Homer’s galleries and public art spaces celebrate the start of the summer season with a showcase of artist’s work in a variety of mediums. Stroll the galleries, meet the artists and enjoy the variety of mediums on display.
Art Shop Gallery
202 W. Pioneer Ave.
Pottery by Birch Grove Studios
Opening Reception, 5-7 p.m.
Art Shop Gallery hosts potters David and Mara McKenzie of Birch Grove Studios. This family-owned and operated studio in Wasilla was created in 1976 by David’s parents, Alaskan artists Dennis McKenzie and Vickie Cole. Specializing in stoneware pottery that is made for everyday use, the second generation McKenzies manage the studio and offer pottery classes year-round. Visit the Art Shop Gallery online at artshopgallery.com.
Bunnell Street Arts Center
106 W. Bunnell Ave.
Paintings by Kathy Smith, pottery by Bonilyn Parker and 7th annual CSA boxes
Opening Reception, 5-7 p.m. Artist talks, 6 p.m.
Bunnell Street Arts Center presents paintings by Kathy Smith, pottery Bonilyn Parker and the 7th annual Community Supported Art (CSA) program
Kathy Smith lives in Homer and has been painting scenes inspired by Kachemak Bay for the past 30 years. Painting with oils, wax and mixed mediums, she makes paintings on a heated printing plate with beeswax and added pigment and uses a variety of artists’ tools to manipulate the wax on the plate to create her compositions. Pressing printing paper onto the plate to transfer the images, she enjoys the spontaneity of this approach and has over time learned to control some of the results. Smith’s artistic focus is the Alaskan landscape and climate change. In the process of creating work this show, Smith’s efforts and explorations with composition on the heated plate have led her to variations in technique, including the addition of hand-carved printing blocks inspired by a recent trip to Ireland, where she has family roots.
Bonilyn Parker is a Teaching Artist living and working in Juneau as a Term Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Alaska Southeast. Born and raised on the ancestral lands of the Dena’ina, she discovered her love of clay and Southeast Alaska in 2004, earned a BA in Ceramics and Sculpture from UAS in 2012 and an MFA in Ceramics from the Ohio University in 2015. With a belief in the importance of hand-made objects in an increasingly disposable world, Parker’s work is influenced by contemporary issues associated with waste, commercial manufacturing and the practices of repurposing, recycling, and the DIY movement. Working in clay, she explores the spaces that exist between maker and user, disposable and reusable and sentimental and material value. Parker’s current body of work is made from layers of torn and cut sections of porcelain slabs impressed with textures from disposable items including newspaper, bubble wrap and cardboard, assembled reminiscent of scraps of fabric that might be found in a patchwork quilt. Through her work, she invites audiences to consider the cost of a throwaway culture and the significance of the items we keep in our lives.
Bunnell’s 7th annual Community Supported Art (CSA) box is now available. This program showcases the work of six Alaska artists in one curated box, with 30 total boxes created. This year’s CSA features watercolor paintings by Danielle Larsen, Alaskan wildlife playing cards by Kellie Kekich, ceramic pinch pots on wood by Krista Etzwiler, handmade books by Meriam Linder, fish skin with fur or bent wire fish earrings by Natasha Toyukak-Johnson, and natural watercolor palette by Sarahlily Stein. Visit Bunnell online at bunnellarts.org
Fireweed Gallery
475 E. Pioneer Ave.
Paintings by Aadya Gray
Opening Reception, 5-7 p.m.
Fireweed Gallery hosts “An Alaskan Adventure,” paintings by Aadya Gray. Gray’s colorful and textured paintings are the result of a technique that she painstakingly developed with the use of poured epoxy and clay with acrylic paint. Born in the Pacific Northwest, she is fascinated by the experience of nature and is also a veteran of long hours on Alaskan waters. While visiting the Southern Caribbean, she enjoyed being immersed among the spectacular yet fragile undersea treasures found there. In her work, she strives to promote preservation of our Earth. Visit Fireweed Gallery online at fireweedgallery.com.
Grace Ridge Brewing
870 Smoky Bay Way
Pen, ink and gouache work by Renee Veldman
Opening Reception, 5-7 p.m.
Grace Ridge Brewing presents pen, ink and gouache work by Renee Veldman. Raised in a small town along the shores of Lake Michigan, Veldman was constantly immersed in creative projects, from duct-tape dresses to sketchbooks full of charcoal and graphite. After graduating college in Florida, she moved to Homer where her passion for art was rekindled by the landscapes surrounding her. Veldman’s art is inspired by outdoor adventures, including swimming in Kachemak Bay, trail running along alpine ridges, and cross-country skiing. Through her work, she strives to create snapshots of the intricate and interconnected natural world, highlighting its fluidity and beauty, with each piece reflecting the awe and gratitude she feel towards the environment around her.
Often using stippling to detail the complexities of nature and gouache paint to portray its vibrancy, contrast and depth, she hopes that her depictions of the landscapes and experiences familiar to many evoke a sense of recognition and appreciation for the natural world
Homer Council on the Arts
355 W. Pioneer Ave.
Metalmorphosis, metal work by various artists
Opening Reception, 5-7 p.m.
Homer Council on the Arts hosts Metalmorphosis, a group show celebrating the diverse work of Kenai Peninsula Metalworkers. From jewelry to large-scale sculpture, featured work by Homer Area jewelers, sculptors, fabricators and metalworkers includes more than 30 pieces by more than 15 artists. Artists worked with a variety of techniques and materials, from sculpting Precious Metal Clay to setting historic railroad pieces in silver, lost wax casting, fold forming and more. Visit HCOA online at homerart.org.
