Correction: A caption for Ingrid McKinstry’s painting was incorrectly labeled. Her show is at the Fireweed Gallery.
As Alaska’s businesses continue under Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s Reopen Alaska Responsibly Plan, additional Homer galleries are hosting new shows for this month’s First Friday.
Not all galleries have live opening receptions or artist talks, but they all will have new shows on display starting July 3. Many will hold shows cautiously with limited hours and requirements like wearing masks and practicing social distancing.
Grace Ridge Brewery will feature paintings of flowers by Britni Siekaniec for the upcoming Homer Peony Celebration. The show includes Siekaniec’s painting used for the label of Grace Ridge’s raspberry wheat beer brewed for the celebration. Grace Ridge will hold an opening reception, but masks and social distancing are required.
Also holding receptions are the Homer Council on the Arts with an opening of Linda Vizenor’s show of her glass art, “Crystal Reflections” and the Art Shop Gallery with Felicity Rae Jones’ “Alaskan Creations.” The arts council also encourages mask wearing and limited occupancy.
Galleries with new shows opening Friday, but no receptions, are Bunnell Street Arts Center, Fireweed Gallery and Ptarmigan Arts. As with previous shows, Bunnell will hold an artists’ talk via Zoom at 6 p.m. Friday with David Pettibone and Steven Godfrey. Sign up at Bunnell’s website for the Zoom presentation. At Fireweed Gallery, Homer artist Ingrid Mckinstry shows her multimedia work, “Breaking Free.” At Ptarmigan Arts, wood artists Ted Heuer and George Overpeck show what they created during their isolation earlier in the pandemic with “The Fruits of Distancing.” All three galleries are open with mandatory mask wearing, social distancing and limited occupancy.
Art Shop Gallery
202 W. Pioneer Ave.
Alaskan Creations by Felicity Rae Jones
4-6:30 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception
Felicity Rae Jones is a self-taught artist born and raised in Homer. In her artist’s statement, Jones writes that she pulls her inspiration from “the greatest art of all, God’s creation.” By studying the patterns of the world around her, she writes that she is able “to weave together unique designs that seemly teem with a life of their own” and that “she notices that while she may start with a vague goal in mind, her art almost always is never what she had originally imaged in her head.”
“At times, it truly feel like the art takes the bit in its mouth, and runs its own course,” Jones writes.
Bunnell Street Arts Center
106 W. Bunnell Ave.
New work by David Pettibone and Steven Godfrey
6 p.m., First Friday artists talk on Zoom
David Pettibone and Steven Godfrey’s exhibit opens on Friday with a Zoom artists talk at 6 p.m. Register in advance through Bunnell’s website at https://www.bunnellarts.org/steven-godfrey-david-pettibone-july-exhibit-2020. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sundays. Only five visitors are permitted to enter at a time, wearing masks, no exceptions.
Of his work, Homer artist David Pettibone writes: “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. 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.”
Steven Godfrey is a potter and a professor of ceramics at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He writes that his current work is less about being tailored for a specific utilitarian function but rather to illustrate a collection of his interests, combined during the making process and meant to speak beyond functionality and tell a story through the symbolism of form and color.
The forms he makes emulate the elegance of French automobile bodies made during the 1930s and 40s: Delage, Delahaye, Talbot-Lago, Bugatti, Avions Voison, etc. Other aspects of his work subtly or directly depict his interest in old New England tobacco barns, Native Alaska ivory bird carvings, children’s book illustrations, Danish furniture, magpies, architecture.” He lives in Anchorage.
Fireweed Gallery
475 E. Pioneer Ave.
Breaking Free by Ingrid McKinstry
Exhibit opens First Friday; no reception
Mixed media Homer artist Ingrid McKinstry will display her work for Fireweed’s July show. Born and raised in the Netherlands, McKinstry found Alaska and her husband Ron, while traversing the globe in 1978. They raised four children in a small cabin in Homer, while she worked to obtain her teaching certificate in K-8 with a minor in art, followed by a master’s degree in middle school mathematics.
Art has always been an outlet for Ingrid’s emotions, the gallery writers. Her main goal has been to connect with the energy of her subject material and to bring those vibrations to her canvas using different materials and technique whether it be Photoshop, photography, or mixing acrylics with plaster.
Of “Breaking Free,” she writes “the show is a combination of breaking free from the strict rules learned over the last 50 years and tapping into my soul. I feel I’ve captured the power of the ocean waves, the dreamy feeling of low hanging fog, the gentle energy of my flowers, the strong grounded energy of trees, the fun, innocent energy from children, the gentle motion of the current on the bottom of the sea … It has brought me more joy than I have ever felt before while creating art.”
