who lived in the area, considered it sacred. It was over 200 feet high and believed to be over 300 years old. In 1997, a former forest engineer cut the tree down in protest of logging companies that were destroying the local forests. The man disappeared before being brought to trial and has never been found.

The Sitka spruce only grows in the area of the northwest coast of the US and Canada. The trees are the third largest species in the world, growing to over 300 feet high. The Haida revere the trees for their many beneficial properties, as shelter, fuel, and dugout canoe wood; it is part of the lore of the tribe, and each child is assigned a tree at birth, to be their guardian. The Golden Spruce was considered sacred, and its demise a tragic loss for the tribe and the community.

My installation, In Memoriam, recalls and honors the story of the Golden Spruce, and all trees, and forests that have been and are being destroyed due to human intervention. It also speaks to our current times and memorializes many lives lost in this time of pandemic and senseless killings. Fifteen large watercolor paintings of majestic spruces on mulberry paper acknowledge and honor this history. They emphasize the verticality and height of these majestic beings, and evoke their human qualities of both power and fragility. In Memoriam speaks of lives lived and lost, of both the natural and human worlds.

One tree is golden, to reference the one special Golden Spruce, and to highlight the preciousness of what we have lost, to venerate and make sacred the spirit of the tree, as well as the spirits of lost human souls. Contrasting with the otherwise dark trees, it is a beacon of hope at the end of the installation. Walking through the installation should feel like being present in a vast forest, still and meditative, yet awed by the presence and precariousness of life.

www.trinebumiller.com

Gallery Reopening for July

June 28, 2020 Donna Carr

Starting Friday, July 3rd, we will be open with new gallery hours and three new showing artists. We are so excited to be opening our doors to the public once again, and have been working hard to develop the systems and resources in order to support our volunteers in this “new normal”, as well as safely welcome visitors into the space.

New Hours of Operation - Due to a reduction in our volunteer force we have limited the days the gallery will be open. We will also now be open one evening a week through July. The new gallery hours are as follows:

Wednesday 12-4 pm
Thursday 4-8 pm
Friday and Saturday 12-4 pm

Our first day open in July will be Friday, July 3rd from 12-4 pm.

The gallery is no longer able to host public events, including openings and artist talks. Instead we will continue to encourage artists to gallery sit and we will publicize this opportunity for people to visit the gallery on those days for a chance to meet the artist and learn about their work directly. In addition, we will continue to maintain our online efforts — gallery, shop, and blog posts — for those that want to continue to support the gallery and showing artists but are uncomfortable with being out in public.

Social Distancing - We will limit the number of visitors allowed in the gallery at any one time to no more than about 12 and encourage 6 ft social distancing. There will be place marks on the floor indicating 6 ft distance on all three sides of the desk in order to help volunteers maintain that safe distance from visitors.

Hand Sanitizer - There is a hand sanitizer dispenser at the door and signage will encourage its usage for anyone entering and exiting the gallery.

Masks - The wearing of masks is required in the gallery as per the Municipality of Anchorage mandate pertaining to indoor public spaces.

Cleaning and Sanitizing - Volunteers will be sanitizing touch points consistently during their shift and before they leave. In addition, there will be janitorial cleaning which involves a deeper sanitation process. In order to help maintain best sanitation practices that are easiest for our volunteers, the bathroom will be closed to the public.

Sales - In order to eliminate the need for handling credit cards and close proximity to visitors, we will funnel all sales through our online store. The gallery sitter can direct the customer to our online store to purchase with their smart phone, home computer, or (if they are comfortable doing so) the gallery computer.

Anyone exhibiting symptoms -- be they volunteers, visitors, or studio renters -- should not enter the gallery space.

Bottom line: we are going to approach this in a down-to-earth, rational way, understanding the greatest impact we can have is efforts to reduce the number of people in the gallery space at any given point in time, as well as trust in everyone’s individual responsibility and understanding of the current health risks with being in public spaces in general.

Interview with Fairbanks Artist Ethan Lauesen

May 26, 2020 Karinna Gomez

Ethan Lauesen is a visual artist based in Fairbanks, Alaska. They earned their BFA from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2019. The body of work they create focuses on the cultural aspects of gender and LGBTQIA+ identity and how they are perceived in communities, specifically Interior Alaska. The work they produce is more intimate as a response to cultural perceptions of themselves due to inter-sectional issues of race, gender, and sexuality and as a result the prints, paintings, and drawings created represent a personal narrative documenting cultural change.

Website: www.ethanjlauesen.com

Instagram: @siawyn_art

Ethan Lauesen’s exhibition For Your Comfort, originally scheduled for display at IGCA this month, was postponed due to Covid-19 and will now be presented in May 2021. As a kind of preview for next year’s exhibition, Ethan sent some new etchings down from Fairbanks for display in the IGCA windows this month. Ethan also took the time to talk with gallery manager Karinna Gomez about their art. Listen to the interview below.

Ethan Lauesen, applying chine collé to their etching For My Comfort, in the UAF printmaking studio. — Ethan Lauesen, applying chine collé to their etching *For My Comfort*, in the UAF printmaking studio.

Etchings by Ethan Lauesen on display in the IGCA windows in May 2020.

UAA BFA Students Window Displays and Q&As

May 20, 2020 Karinna Gomez

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, University of Alaska Anchorage BFA seniors were not able to hold their thesis exhibitions in the UAA Kimura Gallery this spring. Two of the four BFA students, Aileen Page and Kimberlyn Sheldon, have shared a preview of their work in our windows this month. In this post we are sharing a little about each of these artists along with images of their work.

To see images and information about all four BFA students’ thesis projects, go to the UAA Art Department Facebook page.

Aileen Page

Aileen Page lives in Eagle River, Alaska. She graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage as a Bachelor of Fine Arts Ceramic major in 2020. Her work frequently focuses on figurative subject matter that touches on ideas of vulnerability, comfort and anxiety and explores how these feelings are communicated through body language. Aileen has exhibited work locally in the Hugh McPeck Gallery, as well as in the IGCA group shows. She received the Juror’s Choice Award for the national No Big Heads juried show in 2017 and was runner up in the 2018 Student Juried Art Show. Aileen was awarded the 2018 Alaska Watercolor Society and Alaska Artist Guild Scholarship and the Undergraduate Research Grant from the Honors College at UAA. She spent the summer of 2019 as a ceramic assistant for Bruce Dehnert at Peters Valley School of Craft in New Jersey.

Can you tell us a little about your background? Where did you grow up, for instance?
My dad was in the army so I moved around a lot when I was a kid, but I have lived in Alaska for the past 15 years. I grew up learning German from my mom and English from my dad.

What led you to the BFA program at UAA?
I have always heard good things about UAA's art department. After High School I received two scholarships that for the most part covered my tuition if I stayed in state. During my first year I didn't really know what direction I wanted to go in, but after taking some art classes, and really loving them, I decided to go with what interested me most. Art was the only subject I felt passionate enough to peruse a degree in. The BFA program allowed me to take several different art studio classes, it was hard for me to decide on a discipline, but ultimately I chose ceramics as my primary focus.

Aileen Page. Aversion, 2019. Earthenware. — Aileen Page. *Aversion*, 2019. Earthenware.

Aileen Page. Slump, 2019. Earthenware. — Aileen Page. *Slump*, 2019. Earthenware.

Can you describe your BFA thesis project for us?
My thesis explores how emotions that are visibly expressed through body language. It is also about perspective and changing how one perceives these, often times intense, emotions.

What's next now that you've graduated?
It's hard to know what's going to happen next, especially during a pandemic, but I do have my heart set on continuing to work with clay. I would like to continue to develop my skills and continue my education by doing a post bacc.

Do you have a website and/or social media pages where people can find your work online?
Instagram: @page_aileen

Kimberlyn Sheldon

Kimberlyn’s thesis work on display in the IGCA windows (May 20-June 3, 2020).

Kimberlyn Sheldon is an Iñupiaq painter and 2020 graduate from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. Using oil paint as a medium, Sheldon creates art which displays a mix of surrealism and realism. It’s through the act of transforming photographs into paintings that Sheldon begins to understand her subject matter on a psychological level. Throughout her exploration as an oil painter, Sheldon has sought to create a visual representation of the duality that defines her heritage and culture as a government-labeled ½ Iñupiaq woman. By representing her internal conflicts and perception of the world, Sheldon seeks to create conversation, acknowledge history, and gain a better understanding of her truth.

Can you tell us a little about your background? Where did you grow up, for instance?
I grew up in the Iñupiaq village of Noorvik which is located in the northwest region of Alaska. Growing up in Noorvik, I spent time with family and friends outdoors, played multiple sports, and learned seasonal subsistence. I came to Anchorage at the age of 18 in order to pursue a bachelor’s degree at UAA.

What led you to the BFA program at UAA?
I’ve always loved drawing, and I began taking drawing classes at UAA with art being my minor. I took a painting class as an elective and fell in love with oil paints. I decided to make Fine Arts my major and dedicate my undergraduate years to painting.

Kimberlyn Sheldon. Paaqlaktautaiññiq, 2020. Oil on canvas. 7’ x 9’. — Kimberlyn Sheldon. *Paaqlaktautaiññiq,* 2020. Oil on canvas. 7’ x 9’.

Can you describe your BFA thesis project for us?
My BFA thesis consists of a triptych titled Paaqlaktautaiññiq and is oil on canvas. Paaqlaktautaiññiq is an Iñupiaq cultural value which translates to “Avoidance of Conflict”. Through my thesis project I have explored what Paaqlaktautaiññiq means to me and how I’ve embodied it through my actions and perceptions of society. My BFA thesis project has been a journey of self-discovery and an effort to reflect on past choices, current social issues, and my reactions to these things.

What's next now that you've graduated?
Graduating in 2020 has proven to be a tricky thing, but now that I’ve completed my BFA degree I plan to continue painting, learning, and growing as an artist. I’ve decided to take a break from formal education and plan to return to my home region of northwest Alaska to reconnect with family, friends, and the land.

Do you have a website and/or social media pages where people can find your work online?
You can find me on Instagram at the username: @kimberlyn.sheldon. I use this page to display current and past works and connect with people interested in art and Inupiaq culture.

Q&A With Anchorage-Area Artist Ruby Suzanna

May 10, 2020 Karinna Gomez

Ruby Suzanna is one of the artists whose exhibitions had to be postponed due to Covid-19. Originally scheduled for exhibition this month, Ruby will now present new work in January 2021. In the meantime, we are sharing this wonderful Q&A with Ruby where you can learn more about the artist and her projects. Thanks to Ruby for taking the time to do this interview and for sharing so much insight into her artistic work and process. We are looking forward to Ruby’s midwinter exhibition!

PEARL, Church of Love in Spenard, Anchorage, AK, 2017, by Ruby Suzanna — *PEARL*, Church of Love in Spenard, Anchorage, AK, 2017, by Ruby Suzanna

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I grew up in Bird Creek Alaska just south of Anchorage. I have always felt at home here. My mother worked for the state highway department as a heavy equipment operator and my father was a carpenter throughout my childhood. My father is also a fine artist and musician, he is a celebrated pointillist and has his art in collections around the world. My mother is a gardener - always tending to our wild 3-acre lot every year producing a huge vegetable garden, and flowers in every corner of the property and around every building. My mother is also a mountain runner, a feminist, and art collector. I lived briefly in Florida for a year and a half and I also lived in Los Angeles for 2 years – but Alaska is my home and it called me back. I would say my second home is Los Angeles and I get there usually 2-3 times a year.