Pratt Museum
3779 Bartlett St.
Author Michael Engelhard, “What the River Knows: Essays from the Heart of Alaska”
Opening Reception, 4-6 p.m.
Pratt Museums welcomes longtime wilderness guide, anthropologist and author Michael Engelhard as he shares from his books, “Arctic Traverse: A Thousand-Mile Summer of Trekking the Brooks Range” and “What the River Knows: Essays from the Heart of Alaska.” A question-and-answer session and book signing will follow readings and video clips. A cultural anthropologist and longtime outdoor instructor, Engelhard has specialized in land use, subsistence and symbolic aspects of landscapes, and is the recipient of several literary awards, including a Rasmuson Individual Artist Award and three Alaska Press Club Awards. His writing has been featured in Outside magazine, Alaska magazine and Earth Island Journal. He is the author of over six books, including “No Walk the Park,” “Ice Bear,” and “American Wild.” Alongside the book reading, local artist and longtime Pratt Museum patron Rika Mow will present some of her wilderness-centered artworks. Visit the museum online at prattmuseum.org.
Ptarmigan Arts
471 E. Pioneer Ave.
Original watercolors and sketches by Leo Vait
On display Friday, June 7 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, June 8-9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Ptarmigan Arts hosts a collection of original watercolors and sketches by Homer artist and longtime community member, Leo Vait. Vait began showing work in galleries in 1975, participating in regional shows in Southern Oregon until moving to Alaska in 1982. His first show in Homer was in 1983 at the Pratt Museum, opening a door to gallery shows across the state of Alaska throughout his artistic career. Of his work, Vait says, “Nature never proceeds in a straight line, as it is always experimenting with possibilities. Water seeps from a spring that becomes a brook, nosing its way downhill, searching a path that cleans pebbles and stones in no hurry. It excites the growth of mosses and trees in a burbling language of meditation as it flows into a pooled glen. I approach my work in this stream dream as I nose my way into raw wood, ready to change direction as the grain of the medium dictates. No hurry. The echo of the stream and water sprites are the guiding principles when I develop sculptural shapes that may become an animal or an abstract vision.” Visit Ptarmigan Arts online at ptarmiganarts.com.
South Peninsula Hospital
4300 Bartlett St.
“At Road’s End,” analog photography by Clay Duda
South Peninsula Hospital’s gallery, through Homer Council on the Arts, is host to “At Road’s End,” photography by Homer photographer Clay Duda. Through his work, Duda explores the intersection of daily life and the wild frontiers of Kachemak Bay, probing the dualities between stewardship and venery and the fleeting moments of enjoyment on the edges of sustainability, consumption, leisure and life. Employing a mixture of modern and traditional photographic techniques, the majority of his work is captured on film, developed by hand at home, and printed in his home darkroom. Color photographs are professionally printed by a lab on archival photographic paper.
“At road’s end we all find our home, our purposes, and our livelihoods — and we all aim to protect that. But we still take from the land and, often, may not give back as much as we envision. Is it sustainable? Or have we simply run out of road to escape the modern trappings we hoped to leave behind?”
Prior to moving to Homer, Duda worked as a full-time journalist and photographer. This background often drives the direction of his work. His words and photos have appeared in publications across the United States. “At Road’s End” is on display through July. Find the exhibit in the upper level of the hospital, accessed through the main entrance.
The Dean Gallery
40374 Waterman Rd.
Hand woven seed bead jewelry by M’fanwy Dean
Open First Friday, 5-7 p.m.
The Dean Gallery is family-owned and features contemporary art by M’fanwy, Ranja, and Jeff Dean. Visitors will find wood and metal wall art, bronze sculptures, intricately carved wood panels and specialty prints on wood, metal and paper. There is also a variety of other art and gifts, including greeting cards and stickers. This month, the gallery showcases hand-woven seed bead jewelry in original, nature-themed designs by M’fanwy. Visit The Dean Gallery online at deangallery.com
“Fresh Alaskan Salmon Roe,” a black and white analog photo taken by Clay Duda in 2023, is on display through June in the South Peninsula Hospital Gallery in Homer, Alaska. Photo provided by South Peninsula Hospital
“Rose Colored Goggles,” a work in gouache, pen and ink by Renee Veldman, is on display in her solo exhibit at Grace Ridge Brewing through June in Homer, Alaska. Photo provided by Grace Ridge Brewing
“Landing,” a sketch by Leo Vait, is on display in Ptarmigan Arts for First Friday on June 7, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. Photo provided by Ptarmigan Arts
“Salmon School,” a clay and epoxy painting by Aadya Gray is on display in her exhibit, “An Alaskan Adventure,” at Fireweed Gallery through June in Homer, Alaska. Photo provided by Fireweed Gallery
The opening reception for Bunnell Street Arts Center’s 7th annual Community Supported Art boxes coincides with their June First Friday art opening on Friday, June 7, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. Photo provided by Bunnell Street Arts Center
Hand-woven seed bead jewelry by Homer artist M’fanwy Dean is featured at The Dean Gallery in June. Photo provided by The Dean Gallery
This B&O Railroad China Necklace by Carley Conemac is one of dozens of metal pieces on display at Homer Council on the Arts through June. Photo provided by Homer Council on the Arts
