Spring brings more First Friday shows

While it’s not yet March 21, despite the chilly and blustery days, the growing daylight hints at the equinox to come. If you’re looking for more signs, the reopening of galleries closed for the winter hiatus or not having new exhibits is a good harbinger of spring. The Art Shop Gallery, Fireweed Gallery and Homer Council on the Arts all hold First Friday openings after a few months off.

At the Art Shop Gallery, woodworker Gerard Garland and potter Chris Story collaborate in a unique way. Story uses the shavings of Garland’s woodworking to cover his pots for firing using the ancient technique of raku.

In a collaboration with TRAILS (Total Recreation And Independent Living Services), the Homer Council on the Arts presents their Disability Arts Show featuring works by artists whose lives have in some way been touched by disability. The show features the work of former sled dog racer Jim Welch, who while now wheelchair bound, soars in the spirit of his paintings.

Homesteader Atz Kilcher teams up with painter Deland Anderson for a duo show at Bunnell Street Arts Center. While Kilcher might be known for the reality TV show, “Alaska: The Last Frontier,” for almost 35 years he has been creating root and fiber baskets. Anderson shows more of his iconic pointilist landscape paintings.

Other shows include new metal sculptures by Jeff Dean at Creative Fire Studios and furniture by Johnathan Sharp at Grace Ridge Brewery.

Art Shop Gallery

202 W. Pioneer Ave.

A Duet of Artistic Creativity by Gerard Garland and Chris Story

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

Gerard Garland has been woodworking since 1946 and has lived in Alaska since 1963. He does sculptures, furniture and turnings. The pieces for his show consist of local birch, including spalted birch, white maple, jatoba, resin, acrylic and several other materials. Garland focuses on the fine details of each one of his pieces.

Chris Story has been making pottery for 31 years and has fallen in love with the ancient tradition of raku by making each piece by hand without any equipment. The pots are fired to 1,800 degrees F and then immersed in wood shavings from Gerard Garland’s turned wood, creating colors and patterns on the surface. Each is a one-of-a-kind piece of art.

Bunnell Street Arts Center

106 W. Bunnell Ave.

Work by Atz Kilcher and Deland Anderson

5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception, with 6 p.m. artists talk

Homer artists Atz Kilcher and Deland Anderson show their baskets and paintings. Kilcher has been creating his local root and fiber baskets for almost 35 years. Anderson has become known for his pointilist landscape paintings that use dots in varying colors and diameters.

Of his baskets, Kilcher writes, “I am focusing on shallow baskets or platters designed as wall hangings. Bark fibers, fine roots and grass roots offset larger and rougher roots., imparting a tighter woven, more fibrous look. Each basket is adorned with found objects I have collected over the years such as bones, claws, teeth, beaver, buttons, bone, ivory and horn.”

Of his paintings, Anderson writes, “Rivers are the arteries of Alaska. Some are ancient. Some are brand new. Some are famed waterways. Others are so isolated only wild creatures travel their courses …. But all are in essence doing the same thing: bringing the mountains into the sea in a relentless susurration.”

Creative Fires Studio and Dean Gallery

40374 Waterman Rd.

New work by Jeff Dean

5-9 p.m. First Friday Reception

The Dean Gallery features new steel engravings and metal prints by Jeff Dean.

Fireweed Gallery

475 E. Pioneer Ave.

Marjorie Frederica Hall memorial exhibit

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

Fireweed Gallery and the family of Marjorie Frederica Hall hold a memorial exhibit honoring longtime resident “Rica” Hall’s art. Hall grew up in Southern California, earning a masters degree in education, then later in art history. She began painting on weekends and while on summer break from teaching, drawing on her inspiration from her surroundings at home and her travels in the U.S .and Europe. After moving to Bow, Washington, she joined an art community where her work was entered into juried shows and won many awards.

In the 1990s, Frederica made her final move to Homer, where she continued painting and teaching art out of her home. She died in 2019. The artwork displayed here is only a small example of the works of art Hall created during her years of painting.

Grace Ridge Brewery

3388 B. Street off Ocean Drive

Woodworking by Jonathan Sharp

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

Jonathan Sharp is a local teacher who moonlights as a woodworker and furniture maker. On display are a pair of chairs, hall table, several small pieces, and a work-in-progress, a steam-bent music stand. In lieu of sales, Sharp will be fundraising to complete a sculpture project with his students at West Homer Elementary. An example will be on display and he will be available to answer questions. The student project will be completed in the spring, with finished pieces on display at the West Homer Elementary Art Faire on May 1.

Homer Council on the Arts

344 W. Pioneer Ave.

Disability Art Show by various artists

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

HCOA has teamed up with TRAILS (Total Recreation And Independent Living Services) for the Disability Art Show, featuring work by a diverse group of local artists whose lives have been touched in some way by disability. Participants, including special guest artist Jim Welch, either personally experience disability or explore the topic in their art. Some of the artists will attend to speak about their work. Some of the works will be for sale in a silent auction to benefit TRAILS. The auction ends with a closing reception from 3-5 p.m. March 28. Special guest artist Jim Welch will have a wall to himself. Of his work, TRAILS coordinator Devony Lehner writes, “His imaginings about levitating are a function of his now being wheelchair bound.” Other participating artists include Clara Cole, Thelma Gower, Gayle Forrest, Lee Kline, Elvira Rios, Erin Petrie, Aron Hanson, Craig Forrest, Erik David Behnke, Sadie Millard and Cora Trowbridge. Trowbridge and her family also will sing at the reception.

Cole said of her photography, “I feel that photography is a personal form of expression that everybody can relate to, if you have a disability or not.

Kline said of her painting, “Finding out the calm that happens with me while painting helps me focus on the paint so my PTSD and anxiety don’t overwhelm me.”

Ptarmigan Arts Back Room Gallery

471 E. Pioneer Ave.

“Perspectives,” art by multiple artists

5-7 p.m. First Friday Opening Reception

In “Perspectives,” local artists interpret a work from a single image of an adorable squirrel, chosen in honor of National Day of the Squirrel that was celebrated on Jan. 21. The artists have created fun perspectives of a subject that is normally overlooked in favor of more iconic wildlife. Submissions from members and invited local artists include oil, acrylic, and watercolor paintings, glass, earrings and fiber arts.

Atz Kilcher’s baskets go on exhibit starting Friday, March 6, 2020, at Bunnell Street Arts Center in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Bunnell Street Arts Center)

Jonathan Sharp’s bench is part of an exhibit of his work opening Friday, March 6, 2020, at Grace Ridge Brewery in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Jonathan Sharp)

Jeff Dean’s metal sculptures will be on exhibit starting Friday, March 6, 2020, at the Dean Family Gallery in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Dean)

Jim Welch’s painting is part of an exhibit starting Friday, March 6, 2020, at the Homer Council on the Arts in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Homer Council on the Arts)

Lee Kline’s painting is part of an exhibit starting Friday, March 6, 2020, at the Homer Council on the Arts in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Homer Council on the Arts)

Clara Cole’s photograph is part of an exhibit starting Friday, March 6, 2020, at the Homer Council on the Arts in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Homer Council on the Arts)