For those that don’t know about your art, can you give us an introduction?

My art is always changing it feels like but usually comes with a specific aesthetic that I think is recognizable as my own. At University I studied printmaking, painting, theater and dance - there wasn’t really an opportunity at that time in the art department to create the type of digital installation work I’ve been doing a lot of lately. However UAA was an incredible place to study and get my art degree - the arts professors like Kat Tomka and Garry Kaulitz encouraged me - sometimes begrudgingly - to pursue performative work and installation work as part of my class work. They offered a flexibility with me to sort of write my own degree, and investigate the type of work I was interested in and produce it as part of class work. For instance Kat Tomka encouraged me to write an undergraduate research and scholarship grant, and gave me an incomplete for her ‘Experimental Drawing’ class and allowed me to create my first large evening length performance art piece that used dance, costume design, set design, and projections the following year. This was in 2005 and there wasn’t really a word for ‘projection mapping’ yet - but that was one of the visions for that show. That was the beginning of my work as it has manifested today. I always was involved in theater and dance at UAA getting my minor in Dance. I really used the entire facility of the arts building at UAA to spring board myself into multidisciplinary work. I created 2 New Dances performances which were more very strange performance art pieces then dance pieces - I was encouraged by Brian Jeffery and the entire Dance Department to create as part of their community even when not a lot of ‘Dancing’ took place in my work. Both New Dances performances had Projections as an element. Almost all of my work includes projected light and video in some way and now as I’ve progressed my work has become almost completely projection based.

My work is a mixture of immersive installation where the audience is invited into spaces to interact with them and performances where the audience is invited to observe spaces and performances passively. Some of my favorite works are The Velvet Room where a small space was covered completely in black velvet including table, chair, performer and various objects and the audience was invited into the room to have a visual and tactile experience, and PEARL a performance that took place at the Church Of Love in Spenard where 7 performers interacted inside of a large forced perspective box that was covered 360 degrees in projections as scenic and lighting elements.

What inspires you to make art?

It’s always different. Usually I start with an image, a scene or some sort or technical thing I want to do and I proceed from there. Usually while I’m trying to figure out how to build a particular thing that is usually not super well thought out yet I am able to fill in the holes as I go. It can feel really unsettling to work this way. It’s like clawing in the dark at something. I collaborate a lot with very talented performers, musicians, and designers and I depend on them a lot to help me find those jumping off places. Sometimes I feel like all I do is gather up all the pieces, and means, and then I attempt to put them together. I set deadlines, and try to come up with equipment and funding and space etc. I try to bring together people I am inspired by - they - more then anything else bring the work out and into fruition.

You've had a few installations at the IGCA in the past, including Bed Chamber in 2014 and Dirty Panties in 2010. Can you tell us about these installations?

Bed Chamber, International Gallery of Contemporary Art, Anchorage, AK, 2014, by Ruby Suzanna — *Bed Chamber,* International Gallery of Contemporary Art, Anchorage, AK, 2014, by Ruby Suzanna

Both of these installations took place in the back gallery guest room. ‘Dirty Panties’ was an installation I created right out college - a comment on innocence, puberty and growing up. It was also a comment on feminine cleanliness, purity, shame and the idea that naturally occurring and biologically normal female occurrences like vaginal discharge and vaginal bleeding etc. was something many women and girls keep hidden and are slightly ashamed of – exp. throwing your soiled underwear away in a public bathroom, hiding your panties in the bottom of the hamper, and the old saying of ‘never go out wearing dirty underwear in case something happens and the doctors and nurses may see them if you’re hurt’ - as if that’s something to worry about in those instances. The show became a metaphor for the shame we carry with us and keep hidden - our basic humanity conflicting with our outward portrayals. The exhibition featured a curtain of dirty underwear, and dirty underwear scattered all over the floor overflowing from hampers and wash bins with their soiled crotches on full display. I gathered old underwear from my female community and altered them with blood, food coloring, yogurt, and cottage cheese to mimic typical discharge. The back wall of the gallery featured a black and white film of my niece who was about 7 or 8 at the time in a white, frilly dress swinging on the swings and also playing in the sand box with a pair of adult underwear grinding handfuls of sand and mud into the crotch of the panties. Not very many people actually entered the gallery - as to get in you had to walk through the curtain of panties - but you could still watch the film through the negative spaces in the curtain.

‘Bedchamber’ was an installation I created while I was suffering from pretty deep depression and addiction issues. There was a time in my life where I felt like I was in bed so much I was creating a divot or impression in it. And that’s how that installation came into being. At the time I hadn’t heard of or seen Tracey Emins piece ‘My Bed’ that was created in 1998. If I had I may have not created my piece at all. The back guest room gallery is almost shaped like a hallway - long and skinny - with this piece I put the bed on the far back wall and arranged the wall hangings etc. on an angle so it felt like you were falling into the bed. I cut a hole in the bed in the shape of my body so it looked as though someone had laid in the same spot for years. I used very minimal projections to make the bed and parts of the room slightly glow. I carpeted the room and hung wallpaper. The room was scattered with trash, laundry, cigarettes, prescription bottles etc. Bedchamber was a way for me to communicate with myself about how I was living my life and a sort of plea with myself to get out of it. It took many years after that exhibition to find recovery.

Experiment 0.01, Out North Gallery, Anchorage, AK, 2019, by Ruby Suzanna — *Experiment 0.01*, Out North Gallery, Anchorage, AK, 2019, by Ruby Suzanna

Can you tell us about some of your recent installation projects?

I have been interested in using inflatables in combination with projections and light for quite a few years - but I hadn’t ever taken the time or opportunity to explore it. I think inflation and inflatable sculpture is a very cheap and impactful way to take up large spaces and make them interactive and interesting. One of the challenges is you need a large space to actually build them! You need a lot of floor or studio space, so I usually need flexibility to be in whatever venue I’m creating the work inside of in order to build the work. This is true for most of my recent work. The more time I can occupy the space and create the work in its final environment the more transformative, immersive, experimental and detailed I can be. These are all aspects of creating I value and strive for. But I have found that is usually pretty unrealistic for most spaces as you need to accommodate for other artists, events and space uses.

My most recent work can best described as ‘light bubbles’ I’ve been creating giant inflatables (bubbles) and inviting small audience groups to enter into them for a short period of time. During that time I will project 360 animations on to the outside of the translucent bubble so the audience is completely enveloped in light and imagery. I’ve also been collaborating with local musicians like NRRTH and Sophia Street - they provide beautiful and unique soundscapes and songs for me to respond to and edit my 360 projections to. I’ve been calling these pieces ‘Experiments’ so that I don’t attach a lot of preciousness or importance on them while I’m making them. They truly are experiments for me - and I’ve been trying to allow myself to fail while making them so that I can hopefully find what’s possible. I truly don’t know what’s going to happen or how these pieces are going to turn out usually until the day they are finished, which is usually the day that the audience is invited to view and experience them.

Are you able to share anything about the process involved in the conception, planning and execution of your performance/installation works?

I think I’ve already gone into this quite a bit in my previous answers but I can say that when I’m making new work it’s very temporal and ephemeral. It goes up and gets ripped down never to be recreated again. When MTS Gallery was still around they had these OPEN/CLOSE events and for those events there was usually a performative element at them. These were ‘One Time Only’ events and I really cut my teeth creating performance work for them. Bruce Farnsworth and the invitations and support I got from him to create at these events really shaped how I create work to this day.

When I’m making a new work I really ‘move in’ to whatever space I’m creating for. I usually eat lots of sushi and cookies and drink lots coffee and kombucha and pretty much spend 12-14 hours in the space every day until the work is done – which could be anywhere from a week to a month. Performers come by and we have rehearsals, designers come by and we discuss problems and solutions, and friends and colleagues come by and help me do things I can’t do by myself and the rest of the time I spend alone in the space usually staring at nothing. Because the piece usually only happens one time, and it usually lasts only fleetingly I really try to capture those moments in their very best light and there is always more to do. I never want to be at the closing and rip down of a show and feel like if I had just stayed one or two more hours and ironed the curtains or tested the mechanism etc. the show and experience for the audience could’ve been better. Nothing is ever perfect and you can never get every detail done but I always like I try as hard as I can for each show to feel like a complete and detailed experience for the audience. I want them to feel immersed in the work as completely as possible. When I’m working in this way I also try to make sure I’m getting plenty of sleep and rest. I don’t do ‘all-nighters’ or anything like that. My brain and creativity rested, watered and fed is more effective then any amount of hours spent exhausted and hungry. So the process for me has to stay balanced. I find solutions come easier that way.

The plans for my work seem to almost always have been forming in great detail sort of behind the scenes of my mind. While I’m making them I rarely feel like I have a road map but looking back I usually see the landmarks I had along the way - images I had been collecting, skills I had been researching and nurturing, objects I have been collecting etc. On almost EVERY SINGLE project, installation, performance and show I have created I have been certain at one point or multiple points that it wouldn’t come together, that I had no idea what I was doing, that I didn’t have enough time and I always considered cancelling them multiple times before opening. Bruce Farnsworth when he ran MTS Gallery talked me off the ledge multiple times. Every project has had a moment or days of pure dread where I look down the barrel and it all feels completely impossible. In fact I even thought about cancelling this exhibition I had scheduled for May feeling secret relief when Covid came along and cancelled it for me. It’s part of the process for me. I almost never know what I’m doing or how I’m going to pull it off, I never feel like I have the time, skills or resources to get the show up and done. I have learned over time to allow that fear to help drive me forward on a project - to allow for it to help me and motivate me to get to work, to ask for help, to research and experiment and make a plan. I don’t know if recommend pure fear and anxiety as a motivator for other artists and creators but it does seem to be the way I go about it.

Experiment 0.02, Anchorage Museum, Anchorage, AK, 2019, by Ruby Suzanna — *Experiment 0.02*, Anchorage Museum, Anchorage, AK, 2019, by Ruby Suzanna

How do you like collaborating with musicians or other performers?

I couldn’t make the work I make without other artists and collaborators. I am completely dependent on the talents of others to bring my work to life. I always need help, I always need inspiration and I always need collaborators. That doesn’t mean I’m very good at it, or that it comes naturally or that there isn’t conflict and tension and miscommunication. That is always there. I’m not always graceful, or open, or easy to get along with - but I’m working on it. I hope I am at least getting better at it. Collaborating with local musicians is very new for me, I’ve always in the past used music that’s already been recorded or created from more mainstream artists. Musicians are fascinating and inspiring to work with and it comes with all kinds of different challenges then say collaborating with an actor, dancer, or designer. I have found that collaborating with musicians is incredibly inspiring and unique - the artistic language is very different. And music is central to the work I create - it’s the mood and it’s really the foundation and building blocks from which it all springs.

