February First Friday

After a brief break for winter inventory and cleaning, galleries have reopened and most are hosting First Friday events this Friday, Feb. 3. Stop by and see what local and statewide artists have been creating during these past months.

Art Shop Gallery

202 W. Pioneer Ave.

“Valentine’s Mini Craft Fair”

4-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception

Art Shop Gallery hosts a Valentine’s Mini Arts & Craft Fair featuring work by Alaskan artists, including jewelry by Here & There Boutique, handmade bags and gifts by Ashley Olanna, hand-painted art and gifts by Nepal O’Connor, and handcrafted origami cranes and gifts by Crafty Girl Designs. Browse the Mini Fair and enjoy sweet treats by local baker Darcy of Decadent Designs.

Bunnell Street Arts Center

106 W. Bunnell Ave.

“For a moment, we exist together, for a moment”

5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception, Artist talk at 6 p.m.

Bunnell Street Arts Center hosts artist Haines Katie Ione Craney’s exhibit, “for a moment, we exist together, for a moment,” a series of sensory-based works that examine communication, systems of care, semiotic beings, grief, and the aesthetics of accessibility within art and non-art spaces. Visitors are invited to participate and engage with the work through multiple entry points as a form of reciprocity. Many pieces are informed by and made in collaboration with artists, writers, musicians, researchers and wayfarers.

Craney is a multidisciplinary artist connecting memory, access, and belonging with the rapidly changing North. She creates sensory-focused work with found material, photography, sound, text, and writing in Braille. Her work has received support from Alaska State Council on the Arts, Rasmuson Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, and a Connie Boochever Fellowship.

A recording of a separate artist talk will be available with closed captioning and a transcript. Large font and Braille exhibition material is available upon request. Many pieces in the exhibition are to be engaged with through touch, sound, and text descriptions. For additional access requests or to schedule a private visit outside of gallery hours, call 907-235-2662. Masks encouraged for First Friday opening.

Creative Fires Studio and Dean Gallery

40374 Waterman Road

“Commissioned Work”

5-7 p.m. First Friday Opening Reception

Creative Fire Studios and the Dean Gallery are excited to provide a sneak peek at several of Jeff’s recently completed commissions before they go to their new homes. The first, a 54-inch diameter engraved sawmill blade that depicts a celestial octopus, titled “Let Me Check My Calendar,” was commissioned for a local home. The second, #2/7 of his “Diving Gannets,” an engraving will be shipped to an interior designer in Florida. You can see #1/7 of “Diving Gannets” in the Alaska Biennial exhibit at the Anchorage Museum through October 1, 2023.

Fireweed Gallery

475 E. Pioneer Ave.

Reopens Feb. 10

Fireweed Gallery reopens on Friday, Feb. 10, just in time for Valentine’s Day shopping. Check out their expansive collection of Alaskan art that includes paintings, sculpture, photography, pottery, jewelry, fiber arts, and more. They will return to First Friday opening receptions in March.

Grace Ridge Brewing

870 Smoky Bay Way off Lake Street

“Photography by Clay Duda and Brooms by Willow Q Jones”

5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception

Clay Duda is a Homer photographer, mariner and writer, working as a journalist and photographer full-time for six years before entering the marine trade. Now, he captains a charter boat during the summer and continues to hone his creative work during the winter months.

With a background in photojournalism, Duda strives to capture the fleeting minutiae of life and the world around us. His photographs often focus on the intersection of life, tourism, sport and nature. Drawing off classic influences such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Pierre Crocquet, Robert Frank and others, his candid photographs offer a glimpse into his and others’ reality.

In a modern world full of distraction, his photos are often blunt and to the point, focusing squarely on the subject and their relationships with their immediate surroundings, or his own relationship to the outside world. Duda employs a mixture of modern and traditional photographic techniques, with the majority of his work captured with a 35mm film camera, developed by hand at home, and when possible printed in his darkroom.

Willow Jones was born and raised in Northwestern Alaska in a traditional Inupiaq community and later on a cattle ranch in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Constantly surrounded by creative people who could easily pick up any tool and make something useful to living life, this skill has made it natural for her to delve deeply into broom-making and carving wooden utensils for everyday use.

Jones’s brooms and spoons stem from a deep commitment to beautiful and practical tools for the basic necessities of life. She holds a Bachelor of Art from University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Whisk brooms made in the traditional Appalachian style are found throughout the country and have stood the test of time due to their great beauty and functionality. These brooms are modeled after a turkey wing or tail. Actual bird wings are the original tool used for sweeping and are still used in Arctic Alaska for getting snow off outdoor clothing.

These brooms are made from fibers grown far south of here, broomcorn that is related to sorghum and tampico, which comes from the agave lechugilla plant. The various twines are either nylon, cotton, or bamboo. Small brooms such as these can have many uses in the home, such as keeping hearths, counters, tea/coffee stations, keyboards and any other surfaces clean and ready for the next thing.

Homer Council on the Arts

355 W. Pioneer Ave.

“Chasing the Sun Down — Paintings and Photography by Lorna Branzuela”

5-7 p.m. First Friday Opening Reception, Artist talk at 5:30 p.m.

Homer Council on the Arts hosts an exhibit of paintings and photography by Lorna Branzuela, titled “Chasing the Sun Down. Definitions from Webster’s Dictionary: Sundown: SUNSET. Sunset: 1. The apparent descent of the sun below the horizon. 2. The time when the upper limb of the sun disappears below the sensible horizon as a result of the diurnal rotation of the earth. Who knew the sun had limbs!” Stop by and take in this exhibit inspired by Branzuela’s enjoyment of sundown because it signals a closure, the finishing touch to another day of life.

HCOA also hosts the Gallery at South Peninsula Hospital. On display through February is work by members of the Kachemak Bay Watercolor Society. Find the gallery through the main doors and down the hall.

Ptarmigan Arts Back Room Gallery

471 E. Pioneer Ave.

New Work

No First Friday Opening Reception, Open Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Ptarmigan Arts invites the public to enjoy their refreshed space and newest works.

i_am_alive_-_repeat_by Katie Ione Craney, on display at Bunnell through February. (Photo provided by Bunnell)

Handmade brooms by Willow Q Jones on display at Grace Ridge through February. (Photo by Willow Jones)

Nina Burkholder’s Crane, part of the Kachemak Bay Watercolor Society exhibit on display at SPH Gallery through February. (Photo provided by Homer Council on the Arts)