The gallery is currently open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Grace Ridge Brewery
3388 B. Street off Ocean Drive
“The Late Bloom,” paintings by Britni Siekaniec
5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception. Masks must be worn; please respect social distancing.
Grace Ridge
Homer artist Britni Siekaniec focuses her show on peonies for the July Homer Peony Celebration. She also has painted the label for Grace Ridge Brewery’s raspberry wheat beer brewed for the celebration. The new beer goes on sale Friday. Tips for July will be donated to the Homer Hockey Association. The painting used for the label also will be on sale at Siekaniec’s exhibit.
Of her work, Siekeniec writes that she is “a painter and Homer resident who speaks about herself in the third person only when writing artist statements. She enjoys the process of painting much more than the formalities of trying to explain it or make it seem fancier than it really is. As a primarily self-taught painter, she finds it extremely difficult to capture in words, or special ‘artist jargon’ what her works bring to the community while also seeming humble and cool. She knows that she paints with oil paints on any cheap, flat surface like canvas or Sheetrock or just rocks. For this particular showing, peonies will be the primary subject because, well, peonies are awesome. As you read these words, Britni is frantically painting away, as, the only thing she is better at than being incredibly sarcastic is procrastinating.”
Homer Council on the Arts
355 W. Pioneer Ave.
“Crystal Reflections,” by Linda Vizenor
4-6 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception with limited gallery occupancy; please wear masks.
For First Friday, Soldotna artist Linda Vizenor will visit. She will record an artist’s talk to be shared online at www.homerart.org.
Vizenor is a glass artisan from Soldotna who uses glass, soldered metals, and found objects such as seashells and river rocks to create decorative windows, sculptures, lamps, and jewelry. She also repurposes heirloom china and crystals to give special objects new life.
Of her work, Vizenor writes, “Stepping outside the traditional use of flat glass by creating 3-D effects with angles and light has given me a whole new world of expression. Some of my most rewarding projects recently have been to repurpose cherished items into a piece of art to be enjoyed into another generation. Glass artisans are given a very special challenge while creating their work. Until the final piece is done and up into the light, even the artist cannot know for sure if their goal has been achieved. I love this mystery and am always amazed with what my own imagination brings to life using pieces of colored glass.”
Ptarmigan Arts Back Room Gallery
471 E. Pioneer Ave.
“The Fruits of Distancing” by Ted Heuer and George Overpeck.
Exhibit opens First Friday; no reception
“The Fruits of Distancing,” an exhibit of wood art by Ted Heuer and George Overpeck, opens Friday. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no reception. The gallery is open on a schedule of reduced hours, currently noon to 4 p.m. Friday through Monday. Occupancy is limited to 10 visitors at a time. Gallery visitors are requested to maintain 6-foot social distancing between household groups, and face coverings or masks are required (available free of charge for those who need a mask). Hand sanitizer is available at both entrances, with all necessary precautions in place to ensure a safe gallery experience for guests and staff.
Both master wood turners, Heuer and Overpeck have their own unique styles with a shared passion for the natural beauty and diversity of wood. The solace of extra hours spent in the shop while self-isolating enabled both turners to experiment with new techniques and expand the boundaries of their creativity.
Overpeck’s turnings are mostly done with local woods and reflect the individual tree used. Many of his works display the outer limits of a transformative microbial process known as spalting. His usual practice is to create simple forms that display the surface of the wood. George’s website is www.betulaturning.com.
Heuer specializes in functional art made to be admired and used. He utilizes all types of hardwoods, both exotic and domestic, and usually combines multiple species of wood in one piece. Heuer favors segmented construction in his turnings and specializes in stave bowls and dizzy bowls. More of his work can be found on his website at www.tedswoodshop.com.
Reach Michael Armstrong at marmstrong@homernews.com.
A painting by Ingrid McKinstry from her show opening Friday, July 3, 2020, at the Fireweed Gallery in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Homer Council on the Arts)
A bowl by George Overpeck from his show with Ted Heurer, “Fruits of Social Distancing,” opening on July 3, 2020, at Ptarmigan Arts in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Ptarmigan Arts)
A bowl by George Overpeck from his show with Ted Heurer, “Fruits of Social Distancing,” opening on July 3, 2020, at Ptarmigan Arts in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Ptarmigan Arts)
A piece from Linda Vizenor’s show, “Crystal Reflections,” opening on Friday, July 3, 2020, at the Homer Council on the Arts in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Homer Council on the Arts)
A piece from Linda Vizenor’s show, “Crystal Reflections,” opening on Friday, July 3, 2020, at the Homer Council on the Arts in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Homer Council on the Arts)
A bowl byTed Heurer from his show with George Overpeck, “Fruits of Social Distancing,” opening on July 3, 2020, at Ptarmigan Arts in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Ptarmigan Arts)