I love collaborating with dancers and performers. I am so inspired by them. I also am very intimidated by the process even after all of these years... I’ve studied Dance and Acting and have performed a bit myself but usually the artists I work with have far surpassed me in their skill level. They are professionals, and they are also looking to me to guide them. It feels like when I am leading a rehearsal with a group of performers that I’m on stage and it’s opening night and have forgotten all of my lines! It’s terrifying! I only have these vague ideas of what I want and how we can go about getting it out and on the stage. It’s something I really want to get better at. The performers I work with though have always been very willing and eager and understanding - and we are usually able to figure it out and get into a groove of creation. I try to bring my most honest and kind self to each rehearsal - and I try to bring all of my attention to the task at hand. I’m hoping to continue to collaborate with choreographers, dancers and performers in the coming years and to support them in their craft by creating elaborate settings and worlds for them to be immersed in and guide their audiences into.

Spanning painting, printmaking, performance art, production and costume design, you cover a range of media in your practice. How do these different ways of working influence one another?

Printmaking is where my journey began but I haven’t pulled a print in years. Prints draw you in - there is almost a mystery and alchemy about the images you create when pulling prints. It’s also counter-intuitive, everything comes out backwards and in its opposite. It’s labor intensive, time consuming, precise and repetitive. All of these qualities in printmaking have created a base from which I work - it’s kind of prepped me for the frustration, tediousness and surprise of all the other mediums I work in. Working in production, set, costume and projection design has really been something that has come out of necessity from creating my own work. Unfortunately I can never pay the craftsman, artisans, designers and performers what they deserve and sometimes I can’t pay them anything at all. I have been very lucky and I am eternally grateful to all of the people who have donated their time and energy to creating work together and with me. I have never made a profit off of any show I have ever done – or paid myself, and all grant money, ticket sales and payment I have ever received has gone into the materials and fees directly associated with the work. But because of this I’ve had to do my own costumes, my own scenic designs, etc. and I will say that doing the work yourself does help you when you’re creating your production plans, your budgets and your schedules because you are armed with more knowledge about what it takes. Having that knowledge also tends to head off conflict in the collaboration process because you have an understanding of what you are asking of people, and how realistic those asks are. It also helps to manage your own expectations and what is reasonable which gives you a clearer vision of what kind of work to expect from your collaborators and co-creators and you can adjust the overall vision and show accordingly.

Can you tell us anything about what you have planned for your exhibition at IGCA, which was originally scheduled for this month but, due to Covid-19, has been rescheduled to January 2021?

I wish I could! I know that I will be working again with inflation, projections, soundscape and installation. I would also like to if possible throw in some performative elements. I’m currently 8.5 months pregnant and so I think this upcoming show in January will be very interesting and I will have to adjust my process of creation quite a bit as I’ll have a little one to look after while I try to create and install. This is a new journey for me and I’m excited but also nervous how this will effect my process - I’m sure the terror and certainty of not being able to finish will be even more pronounced then before!

How do you spend your time when not working on art?

I work in television production and that can be all consuming at times. I’ve been on the production team creating the show Life Below Zero for the past 6 years. I also just purchased a home in Hiland Valley and my partner and I have been trying to get settled and moved in - the home needs major work and renovations and although I can’t say I’ve helped a ton, it is still a lot of work. I’m also as I mentioned working on creating a baby and I think that will also become an additional full time job once we get to meet them out here in the world with us. I am currently 2.5 years sober from drugs and alcohol - I mention it here because it has had a huge impact on my life and my creative energy and pursuits. It hasn’t fixed everything, and it wasn’t a magic solution to all my problems or creative struggles and roadblocks but it has given me clarity, and perspective. I still waste time and money but a lot less and on different things - and I will say that showing up for myself, showing up for others and staying true to my commitments is easier.

How can we find you on social media and the web?

I am terrible at maintaining an online website and presence. I need to work on it. Perhaps during this quarantine I will create my website.

I do post some of my work on Instagram @rubysuzannaprojects - feel free to follow me there and check out past projects as well.

———

See videos of Ruby’s recent work by accessing the links below:

PEARL, The Church of Love Spenard, 2017

Experiment 0.01, Out North Gallery, 2019

Experiment 0.02 Featuring NRRTH, Anchorage Museum, 2019

Apoptosis PCD (Performance as part of New Dances), University of Alaska Anchorage Main Stage, 2013

Members Exhibition Window Displays

April 28, 2020 Karinna Gomez

Since we closed the gallery to the public in mid-March due to covid-19, we have been rotating nearly all of the artworks included in our 2020 Members Exhibition in the gallery windows. A handful of artworks were logistically difficult to install on our display racks and so they didn’t make into the window displays, but all of the artworks can be viewed in our artist feature blog posts from the last month highlighting every member artist included in the exhibition, so make sure you check that out too. If you are interested in purchasing, go to our online shop. Here is a selection of images of our March/April 2020 window displays, click on the individual picture for more detail.

National Volunteer Month

April 20, 2020 Karinna Gomez

The IGCA is a non-profit and primarily volunteer-run organization. We have a volunteer board of directors and volunteers keep the gallery open (during non-pandemic times of course) by gallery sitting throughout each month. The IGCA could not exist without our generous, dedicated, kind and talented volunteers.

April is National Volunteer Month and, in celebration, we have prepared a series of profiles featuring many of our regular volunteers so that you can learn more about these fabulous people in our community! We hope you enjoy reading these Q&A profiles and, when we re-open to the public, you can visit the gallery to meet our wonderful volunteers in person. We are truly lucky that they are part of the IGCA.

Thank you to all of our volunteers for your time and involvement with the gallery, and a special thank you to those that took the time to share your stories and insights with us all through the Q&A! ❤️

Kelly Brabec

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I grew up in the Midwest among farms and fertile soils. After college, and without hesitation, I moved to Nome, Alaska for work, wisdom, and wonder. More than 20 years have passed and I am still in awe of the Last Frontier's magnetic pull in my life and in my heart. Currently, my spouse and I are exploring Anchorage as our new home after taking a couple of years off to travel, reconnect, and cultivate the lives we've been given.

How long have you been volunteering for the IGCA? Why did you choose to become an IGCA volunteer?

I've been volunteering at IGCA for six months and deeply enjoy my time at the gallery surrounded by beautiful art created by beautiful people. I believe art is everywhere and for everybody. IGCA is a space where connection happens and sharing occurs, revealing and reinforcing creative communities and authentic collaborations. I'm into this kind of thing so, naturally, I wanted to be a part of it.

Are you involved in any other arts organizations or non-profits in Anchorage or elsewhere?

I also volunteer with the Anchorage Concert Association and am a member of KNBA's Community Advisory Board. On Monday nights I'm behind the mic at KONR-LP / 106.1 FM / Out North Radio hosting my show, Whisper & Roar, playing a little bit of this and a little bit of that for a little bit of everyone.

Are you an artist? If so, what media do you work in and what is your artwork like?

I'm not a professionally educated or trained artist but I've always been attracted to vivid creativity, incorporating it into my life in a variety of ways. As a kid, I taught myself to draw cartoons and make storyboards. As a teen, my artistic expression was steered in the direction of thrifting and vintage clothing. During these years I found a silver-blue, 1950's American Tourister Cosmetic Case and have been storing my art supplies in it ever since. In college, I would purposely spend some weekends in my room painting, listening to Ani DiFranco, and drinking wine. I was working toward a Communications major, so creativity came in the forms of video, audio, and film projects as well. As of now, I still drink wine but my art has been on a smaller scale. A sketchbook and blank notecards, some ink pens, and my iPhone camera.

I appreciate the reach art has. I grew up in a big family; resourcefulness, creativity, and self-expression were valued and encouraged. Essential.

I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Natalie Chomyk-Daniels

Can you tell us a little about your background?

Natalie grew up in Ohio and lived there until the age of about 26. In school she majored in art and minored in art education and went on to teach high school art in Ohio. She then moved to Alaska, drawn by the outdoors, and ended up staying. Natalie has since lived in Anchorage with a brief time outside for about 5 years when she taught papermaking at the Southern Oregon University in Ashland. She returned to Alaska in 2017.

How long have you been volunteering for the IGCA? Why did you choose to become an IGCA volunteer?

Natalie has been a volunteer with the gallery since it moved to its current location on D Street. She was involved with the renovation of the current space and says that it was really exciting to be part of the gallery’s physical transformation. She says there were a number of artists involved in renovating the gallery, which used to be a flower shop and then a restaurant, and it was inspiring to watch these artists harness their skills to transform the space into a gallery.

Gallery sitting can often be very quiet and solitary. What do you like about gallery sitting?

Natalie says that she values the dedicated time to be present in the gallery where she can really focus on the artwork on display. She remarks that being able to just immediately shift her thinking to art when she enters the gallery is what she loves about gallery sitting. Interacting with the people that come to visit is also a real joy for her.

Do you have a favorite IGCA exhibition?

She has enjoyed all of the recent shows, but was really taken with the June 2019 exhibition Birds on the Edge: Dynamic Boundaries. Natalie’s love of birds as well as the thought-provoking artworks exploring the birds of Alaska made this show memorable for her.

What do you love about Anchorage?

Natalie says she appreciates the diversity of Anchorage and loves being surrounded by the mountains.

Are you an artist? If so, what media do you work in and what is your artwork like?

Papermaking is Natalie's focus right now. She is fascinated by plants that are indigenous to an area. Papermaking allows her to combine her love of hiking, running and observing nature with art through the physical harvesting of plants while outdoors and incorporating them into whatever is conceptually involved in her life at that time. While she finds all plants enjoyable to work with in all stages of their life cycles, when asked if she has a favorite local plant to work with, she says rhubarb! The fibers are very strong and it is a fun plant to experiment with.

What have you been doing hunkering-down at home?

Natalie has been busy harvesting plants for future papermaking projects as an excuse to get out into the outdoors in the local areas.

Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself with the IGCA community?

Natalie was instrumental in helping found dog parks in Anchorage! She and 5 other women that used to walk their dogs in the APU area got together and decided that they should have a place for dogs to gather like people had in other states. The first one they founded was the University Lake Dog Park at APU and the second was the Connors Bog Dog Park. She has even made paper with dog fur and has done workshops with dog park goers to learn to make paper with their dogs’ fur :)

Ann Gray

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I was born in India but by the age of three I moved to England with my mother. A year later my father joined us and we started a new life in London. My childhood in London was very “normal”. I went through the milestones of Primary School, Grammar School, Sunday school, piano lessons, a new brother! I always loved Art and would get the bus into London mainly to visit the Tate Gallery. Then came college in Brighton, Sussex. I studied Art and education with the thought of becoming a teacher.

While a student I met my late husband Ken Gray who was studying civil engineering. Then he too became drawn to art and left his civil engineering job for Art School. We came to Anchorage in 1981 with our family because of an opening for Ken at UAA. It is amazing how one thing leads to another.

How long have you been volunteering for the IGCA?

I have been volunteering at IGCA for many years, but most regularly since I retired from teaching, ten years ago. The Gallery has been part of my life since Dave Felker started it back in the 80s. The location has moved around town, but it remains very important in providing a non-commercial space for artists’ shows, workshops and the Arts community in general.

Gallery sitting can often be very quiet and solitary. What do you like about gallery sitting?

Yes, gallery sitting can be a very solitary time. I usually take a backpack loaded with a variety of potential activities: a camera, a sketchpad, a book to read, a sandwich etc. just in case! The first thing I do is to enjoy the opportunity to look at the art without distraction. I also enjoy the sun as it often plays through the windows, reflections and the changing street activity (sometimes taking photos).

Do you have a favorite IGCA exhibition?

A show that stood out to me was David Pettibone’s exhibit of his large paintings of subsistence whale hunting. I was fascinated by the details and skill that he put into his paintings. I really enjoy all the shows, but I also particularly enjoy printmaking shows.

Do you have a funny or interesting story to share that involves the gallery (gallery sitting or otherwise)?

A funny story? I don’t have any one funny story, but I do enjoy talking to the people that come into the Gallery, especially if they are the exhibiting artists.

Are you involved in any other arts organizations or non-profits in Anchorage or elsewhere?

Other Arts organizations that I am involved with, apart from gallery sitting, include volunteering with Anchorage Story Works. This a nonprofit organization that supports educators and high school students who are interested in developing story telling skills.

What do you love about Anchorage?

It took a while for Anchorage to grow on me. After many years I have changed and Anchorage has blossomed. I now enjoy its large town feel, which has the intimacy of a small town. It has a vibrant arts community with galleries and theatres both big and small, and live music. There is so much talent right here! Anchorage also has easy access to trails and the beautiful outdoors and wilderness. People here seem to appreciate both and I’m happy to live here.

Are you an artist? If so, what media do you work in and what is your artwork like?

Am I an artist? The term artist has always been a broad term in my mind. I feel like one sometimes since I do make images, photos, and prints. I have always enjoyed printmaking and have exhibited in IGCA group shows.

What have you been doing hunkering-down at home?

My behavior has been scattered, but I have been organizing some family photos, taking photos to make funny books for my granddaughter and I have also enjoyed making bread too.

Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself with the IGCA community?

I appreciate having the opportunity to gallery sit and have a close and quiet view of the art. Of course it is great when we have visitors coming in and I hope that the word gets out to draw in more members of the public to the Gallery.

Dianne Gillis-Robinson

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I was raised in an Air Force family. I had lived in seven US States and Japan by the time I graduated from high school, in a little farming town of Limestone, Maine. Of my sixty three fellow graduating seniors, I also participated in the potato harvest and worked on a combine harvester separating rocks from potatoes. Graduating from such a small community school, I did not have the opportunity to develop an art portfolio, but I did illustrate some of the yearbook. My greatest desire was to attend art school after graduation, but due to a generous offer from my parents to attend university and study anything BUT art, I obtained a B.S. in Marketing.

How long have you been volunteering for the IGCA? Why did you choose to become an IGCA volunteer?

I have been volunteering for about a year, after returning to Alaska for the third time. This is my first volunteer opportunity relating to art, having volunteered in a variety of organizations like Big Brothers/Big Sisters to starting a non-profit organization some fifteen years ago. Art and supporting the arts are my focus now, so volunteering at IGCA was a natural fit.

Gallery sitting can often be very quiet and solitary. What do you like about gallery sitting?

I actually enjoy the four hours that I have to enjoy the exhibitions, explore what I think the artist is conveying and to meet fellow supporters of the arts when they visit. On days when we don’t have many visitors, the quiet of the gallery allows me to read a book, sketch or just daydream.

Do you have a favorite IGCA exhibition?

I enjoyed volunteering during the Stephen Gray exhibit. Seeing the varied reactions and impressions from visitors and watching how they engaged with his art was exciting to see. I feel that each exhibit gifts a little insight into the artist and art itself so it is difficult to choose my favorite!

Do you have a funny or interesting story to share that involves the gallery (gallery sitting or otherwise)?

This winter had a few cold snaps so wearing my mittens and heavy boots while volunteering was a uniquely Anchorage experience. By the next time I volunteered, Joe had done a fine job of repairing the heating, but I was dressed for the North Slope so I was feeling a little “tropical” that day!

Are you involved in any other arts organizations or non-profits in Anchorage or elsewhere?

Because I divide my time between Anchorage and our farm in Blacksburg, Virginia, I belong to a regional arts organization there. I also am a member of the Alaska Artist Guild.

What do you love about Anchorage?

So, because I have moved around so often (seventeen times so far) and never lived anywhere longer than seven years, I consider Anchorage my home. My son was born here and my daughter began kindergarten an Northern Lights ABC back when it was in Spenard. I love how Anchorage embraces the darkness of our winter months with lights and festivals. And I love how Anchorage attracts people from around the world and how their stories and backgrounds have made this city a little quirky but wildly interesting.

Are you an artist? If so, what media do you work in and what is your artwork like?

Yes, (big happy sigh), I am an artist. Finally. After years of fitting the odd sketch or painting into a busy life, I am now able to devote myself full time to my practice of oil painting. I am still developing a consistent style and have a lot of artistic exploration in my future!

What have you been doing hunkering-down at home?

I’ve been nursing my first sourdough starter along and it is named “Vincent van Dough”. I have not been able to paint recently but have been establishing some veggies using the Kratky Method of Passive Hydroponics. I think I’ll be able to pick up my brushes again when my baby lettuces are about two inches high. 

Deborah Hansen

Can you tell us a little about your background?

While Anchorage has been home since 1982, I’ve also lived in California, Texas, Massachusetts, and Paris. My BA is from Wellesely College and MBA from Stanford University. I’m planning to apply to the BFA program at UAA this coming fall.

How long have you been volunteering for the IGCA? Why did you choose to become an IGCA volunteer?

The IGCA is an important part of our arts community and I felt that it was important to contribute by volunteering. I’ve been volunteering for a year since I retired.

Gallery sitting can often be very quiet and solitary. What do you like about gallery sitting?

When it’s quiet, gallery sitting is a great time to actually look at the art show and think. I also like reading. When it’s busy, I like talking to the tourists about their trips.

Do you have a favorite IGCA exhibition?

I loved the experimental drawing show that Graham Dane curated and really enjoyed Don Mohr’s piece on doing a drawing. He asked questions that I often ask myself.

Do you have a funny or interesting story to share that involves the gallery (gallery sitting or otherwise)?

The funniest thing are the questions that the tourists ask; one is considered an expert by virtue of sitting behind a desk. I was once asked how to draw better.

Are you involved in any other arts organizations or non-profits in Anchorage or elsewhere?

I do volunteer for another non profit and support my husband’s extensive volunteer activities.

What do you love about Anchorage?

The best part about Anchorage is the community and sense of neighborhood. I also love the light and the landscape.

Are you an artist? If so, what media do you work in and what is your artwork like?

I am a sculptor; my work is fairly representational in wood, ceramic and mixed media - found material, metal and fabric. I’ve been very interested in gold leaf lately.

What have you been doing hunkering-down at home?

Hunkering down has been good for housecleaning and getting art done. I’ve enjoyed the quiet time; I’ve been thinking about how I spend my time.

Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself with the IGCA community?

Anchorage has a vibrant arts community and we shouldn’t take all the parts for granted from UAA, APU, the high schools, grade schools and the galleries and artists. I appreciate all the support that I’ve received from artists here, everything from advice to equipment loans.

Mary Kancewick

Mary has been a member of, and a volunteer for, IGCA, for going on a decade now. A poet, she tapped artists she met through IGCA for cover art and for art to separate the sections of her recently published poetry collection Be-hooved (University of Alaska Press, 2019). She held her well-attended book release at the gallery, noting that many poems had been written at the volunteer desk. Mary writes as “Mar Ka,” and former Alaska Poet Laureate Tom Sexton has said of her work: “Mar Ka’s poems throw light even when the subject is dark.”

Of her own work Mary says:

“The art of poetry, like other arts, including the visual arts, is an exploration of individual experience towards approaching something universal. I think of the recent collection, Be-hooved, as a layered spiritual memoir, a testament to hope before change, persistence before confusion, and empathy before difference.“

Six years ago, in honor of her daughter’s sixteenth birthday, Mary and her daughter, sharing their interests in poetry and photography, put together a poetry-and-photography show in what was then the IGCA guest gallery. Mary hopes that someday she and her now adult daughter will repeat that memorable experience.

In these meantimes, she writes and skis.

Discover more about Mary and her work at www.markapoet.com.

Linda Lucky

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I’m a former New Yorker. I taught Art for 30 years in the public school system on Long Island (one year upstate NY). I retired in 1998. Spent four years traveling a lot. Then came the provocative email from my daughter in January 2002. Would I come to AK for just one year? I said I’ll get back to you. In 3 ½ minutes I emailed back Yes! I can do this. I had traveled up here 8 times visiting, so I knew what I was getting into. As soon as I landed, I hooked up with the artists’ community. This is where I knew my soul would be happiest.

How long have you been volunteering for the IGCA? Why did you choose to become an IGCA volunteer?

I’ve been interested in the IGCA since when I first visited my daughter in Anchorage in the late 90’s. The name alone intrigued me. INTERNATIONAL GALLERY OF CONTEMPORARY ART. I checked the Yellow Pages and found it on Arctic Blvd. I don’t remember what was on the walls but it definitely gave off a heavy gallery vibe. It was for me! I joined a month after I moved here, so I could be in their upcoming member show right away! This would be my gallery.

Gallery sitting can often be very quiet and solitary. What do you like about gallery sitting?

The best thing about sitting is seeing/meeting people who love and support art! And to see the new show quietly without a crowd. What really makes sitting special is when the artist shows up who made the show! You get a special private tour then!

Do you have a favorite IGCA exhibition?

There have been so many great shows along the way. These stand out in my memory: Esther Hong’s color portrait drawings back in Dec 2007, Stephen Gray’s “Guilty Pleasures” from 2019 and a group show: “Mother”, curated by Esther Hong, 2015. I am honored to have had a piece in the Mother show. And of course I think my dog show in the Guest Room in 2007 was exceptional. :)

Do you have a funny or interesting story to share that involves the gallery (gallery sitting or otherwise)?

My favorite memory is sitting the gallery on Saturday the 7th of April, 2012, the day Anchorage broke the snowfall record in the city!! We just needed one more inch to break the record. I was rooting for it!! It snowed like crazy from early in the morning and never stopped, to my delight!! By 4pm, I knew it had fallen the needed inch! In my fantasy, the snow and I were in it together to break that record! lol

Are you involved in any other arts organizations or non-profits in Anchorage or elsewhere?

I’ve been a volunteer docent at the Anchorage Museum since January 2003. My favorite tours to lead are Art and the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center. Also I am the President of the 35+ Singles Dance Club, a small non-profit in Anchorage for many years. It’s a charming social club that features live music for the singles crowd with some open dances for married couples.

What do you love about Anchorage?

I love that Anchorage is so easy to navigate. It’s a manageable city. Things are close together. I love its neighborhoods of hipness, diversity, and it’s outdoor fun. And most of all I love its full and talented, ever growing arts community!

Are you an artist? If so, what media do you work in and what is your artwork like?

Yes, I am an artist. I draw, I paint, I take pictures, I build papier mache dogs, I write and perform monologues. I would say my art is upbeat. My monologues are funny.

What have you been doing hunkering-down at home?

I am enjoying hunkering down, love not having anywhere I have to be, but it’s so surreal! The only way I know what day it is, is by garbage pick up and the TV schedule! :) I’ve been lax with structure. Sometimes stay in pajamas all day!

My hunker down project has been to photograph my neighbor’s snow sculpture called Bunnyhenge in her front yard, in all the stages of melt. I post my fav pics on Instagram.

As for indoor activities, it’s about cleaning and digging through finding stuff and making art of course.

Nathan Perry

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I am originally from Great Falls, Montana. A third generation Montanan, one of three boys. My parents grew up in very small, rural communities in the state and I was always exposed to nature and the outdoors. My Father traveled and did hearing testing in rural communities around Montana for the young and Seniors and would take us on his travels at times. We got to hang out on Hutterite Colonies, Montana Native Tribal Agencies, Military Bases and all sorts of communities that I found fascinating. I think that experience really brought forth a desire to travel and explore. Both of my parents were very artistic. My father was a photographer, glass blower, wood carver and a band drummer (he passed away twelve years ago) and my mother is an interior decorator, painter and pastel artist who has been showing regularly in art galleries around Montana. They were very encouraging for me to pursue art and music so I was always drawing and playing make shift drums on pots and pans growing up.

How long have you been volunteering for the IGCA? Why did you choose to become an IGCA volunteer?

I have been volunteering for about three years. I have always felt a desire to volunteer. I volunteered at a Women's Shelter, an AIDS Hospice and Soup Kitchen before coming to IGCA. I felt compelled to help out in a community setting that brought Art to the forefront. I am also very inspired with the Artwork and Artists Statements that the Gallery has on display and find it a wonderful space for ideas and provoking thought.

Gallery sitting can often be very quiet and solitary. What do you like about gallery sitting?

I often bring a Sketchbook or Drawing to work on while I am at the Gallery. I also watch YouTube videos of Art Tutorials or Art History Series. I also enjoy sauntering around and looking at all of the artwork that the gallery has on display. The thing I like most about gallery sitting is getting to talk with visitors (particularly visitors who are on vacation in Alaska) and hear what their views are about Alaskan Art.

Do you have a favorite IGCA exhibition?

I often find the Photography Exhibits to be my favorite though they are ALL GOOD! I think photography represents and really encapsulates the actual subject matter in ways that most people can understand and presents it in new and interesting ways that really enhances how we view the world around us.

Are you involved in any other arts organizations or non-profits in Anchorage or elsewhere?

AIGA for Graphic Designers and I help out sometimes with Sevigny Gallery and Dos Manos Gallery.

What do you love about Anchorage?

The population size of the City, the fact that it has constant activities going on during all seasons of the Year, the People, the character and uniqueness of the People and the CIty, the proximity to the Forest, Sea and Mountains, the trails, the wild life, the Art Scene, the Music Scene, the pubs, the restaurants. LOVE IT!!!

Are you an artist? If so, what media do you work in and what is your artwork like?

Yes I am an Artist who works primarily with Scratchboard, Graphite and Acrylics. My Artwork ranges from Realistic Figurative Representation to Non Objective Abstraction and everything in between. I am inspired by the Outdoors, Portraiture, Spiritual Themes and Abstract Expressionism.

What have you been doing hunkering-down at home?

I have been working from home as a Graphic Designer for The Alaska Club and taking on hobbies I have always wanted to do. I am learning Ukulele and Harmonica and trying to learn how to Juggle and shuffle cards. Also been watching a lot of AMAZING YouTube videos from AMAZING ARTISTS and MUSICIANS along with listening to plenty of Podcasts. I also love Classic Movies and have been watching quite a few of them. Also listening to Audiobooks, currently on Pride and Prejudice and A Course in Miracles. Been also doing a lot of Hiking and Winter Biking and learning how to to make Tortilla Shells from scratch (not as easy as it looks).

Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself with the IGCA community?

My motto is learn from the Masters and focus on your purpose for Creating.

Mikhail Siskoff

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I grew up in Chugiak Alaska near Peter's Creek and I moved to downtown Anchorage at 21 when I got my first professional job.

How long have you been volunteering for the IGCA?

3 years, I think?

Gallery sitting can often be very quiet and solitary. What do you like about gallery sitting?

When I'm gallery sitting, I like to bring along a small box of magazines, my cutting mat, and my x-acto knife. Working in the gallery space, surrounded by all the great work by my fellow members is inspiring but also I like the change of scenery from working at home. It can be very quiet at times but a welcome distraction when visitors come and I can answer questions about the exhibit or about what the heck I'm doing with these old magazines.

Do you have a favorite IGCA exhibition?

The members exhibition is always the one I look forward to the most because I get to see a little bit of what everyone has been working on. I think the most memorable for me so far was Stephen Gray's exhibition the World's Forgotten Boy.

What do you love about Anchorage?

There are a lot of things to love about Anchorage (I write about them in my blog) but particularly, I admire our big city ambition. I think IGCA plays an important role in fulfilling that ambition.

Are you an artist? If so, what media do you work in and what is your artwork like?

I'm a visual artist, currently, I'm focused on collage. My work varies from surreal to dada but is consistently vintage with materials primarily from the '60s and '70s.

What have you been doing hunkering-down at home?

I just finished a commission for a charity album for Independent Music News, they're raising money to buy meals for employees of the National Health Service in the UK.

Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself with the IGCA community?

I just want to thank the staff and volunteers for hard work and innovation to exhibit the member's show during this crisis. You've all gone above and beyond and the results are truly impressive. I think I speak for the entire membership when I say, thank you.

Sharon Trager

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I grew up in Detroit, Michigan. My love of art started in High School and gave me my first sense of direction and purpose. I attended Sienna Heights College and Eastern Michigan University earning a BFA with a major in Drawing.

After graduating and a bit of a disillusionment with the employment possibilities I went back to school earning teaching degree in Art Education. I started teaching in Michigan as my wandering spirit drew me westward. I taught in Iowa, Nebraska, and eventually Idaho where I met my husband who began a conversation involving moving to Alaska to teach in the “bush”. Shortly after we flew to Fairbanks to attend a teaching job fair and landed a “couple” teaching positions in the Village of Goodnew Bay, part of the Lower Kuskoskwim School District. The experience of living and working in Goodnews to this day is one of my most treasured experiences.

I began teaching Elementary Art for the Anchorage School District in the mid 90’s and at the same time working and exhibiting my own work. When I retired from teaching, the Gallery had been on my radar as someplace I wanted to contribute. I had always appreciated those who volunteered when I was working.

Gallery sitting can often be very quiet and solitary. What do you like about gallery sitting?

Volunteering is usually a quiet time. I bring things to read, paperwork I need to do, sketch book and a snack. I usually take the opportunity to really spend time with the work on exhibit.

Do you have a favorite IGCA exhibition?

I think one of my favorite exhibitions in the last year was Don Decker’s drawings. There is something about having the whole gallery filled with one person’s work that appeals to me. I get a real sense of the process, journey and feel I really get to experience the work in a satisfying way. The other exhibit that stands out is Joe Carr’s automated wall-drawing robot. It just made me smile.

What do you love about Anchorage?

I really appreciate the community in Anchorage, the artistic community especially. Being part of the gallery helps me connect with so many other artists in town that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.

Are you an artist? If so, what media do you work in and what is your artwork like?

In my own work I have worked in collage, painting, a wee bit of printmaking. The last several years I have made a push into more figurative work and painting. Before the quarantine I was participating in a weekly portrait painting group and the Life Drawing Sessions held at IGCA. This quarantine time is challenging but I do have a studio in my home so I am fortunate and I also have been participating is some zoom model time through an Austin, Texas studio which has been nice.

I’m looking forward to being able to connect with people again, whenever that may be.

Jen Wang

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I was born in China but spent most of my life in Southeast Michigan. When I was three, my dad brought my mom and I to Detroit with nothing but an education and scholarship, and we lived in a basement studio by the college. My parents have come a long way to finding peace and stability. It took me a long time to appreciate that, because I was a crazy kid. I moved around a lot and ended up here in Anchorage.

Gallery sitting can often be very quiet and solitary. What do you like about gallery sitting?

When gallery sitting I usually end up looking at the pieces, over and over. In a lot of work you'll find great details and meanings you've missed the first time, after you step away and come back with a different mind. It's very meditative to have so much time in a gallery and not feel a compulsion to stay busy, and just be there. Lots of window watching too. I love the visitors who come in and express what the work means to them, show me their own work, or straight up share their life story. It's not easy to walk into a public space and open up to a stranger like that, and is something I admire. The artwork on the walls really facilitate that too.

Do you have a favorite IGCA exhibition?

The group shows are always a really fun showcase of the different artists around town. One exhibition I enjoyed very much was Stephen Gray's "The World's Forgotten Boy" earlier this year. It was the kind of show that hits you the way a very upbeat but sad song hits and makes you feel nostalgic. I also enjoyed Lloyd Crow's unique frames and the huge scale of his work. There are a lot of powerful messages, talent, and hard work on display each month.

What do you love about Anchorage?

I love that the city is not flashy, it's somewhat busy, but not so much so that it feels your voice is swallowed up.

Are you an artist? If so, what media do you work in and what is your artwork like?

Yes. I work in oil paint and stuffed animal collages. My favorite themes are nature, and folklore and mythology. There's a lot of wisdom in both that I try to gather up and recycle.

Heidi Weiland

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I grew up in Valdez, Alaska, and promptly moved away upon graduating high school. Having never experienced the cultural joys of urban life before, I fell in love with big cities and made it my mission to live in as many as possible, including London, Montreal, Buenos Aires & São Paulo.

How long have you been volunteering for the IGCA? Why did you choose to become an IGCA volunteer?

One of the first things I did when I moved to back to Alaska 8 years was to become a volunteer at IGCA. I wanted to support the contemporary culture scene and spend more time around inspiring art.

Gallery sitting can often be very quiet and solitary. What do you like about gallery sitting?

I work online so the gallery is a great place to get work done. It's my favorite office, by far :)

Do you have a favorite IGCA exhibition?

I love the variety of work that comes through, as well as seeing how local artists interperet their experience of Alaska through their unique lens' of contemporary art.

Do you have a funny or interesting story to share that involves the gallery (gallery sitting or otherwise)?

A visitor once told me (in a thick German accent) that the IGCA is the only gallery in town where you can show a naked woman. Now, when people ask me what the IGCA is, that's what I tell them!

Are you involved in any other arts organizations or non-profits in Anchorage or elsewhere?

I work with the board of the Momentum Dance Collective and dj for ecstatic dances.

What do you love about Anchorage?

I love the combination of nature and urban life that Anchorage affords. There's so much to do and always new people to meet.

Are you an artist? If so, what media do you work in and what is your artwork like?

I love all kinds of 2D mediums. If there are colors involved, then I've played with it. I'm obsessed with making portraits, which can either look hyperreal or like colorful abstracts. I'm also a DJ and love rich soundscapes.

What have you been doing hunkering-down at home?

Serving my life coaching clients and the Anchorage community through my work. I hosted a 2 day online AK Holistic Wellness Gathering recently, which was my main COVID project. I've since taken some time off to clean the house and get outside!

Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself with the IGCA community?

The IGCA is an amazing venue and incredibly resilient. I love the work you do.

Sarah Woolley

Can you tell us a little about your background?

Grew up in Louisiana. Came to AK in ‘81.

How long have you been volunteering for the IGCA? Why did you choose to become an IGCA volunteer?

I started in 2009 when Julie was still with IGCA. I love the gallery & what it offers to Alaska.

Gallery sitting can often be very quiet and solitary. What do you like about gallery sitting?

I love being in a space so energized with artists.

Do you have a favorite IGCA exhibition?

I loved Fran Reed’s retrospective and the members shows.

Do you have a funny or interesting story to share that involves the gallery (gallery sitting or otherwise)?

Was asked if could emergency gallery sit on a day I was watching a 4 year old girl. I brought her in & since it was nap time, she curled up on that glass desk top with no pillow, blanket or teddy bear & slept like a baby. It was amazing.

Are you involved in any other arts organizations or non-profits in Anchorage or elsewhere? What do you love about Anchorage?

I volunteer for Alaska State Parks, Alaska Fish & Game, Alaska National Parks, museum, & lots of other orginizations here & there. I love the beauty & wild areas.

Are you an artist? If so, what media do you work in and what is your artwork like?

I have a pottery studio, so I work in clay. My work is random, but love making creatures.

What have you been doing hunkering-down at home?

Ski, bike, hike, studio, cook (love gourmet food!) & kittens & cocktails. Plus I’m working overtime with State of AK - essential.

Members Exhibition 2020 Artist Spotlights (Part 3/3)

April 11, 2020 Donna Carr

This is the last 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 displays, 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.

Don Mohr

Don is one of the founding members of the IGCA, and continues to volunteer on the board.

Untitled

Digital Print
18 x 12 inches
$100

Looking (Copy) (Copy)

Ink on paper
15 x 20 inches (framed)
$250

Alaska Gold (Copy) (Copy)

Ink on matboard
12 1/2 x 14 1/2 (framed)
$350

Brandon Moore

Brandon has been a member of the IGCA for about a year now, and volunteers as a gallery sitter as well. When asked where his artistic focus has been this last year, he says,

“I’ve always enjoyed working with ink and now, over the last year, I’ve been experimenting more with stippling and working with other kinds of inks. It’s become a form of meditation and exploration for me.”

Discover more about Brandon and his work on instagram - @birberous, or on his website, www.birberous.com.

Richard Murphy

Richard has been a member of the IGCA from the beginning, and shares with us some of this last years inspiration…

“This piece came from an enforced stay in Fukuoka, Japan on the southern island of Kyushu in February of 2019. The lotus ponds in winter are largely ignored, in fact this pond was clear cut of old lotus plants while I was there. These plants, and their soon demise, spoke to me of the Japanese concept of wabi sabi, of the transitory and imperfect beauty of nature.”

Find more information on Richard and his work by following him on Instagram - @instaak

Winter Lotus

Inkjet photographic print
16 x 20 inches (framed)
$250

Winter Lotus

Inkjet photographic print
16 x 20 inches (framed)
$250

Ravens and Snowflakes are not Black and White #2

Acrylic
12 x 12 inches
$335

Ravens and Snowflakes are Not Black and White

Acrylic
20 x 16 inches
$560

Monica O’Keefe

A member for 7 years, Monica shares a bit about her work and her inspiration…

“I’ve always felt the need to make things and create art, and I’ve always been drawn to the outdoors, to the beauty and quiet of natural places. Living in Alaska it’s easy to get outside and notice the things that I want to interpret in paintings. I’m intrigued by variations in scale from tiny to vast. I continue to experiment with acrylic mediums, as well as carving rubber stamps and making stencils for use with acrylic paint, to create designs based on my concept of what looks interesting.”

Discover more about Monica and her work at monicaokeefe.com

Karen Olanna

Discover more about Karen and her work by following her on Instagram - @karen.olanna.art

End of an Era

Reduction Block Print
22 x 15 inches (framed)
$150

The Heavy Side of Global Warming

Wood block print
20 x 26 inches (framed)
$175

Carlos Pereira

Carlos has been a member of the IGCA for 2 years. We asked him to tell us a little about himself and his practice…

”My art is a soliloquy of tales from personal experiences. The styles I use include abstract, landscape, and impressionism work. At the age of 6, I started learning landscape techniques with my mother, an art professor in Texas. In the last two years I have begun experimenting with abstractions, and find that I can create art that communicates my personal experiences to the viewer. Through this channel of thought, I wish to capture an audience that is intrigued by my story.”

Discover more about Carlos and his work at carlospereiraart.com or on instagram - @carlospereiraart

Shipwrecked (Copy) (Copy)

Oil on canvas
18 x 24 inches
$900

Transcendental Departure (Copy) (Copy)

Acrylic on Canvas
30 x 48 inches
$1600

Tufted Puffin

Acrylic on canvas
24x36
NFS

Nathan Perry

Nathan has been a participating artist member for 10 years, as well as a consistent volunteer. This last year he as been focusing on “moving more towards color with Acrylics and exploring Combinations of Realistic Figurative with Abstract elements.”

Discover more about Nathan and his work by visiting his Facebook page, Nathan Perry, or by following him on Instagram - @nhperry01

Miranda Petruska

Miranda has been a member for a little over a year now and has spent much of this last year expanding her audience…

“The past few months I created a website for my work which features a shop, a blog, a gallery, and an “about me” section as well as acknowledgements. I’m still learning the business side of selling art. I’ve participated in a couple of pop-up shops to sell my earrings. I paint, but only when I have time. My full-time job is raising 2 young children, taking college classes, and also working for a tribal health organization. Never a dull moment in my life, which I am grateful for.”

Visit her website, www.dichinanek.com, to discover more about Miranda and her work.

Ancestors

Acrylic on canvas
47 1/2 x 47 1/2 inches
$1,850.00

Barn Study

Oil on canvas
13.5 x 17 inches (framed)
$500

David Pettibone

David has been a member for multiple years and when asked where his creative focus has been this year, he told us “I’ve been working on large-scale narrative work but also painting small, plein air studies. These studies, I find, are an important breath of fresh air while I am deep in my studio work.”

That’s a coincidence - David and his work, WE FIND, are an important breath of fresh air.

Discover more about David and his practice on instagram - @pettibonedavid, or on his website, davidpettipone.com

Elissa Pettibone

Elissa has been a member for the last several years. You all will remember her as the former IGCA gallery manager, who couldn’t resist the pull of Homer. Over this last year, she’s been focusing her natural dye practice onto indigo. “After 10 years of working with natural dyes, I've dug even deeper into indigo. I am experimenting painting with indigo, a dye that goes through a redox reaction to color fiber. It's hard to paint fabric with a medium that oxidizes before the brush touches the fabric- leading to many experiments. Aside from experiments, I gained inspiration from a Japan trip last fall, learning traditional growing/processing/dyeing/after treatment techniques with indigo. An informative year for me and indigo!”

You can find more information on Elissa and her work at blueredyellow.org or on instagram - @blueredyellow_dyers.

Painted Indigo

Natural indigo painted on silk/linen
27" x approx. 6.5' long
$300

Elissa Pettibone_Painted Indigo_Natural indigo painted on silk_linen_detail.jpg

Tami Phelps

Discover more of Tami’s work and process on her website, tamiphelps.com

Smoked Alaska II

Cold wax and oil pigment
10 x10 inches
$185

Ice Water, Nenana I

Cold wax and oil pigment
10 x 10 inches
$185

Sisters of Chaity

Oil on Canvas
24 x 36 inches
NFS

When it is Time

oil on canvas
16x20 inches

MaryBeth Printz

MaryBeth is a new member this year, and she took the time to tell us a little about where her artistic focus has been over the last year…

“My practice has developed from classical observational painting into creating imagery that is conceptual and poetic. I am a visual raconteur who explores a variety of subjects, both personal and societal, that I weave together to express my experiences, opinions, and feelings in an imaginative realistic style. My background in classical realism is meshed with elements of graphic design learned throughout my career and my imagination to produce visual images imbued with a sense of magic.”

Discover more about MaryBeth and her work on Instagram, @mbprintzart.

J. Reto

Jay has been a member for 2 years and is currently working on 2 different series…

“These pieces represent two series I'm working on. 1) Ice Scraper Landscape Series in which principle painting is done using the tooth side of an ice scraper. 2) Reverse Portrait Series implementing German reverse glass painting techniques with mixed media on plexi.”

Untitled: Reverse Portrait Series

Mixed media
26 1/2 x 31 1/2 inches (framed)
$125

Untitled: Ice Scraper Landscape

Gesso, mixed media on paper
17 x 17 inches (framed)
$200

Wake II

Oil on canvas
15 x 30 inches
$520.00

Wake III

Oil on canvas
15 x 30 inches
$520.00

Faith Revell

Faith has been a member of the IGCA for 3 years. She shared a little about where her focus has been this last year…

“Human geography, natural phenomena and the essence of movement inform my painting. An artist residency in Denali National Park and a float in the Kenai Fjords with scientists and educators inspired new work and a new perspective on the natural world. I puzzle over how to navigate the landscape with imagination, sometimes grace, and a measure of safety. And grow daily, more aware of the din that signals a global community in peril. My work, abstract and experimental, weds heavy with light.”

Amy Robinson

Not only has Amy been a member for about 2 years, she volunteers as a gallery sitter and serves on the board as well! When asked where her creative focus has been over the last year she says…

”I have been creating abstract pieces on board and canvas using primarily acrylic paint, pastels, and collage. I am developing intentionality around shapes and techniques I use, and also trying to understand the shapes I repeatedly make and to embrace them.”

Find out more about Amy and her practice by following her on instagram - @amy_robinson_art

Stops on the Way (Copy) (Copy)

Acrylic on Canvas
36 x 36 inches
$300

Elise Rose

Shape of the Eye: Curved

Wood, paint, wire, lenses and found objects
33 x 21 x 16 inches
$300

Bullied and Heckled - Vote (Copy) (Copy)

Print
14 x 14 inches (framed)
$135

Amanda Saxton

Amanda has been a member of the gallery for about 10 years. We asked her to share a bit about herself and where her creative focus has been this year…

”This year I have concentrated on pen & ink illustrations about suffragettes. This exhibit print is in sepia on parchment to exemplify its historical context. I have had past illustrations for Environment and Natural Resources Institute, Taste of Home: Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska, and graphics for the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. I have a MFA in Art from University of Hartford and a MA from Syracuse University. I feel lucky to be in a city close to the mountains with vibrant art and music centers.”

Mikhail Siskoff

Discover more about Mikhail and his work on Instagram - @keysgoclick

Skating in the Mountains

Collage
14 x 14 inches (framed)
$200

They say dogs are color blind (I think he sees more than we do)

Collage
20 x 13 inches (framed)
$200

Christine Smith

Christine doesn’t know exactly how long she’s been a member but its “a long time!” When asked about where her creative focus has been over the last year she says

“My work can be abstract but is generally grounded in realism. Everything from experimental cold wax paintings like these to animal portraits in oil to intricate mosaic work. Lots of commissioned work is keeping me busy this year!” We are happy to hear it Christine!

Find more information about Christine and her work at www.christinebradnersmith.com

Running Red

Cold Wax
8 x 8 inches
$295

Star Anise and Licorice Root

Cold Wax
10 x 10 inches
$295

Becky Stephan

A Slice of Life

Encaustic
6x6 inches
$115

In the Flow (triptych)

Encaustic
5 x 15 inches (entire triptych)
$150

Hide and Seek

Oil on canvas
16 x 20 inches (framed)
$425

Study of kiss in Ivan's Childhood

Oil on canvas
16 x 20 inches (framed)
$425

Jen Wang

Jen has been a volunteering as a gallery sitter since last summer and shares with us a little about her process and focus this last year…

“I'm an oil painter. I start a lot of pieces and never finish them, and forget to cap my paints in the meantime. I've gotten better about it only recently, with better habits and more time spent in the painting chair. There's a lot of trust involved in making strong decisions and then allowing yourself to call a work "done." This past year was one full of blocky coloring and cartoon birch trees.”

Discover more about Jen and her work in Instagram - @amanita_house

Lee Waters

Lee has been a member for over 5 years, and she shared a bit about herself…

“In addition to being a special education teacher, I teach American Sign Language in the community. My art work is primarily based in Encaustic, mosaic sculptural pieces and fused glass jewelry. This year, in addition to spending time with my family, I dance to live music 2-3 times a month and host dinner/game night parties. Currently I am a teacher mentor in training and also a post-grad fellow at UAA.”

Visit her website, leewaters.org, to discover more about Lee and her work.

Fall Waters

Encaustic
12 x 12 inches
$150

Spring Awakening

Encaustic
12 x 12 inches
$150

Blooming with Butterfly

Stained Glass
17 x 13 inches
NFS

Deondra Welch

Deondra is a new member who has been practicing stained glass for about 25 years. This last year she been putting her shop back together after moving back to Alaska nearly 4 years ago.

“The piece that I am submitting is the first one that I've done in 4 years and now belongs to my Aunt. Most of my work is made as gifts but I do plan on displaying more of it and possibly selling some in the future. I don't have a website or Insagram yet but that is something else that I will be working on in the coming months.” Everyone look out for her on instagram in the near future and give her some love.

Sheila Wyne

Sheila, a member of many years, took the time to share with us some of her inspiration and process…

“My work reflects a personal view that an artist’s perspective is applicable in many venues. The media I use is as wide-ranging as the scale, scope and emotional content of each project. No material is off limits. Everything is available for the creative act. I gather the flotsam and jetsam from Northern communities – objects, words, stories, attitudes, ideas and events. I dismantle and deconstruct. Then reconfigure these remnants to find new meaning with fresh insight.”

Visit her website to find more information about Sheila and her work - www.sheilawyne.com

Collaborative Series: Squirrel Searches for Meaning

dictionary, steel
32 x 17 x 10 inches - free standing
NFS

Members Exhibition 2020 Artist Spotlights (Part 2/3)

April 2, 2020 Donna Carr

This is the second 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 displays, represent our efforts to share with you, our arts community, the vision and talents of our creative membership.

A New Stronghold

Intaglio
22 x 30 inches (unframed)
$600

Jonathan S. Green

Jonathan is a printmaker that has been a member of the IGCA for the last three years. He took the time to tell us a little about his practice…

“My research and practice is concerned with climate crisis in the era of the Anthropocene. As of late, it has been focused on the human interaction with geology - specifically the relationships between them. Meaning, a relationship in which rock and human a/effect each other. This implies a boundary between animate life and inanimate life that is more permeable than we currently imagine.“

Find more information about Jonathan and his work on instagram - @jonathansgreen

Somer Hahm

A new member, Somer is a practicing artist based in Fairbanks.

“My most recent body of work, titled "The Painted Quilt" was exhibited January 2020 at FAA's Bear Gallery. A large series of acrylic on canvas, hard edge abstractions, these paintings are directly inspired by the timeless beauty of quilt block designs. Out of this recent body of studio work grew my new artistic endeavor called the Far North Quilt Trail Project (FNQTP), a comprehensive community wide public art project that will establish a distinctly unique barn quilt trail in Fairbanks, Alaska.”

Discover more about Somer, her practice, and this ambitious project online at somerhahm.com and www.thefarnorthquilttrailproject, as well as on Instagram - @somer.hahm and @thefarnorthquilttrailproject

Friendship Star

Acrylic on canvas
12 x 12 inches (framed)

$350

Whirl Around

Acrylic on canvas
12 x 12 inches (framed)
$300

Eisbear - 11:03am, 13 February 2019 AKST (Copy)

Mixed media
23 1/2 x 23 1/2 inches (framed)
$900

Musher - Heading North (Copy)

Mixed media mosaic
23 1/2 x 12 inches (unframed, ready to hang)
$600

Annekathrin Hansen

Annekathrin has been an IGCA member since 2013. When asked to share a little bit about herself and her practice, she says…

“Nature leads me to the creation of photos, paintings, mosaics, and mixed media pieces. The design of the mixed media picture "Musher - Heading North" is based on photographs of Iditarod mushers. The mixed media piece "Eisbear - 11:03am, 13 February 2019 AKST" (Polar Bear) was created in connection to the Aiviq and Nanuq Sea Bear community exhinition at the Anchorage museum last year. The picture was generated out of a collage of several photos.”

Discover more about Annekathrin and her work at…
artwork-by-anne.com
fineartamerica.com

David Hansen

David is a new member and this last year he has focused his artistic practice on “looking at the northern landscape for ideas about function and inevitability.”

Birch Chair

Birch wood
30 x 18 inches
$850

David Hansen_Birch Chair_Birch wood_03.jpg

Deborah Hansen

Deborah is not only a long time member, she is also a practicing artist and much appreciated volunteer.

Thank You Mr. Blossfeldt; Cephalaria

Earthenware, glaze and stain
6 x 8 x 33 inches
$125

Chasing Aurora

Acrylic on canvas
16 x 12 inches
$360

Winter Beauty Summer Beauty Triptych

Acrylic
3 x 6 inches
$330

Lesley Harrison_Winter Beauty Summer Beauty Triptych_Acrylic_01.jpg

Lesley Harrison_Winter Beauty Summer Beauty Triptych_Acrylic_02.jpg

Lesley Harrison_Winter Beauty Summer Beauty Triptych_Acrylic_03.jpg

Lesley Harrison

Lesley has been a member for about 12 years. When asked to tell us a bit about her practice, she shares…

“I like to experiment and work on a theme for some time. This includes researching a topic to help me get beyond the obvious. I enjoy combining images which are not typically seen together, to add interest and tension or a surprise which enlivens the resulting image.”

Find more information about Lesley and her work on her website, www.harrisonharrison.com.

Judith Hoersting

Judith has been a member and supporter of the gallery since the very beginning. She is a regular participant in group shows as well as a great volunteer. This last year she’s been busy prepping for 2020…

“Studio work is focused on my solo October 2020 exhibition at Alaska Pacific U. Global traveling to several will provide visual excitement & challenge! Stay tuned!”

15 Feb 2020

Graphite drawing on paper
7 X 4 3/4 inches

Esther Hong

Following the Sandpiper

Solar plate intaglio monoprint
19 5/8 x 6 7/8 inches (framed)
$225

Loon--Out in the Water

Solar plate intaglio monoprint with chine-collé
19 1/2 x 7 inches (framed)
$225

Rhonda Horton

Rhonda has been a member for the last 8 years. This last year she has focused on travel and learning some new processes…

“I am an artist-printmaker who works with various materials for construction of matrixes for printing. This past year, through an artist residency with Master Printmaker Maureen Booth in Pinos Genil, Spain, I had the opportunity to learn solar plate intaglio process and book art. My work focuses on discovering shorebirds of Palmer Hay Flats through the act of drawing, solar plate, monoprinting, and book art. The shorebirds I have chosen are vulnerable and currently on Audubon AlaskaWatch List.”

Discover more about Rhonda on her website, rhondahortonart.com and on Facebook - RhondaHortonArt

Margret Hugi-Lewis

A Herbalist, A Shaman, A Magical Forest Woman

Mixed media sculpture
10 x 6 x 23 inches
$900

Leaving Paradise

Watercolor and collage on paper
17.5 x 21.5 inches (framed)
$500

Jody Jenkins

Jody is a long term IGCA member and shares a bit about what her practice and influences…

“I am ever in awe of where I live in this northern place and I am passionate about drawing. My art is created primarily for myself, documenting what I experience and think about. Though, I do like my art to tell a story of some sort, and I do at times want to share my work. I would like others to look carefully and try to figure out if there is any meaning to any of this.”

Of Stars and Stuff

Graphite
21 x 24 inches framed
NFS

The Auspicious Waters

Acrylic on canvas
24 x 24 inches
$888

Pele's Paradise

Acrylic on canvas
10 x 19 3/4 inches
$222

Dakota Jewell

Dakota is a new member at the IGCA and has been focusing on “impressionistic landscapes and representational abstract paintings” this year.

Melissa Kapelari

Melissa is a new member of 6 months, she is not only a practicing artist but a consistent volunteer as well. She shares with us what has been her focus over the last year…

“I have an experimental love for oil painting. Recently I've been dabbling in acrylic and come to love it's wild range of colors that I can't always get with oil. I’m mostly interested in bright colors, fantasy landscapes, and geometric shapes. This brings me to my current obsession with power lines. The wires form so many shapes and chaos from the cables which fascinates me.”

Discover more about Melissa and her practice on her website, melissakapelari.wixsite.com, or follow her on Instagram - @merlissak_art.

Letting Go of Restrictions

Acrylic
11 x 14 inches
$100

Grasping the Sensation

Oil on canvas - Diptych
6 x 9 inches - dimension of diptych
$160

Pluto Goes Direct (Copy)

Acrylic on claybord
10 x 10 inches

$375

November Moon (Copy)

Acrylic on claybord
10 x 10 inches
$375

Amy Komar

Amy is a new member to the IGCA, and we asked her to share a little about herself…

“This past summer, my family & I moved from Fairbanks, my home of twenty years, to Homer. Since graduating from UT Austin with a BA in Studio Art in 2001, I have maintained a regular painting practice. I am no stranger to creating make shift spaces to sustain my practice, having a strong belief that consistently showing up for your work is the way to find your voice and direction as an artist. I’m currently working on a painting series exploring the intersection of self and motherhood.”

Discover more about Amy and her work by visiting her website - amykomar.com, or on instagram - @amykomar

Susan Lagrande

Susan has been a member of the IGCA for over 5 years. The last year saw a shift of focus and a new body of work to show...

“The two submissions are part of a new series which explores the notion that all things are connected by the space between. In the past year I have focused more on my painting than my wire sculpture works. This effort culminated in a showing this fall of my paintings at South Restaurant.”

Go to Susan’s website, SusanLaGrandearts.com, to discover more about her and her work.

Connected by the Space Between (triptych)

Acrylic on canvas
Triptych - each panel 10 x 30 inches
$600

Connected by the Space Between

Acrylic on canvas
30 x 40 inches
$600

How to Save a Billion Birds (Copy)

Etching
12 x 16 inches
$400

Carol Lambert_How to Save a Billion Birds_Etching.jpg

Lava (Copy)

Etching
11 x 16 inches - framed
$400

Carol Lambert

Carol has not only been a member of the IGCA for the last 17 years, she volunteers her time to help run the life drawing sessions that we host in the back work area of the gallery. When asked what her creative focus has been over the last year and she shares,

“I have, over the last year and a half, changed my art practice from oil painting to printmaking, mainly etching on copper plates. Whereas my oil paintings were representational, my etchings are inspired by illustration, comics, and political cartoon traditions. My prints address environmental realities and areas of social conflict. I always depict human and/or animal figures, often in surreal landscapes. I use colors, characters, and unusual imagery to both amuse and provoke the viewer. “

Discover more about Carol and her work on instagram - @carollambertarts, and on her website, carollambertarts.com

Jonathan Lang

Jonathan has been a member of the IGCA for about 7 years, and we always appreciate his unique contributions to our Member’s Exhibitions. He took the time to share with us a bit about his focus over the last year…

“ In the last year I have focused more on video embedded in sculptural pieces of found and re-purposed objects. Projecting still images and video has remained a staple of my studio time with shop time devoted to making and assembling the sculptures as well as working out the (literal) kinks in the wiring and electronics.”

Discover more about Jonathan and his work on Facebook - Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain Films, or on Instagram - @AKFilmmaker

Bigshot

Sculpture with embedded video
24" square, 48" tall, free standing
$600

Infrequency III

Photo on canvas
16 x 24 inches
$120

Bigshot

Dorian Relic

Dye sublimation print on aluminum
12 x 12 inches (ready to hang)
$220

The Tobacconist

Dye sublimation print on aluminum
12 x 12 inches (ready to hang)
$220

William Lee

William Lee, an IGCA member for the last 2 years, is an artist that creates computational artworks based on mathematical fractals. ”My work explores the creative abilities inherent to mathematics. It is my aim to provoke a renewed interest and passion in the audience for the wonder and joy that math and science bring.”

Find out more about William and his work on his website - www.ArtistryInEquations.com, or on his Facebook page - Artistry in Equations.

John Letourneau

1 of 100 views of Chickaloon Bay

iPhone photo
11 x 13 inches framed
$50

Anchorage 2018

iPhone photo
13 x 11 inches framed
$50

Kristin Link

Kristin, a member of 2 years, does lovely work that blend science and art delightfully…

”I work with mixed media, collage, drawing, and cyanotype. My recent work explores watersheds and related ecosystems in Alaska. It looks at glaciated landscapes and rivers, coastlines, and ocean-scapes. I am interested in the multiple ways people come to understand the changing landscape through science, beauty, mystery, and magic. This work was completed during a recent artist residency at the Jenni House in Whitehorse, YT and as part of a collaboration with poet and writer Jeremy Pataky.”

Discover more about Kristin on her website, KristinLink.com, or follow her in instagram - @linkkristin

Copper River Delta Map

mixed media collage
16 x 12 inches
NFS

Firm Line, Neacola Mountains

Mixed media collage
12 x 16 inches
$500

August Wilson & Friend

Silver Gelatin Print
12 x 17 inches
NFS

Petra Lisiecki

Petra has been a member of the IGCA for at least 10 years. She shares a little about her practice and inspirations…

“I am an Anchorage based photographer but have also lived and worked in London. My focus has been on portraiture and photographing in the theatre world, different disciplines, much behind the scenes. I love movement in images and unusual light, either very dark or very bright. My work is showing in the Cyrano’s Patrons Lounge Gallery at present, until March 11th. The title of my show is “All’s well that ends well.”

Discover more about Petra on her website, petralisiecki.com.

Linda Lucky

Lucky has been a member of the IGCA for at least 17 years, commonly participates in our group shows, regularly volunteers as a gallery sitter, and is a passionate supporter of the local arts community at large. Follow her on Instagram to see more of her work, as well as the work of many local artists - @aklindalucky

Pom Pom Pleasure

2019
mixed media

Linda Infante Lyons

Find more information on Linda and her work on her website, lindainfantelyons.com

Llum Sua

Oil on Panel
14 x 14 inches
NFS

The Carnival

Painting, mixed media
14 x 11
NFS

Purple Ray

Digital Photograph
14 x 11
NFS

Shiela Mahaney

Shiela, who has been a member for 3 years, has been incredibly busy over this last year! She has been in 12 juried exhibitions Internationally, including a museum exhibition in Massachusetts, magazine publication in Colorado, Fujifilm photo exhibit in Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central in New York City. Her artistic artwork received a Best of Show award and she also received another Honorable Mention award in the International Photo Awards. Last fall, she was invited and attended the Photo Gala Awards in Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Discover more about Shiela and her work on Instagram - @axleblu or by visiting her website, shielamahaney.com.

Enzina Marrari

Find more information about Enzina and her work on Instagram - @enzinamarrariart

love, revelation, lists

A Collection of iPhone Notes
Handbound Artist Book
5.5 x 8.5 inches
$35

Scott McDonald

Scott has been a participating artist and member of the IGCA for 18 years. He shares a little about his adventures over the last year…

“In 2018, my family and I took a year-long leave of absence from our Alaskan lives to live in Cuenca, Ecuador. There we immersed ourselves into Ecuadorian culture and I rented a small studio space. Although our home, and my studio, is in Anchorage, we also spend much of our summers in Homer, Alaska. Over the past 18 months I worked in these three locations, in three different studios, which has led to three distinct bodies of work.”

Find more about Scott and his work checking out his website, www.scottmcdonaldart.com or by following him on Instagram - @scottmcdonaldpaintingstudio

I Don't Paint Nudes Anymore

Acrylic on canvas
51 1/4 x 62 inches
$1200

019A4140.jpg Scott McDonald_Midwinter Spring is a Season of Its Own_Mixed media.jpg019A4140.jpg Midwinter Spring is a Season of Its Own

Mixed media
24 x 30 inches
$650

Confection (Copy)

Vintage doilies, adhesives, polyurethane and pigment
Approx 24”W x 60”H x 24”D - installation can vary
Various prices from $250

Amy Meissner

Amy has been a member of the IGCA for about 5 years and we asked her to share a bit about herself and the direction her creative focus has taken this last year…

”I have a craft-based practice that utilizes materials made by women who came before me, most of whom are unknown. This work considers their literal, physical, and emotional labor within the context of radically caring for their memory and marginalized skills. This last year I started an MA in Critical Craft Studies outside of Alaska, and locally have been engaged in the participatory practice of community mending through the Anchorage Museum's SEED Lab.”

Discover more about Amy and her work on her website - www.amymeissner.com, and on instagram - @amymeissnerartist

Diane Melms

Diane has been a member for the last 10 years. What has she been up to this last year?

“I have been busy in the studio… creating a new body of work for two upcoming solo shows. This new work is not yet ready for exhibit, but I am happy to be showing two other recent pieces. Focus and Gather are machine pieced compositions which I created using a line of commercial stripe fabrics. I particularly enjoy working with stripe fabric because of its potential for creating interesting patterns in a composition.”

We congratulate her on her solo exhibits and can’t wait to see the new work!

Discover more about Diane and her work on instagram - @dianememsartist or on her website, dianemelms.com.

Gather

Fiber
28 x 26 inches
$1000

Focus

Fiber
38 x 34 inches
$1500

JANUARY 2021NORTH GALLERYNordic Light and Darkness | Kim Jansson and Josefine Östberg Olsson

Virtual Exhibition Tour

JANUARY 2021SOUTH GALLERYLight | UAA Photography Students

Virtual Exhibition Tour

NOVEMBER 2020Three Series | Sheila Wyne

Virtual Exhibition Tour

OCTOBER 2020CENTER GALLERYBorean Lines | David Hansen

Virtual Exhibition Tour

OCTOBER 2020NORTH GALLERYSummer Paintings | David Pettibone

Virtual Exhibition Tour

OCTOBER 2020SOUTH GALLERYAlder Studies | Elissa Pettibone

Virtual Exhibition Tour

SEPTEMBER 2020 Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth | SAQA Juried Exhibition

AUGUST 2020NORTH GALLERYIf You Lived Here You’d Be Home By Now | Counsel Langley

AUGUST 2020CENTER AND SOUTH GALLERIESAnthropocene | Invitational group exhibition curated by John Coyne

JULY 2020SOUTH GALLERYHome | Alex Rydlinski

JULY 2020NORTH GALLERYThird Nature: Divining the Scientific Archive | Sandra Talbot

JULY 2020CENTER GALLERY In Memoriam | Trine Bumiller

Aileen Page

Kimberlyn Sheldon

Kelly Brabec

Natalie Chomyk-Daniels

Ann Gray

Dianne Gillis-Robinson

Deborah Hansen

Mary Kancewick

Linda Lucky

Nathan Perry

Mikhail Siskoff

Sharon Trager

Jen Wang

Heidi Weiland

Sarah Woolley

Don Mohr

Brandon Moore

Richard Murphy

Monica O’Keefe

Karen Olanna

Carlos Pereira

Nathan Perry

Miranda Petruska

David Pettibone

Elissa Pettibone

Tami Phelps

MaryBeth Printz

J. Reto

Faith Revell

Amy Robinson

Elise Rose

Amanda Saxton

Mikhail Siskoff

Christine Smith

Becky Stephan

Jen Wang

Lee Waters

Deondra Welch

Sheila Wyne

Jonathan S. Green

Somer Hahm

Annekathrin Hansen

David Hansen

Deborah Hansen

Lesley Harrison

Judith Hoersting

Esther Hong

Rhonda Horton

Margret Hugi-Lewis

Jody Jenkins

Dakota Jewell

Melissa Kapelari

Amy Komar

Susan Lagrande

Carol Lambert

Jonathan Lang

William Lee

John Letourneau

Kristin Link

Petra Lisiecki

Linda Lucky

Linda Infante Lyons

JANUARY 2021
NORTH GALLERY
Nordic Light and Darkness | Kim Jansson and Josefine Östberg Olsson

JANUARY 2021
SOUTH GALLERY
Light | UAA Photography Students

NOVEMBER 2020
Three Series | Sheila Wyne

OCTOBER 2020
CENTER GALLERY
Borean Lines | David Hansen

OCTOBER 2020
NORTH GALLERY
Summer Paintings | David Pettibone

OCTOBER 2020
SOUTH GALLERY
Alder Studies | Elissa Pettibone

SEPTEMBER 2020
Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth | SAQA Juried Exhibition

AUGUST 2020
NORTH GALLERY
If You Lived Here You’d Be Home By Now | Counsel Langley

AUGUST 2020
CENTER AND SOUTH GALLERIES
Anthropocene | Invitational group exhibition curated by John Coyne

JULY 2020
SOUTH GALLERY
Home | Alex Rydlinski

JULY 2020
NORTH GALLERY
Third Nature: Divining the Scientific Archive | Sandra Talbot

JULY 2020
CENTER GALLERY
In Memoriam | Trine Bumiller