In a fundraising event for the Ptarmigan Arts Visual Arts scholarship fund, 20 artists from Homer, Anchor Point and Seldovia will gather together to complete original works of art. Out in the open for all to see and with their medium and tools at hand, these artists will have just one hour to paint, draw, sculpt, cut, weave, felt, torch and more, all for a great cause. This is Ready… Set… Art!

On Saturday, April 19, each of the artists will complete a piece in their chosen medium and the public is invited to watch, encourage and bid through a silent auction on those pieces as they are created. Because of the nature of some artists’ mediums, organizers have provided the option to start with a piece of work that is 30 percent completed if they don’t think that an hour is enough time to finish.

Jeff Dean is a well-known Homer artist who has been sculpting in a variety of mediums since the 1970s. This year will be his second time participating in the fundraiser and like last time, he will be working with steel and a torch to create a small heat-colored abstract engraving.

“Only having an hour to make something is challenging for my medium because even small pieces involve a long process, so I’ll definitely come up with something a bit ahead of time,” Dean said. “I’ve been playing with new techniques for grinding textures into steel and heating with a torch to get different colors and I’m looking forward to experimenting during the event.”

Dean enjoys participating in the fundraiser as a way to help raise funds for the scholarship and for the opportunity to showcase his art.

“This is a great way to support youth artists and to introduce the community to artists and mediums they may not be familiar with,” he said. “Live art is a lot of fun for both the artists and those watching.”

At the end of the hour, the artists will lay down their tools and the highest silent bid on each piece begins the bidding amount during the live auction that follows.

Organizing the fundraiser are Sherry Stead, co-owner of Grace Ridge Brewing and artist Gary Lyon, a founding member of Ptarmigan Arts, the oldest art co-op in Alaska.

“The concept originated in contemporary Southwest art communities like Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Taos, New Mexico,” Lyon said. “It incorporates the local shootout, quick-draw, gunslinger motif, usually involves big-name artists, and raises money for museums and community projects.”

At the heart of the evening is a fundraiser for the Ptarmigan Arts Visual Arts scholarship. Every year, the fund offers the scholarship opportunity to high school juniors through one-year post-grad students who have a career focus in visual arts. Applicants are invited to showcase their portfolio during a gallery membership meeting and the recipients are chosen by vote. In addition to the scholarship, they are invited to exhibit in the gallery.

Awarding scholarships for more than 25 years, this fund is the only visual arts scholarship given to a southern Kenai Peninsula high school student. In addition to this annual fundraiser, there is a wall at Ptarmigan Arts dedicated to donated art year-round, from which sales also benefit the fund.

“We want to encourage the next generation of artists and help them feel that they’re recognized and supported,” Lyon said. “And we want to give back to the community that has given all of us artists so much.”

From those early days when co-op members donated their own money to provide $250 scholarships, the fund has grown through fundraisers like this, is now managed by the Homer Foundation and for the past several years, has provided $2,000 scholarships. Previous years’ recipients include, among others, Homer youth Leah Dunn, who participated as an artist in the fundraiser in 2023; and Seldovia artist Valisa Higman, who participated last year and will be one of the 20 artists on-site again this year.

This year, in addition to Dean creating a metal sculpture and Higman working with cut paper, a variety of other artists will participate. Dan Coe from Anchor Point will be painting in acrylics. Homer artists include: Jim Buncak painting a live portrait in oils; Caryl Christy and Richard Gustafson creating live portraits in pastels; Jen DePesa painting; Krista Etzwiler working with clay and mixed media; Allison Galbraith beading; Jenna Gerrety felting; Tami Johnson creating jewelry; Willow Jones making wooden spoons; Maygen Lotscher working with clay; Deb Lowney sculpting in wood and mixed media; Gary Lyon painting in acrylics; David Pettibone painting in oils; Jan Peyton, painting on a fishing buoy; Sarah Sims carving clay; Lisa Talbott weaving; and Leo Vait painting.

Jan Peyton is a watercolor artist who also paints in acrylic and sells her work in galleries around Homer. This will be her second year participating in the fundraiser. Last year she painted a watercolor of fireweed and this year will be painting a floral scene on a recycled fishing buoy.

“During the pandemic, Char Jump, another Homer artist and I had the idea of painting on recycled items just to do something different,” she said.

The two began painting on buoys they got from local fisherman.

“One of the first ones I painted on a buoy was a poppy and that one sits at the end of my driveway and helps people find my house,” Peyton said. “I’ve also painted sunflowers, starfish, octopus, lupine and fireweed.”

With acrylic paint as her medium, Peyton will pre-prime her Styrofoam buoy and paint the background and then use her hour at the brewery to paint a floral scene.

“I was part of Ptarmigan Arts for nearly 20 years and so the gallery and the scholarship are dear to my heart as a way to pay it forward to the next generation,” she said. “The camaraderie between the artists at the event last year was very fun and people watching were very supportive, so when asked, I knew I immediately knew I wanted to participate again.”

Lisa Talbott is a Homer weaver, the owner of Raven Fed Designs, and co-owner of Kindred Spirits Weaving Studio and has been weaving for nearly 15 years. This will be her second time participating as an artist during the fundraiser.

Like Dean and Peyton, she will pre-prepare her tools and her artwork.

“Part of the challenge of weaving in a timed way is that I have to design a project that can be done in that amount of time and still be something people will want to bid on,” she said. “Weaving is a slow process of having the loom warped ahead of time and that by itself takes about an hour.”

Using a smaller, portable loom, Talbott plans to weave a scarf like she did previously.

“It was such a communal atmosphere with so much joy and I had a great time taking my loom out, weaving in public and having people who had never seen a loom set up before watching me,” she said. “The variety of art being created is really interesting and having the time pressure adds a bit of laughter to the process too. Interacting with the crowd and introducing people to weaving was a highlight I’m eager to experience again.”

For Lyon, one of the most enjoyable parts of the evening is watching his fellow artists hard at work.

“I like seeing all of these talented artists trying to create something in just an hour,” he said. “It’s a bit scary and feverish and they’re all putting their reputations on the line. Some of these artists have participated every year and it’s an imposition on their time I think, but they seem to like it. And people seem to really enjoy watching all the action and variety of mediums.”

New to the fundraising event this year will be a featured wall and table displaying donated art that is available for silent bid or “buy it now.” Bidding for these ends at 8 p.m. Sandwiches and light snacks will also be available for purchase from local food trucks.

Stead and her family have been hosting First Friday art events since the brewery opened in 2016 and collaborating with Lyon on Ready… Set… Art! since its creation three years ago.

“It’s really important to us to be a part of this community and one way we can do that is to support the arts,” Stead said.

In addition to money raised from the auctions, all tips from the evening will be donated to the scholarship fund and donations will be welcomed.

Ready… Set… Art! takes place Saturday, April 19, at Grace Ridge Brewing. Doors open at 5 p.m. for artist set up. Work and silent auction bidding begins at 6 p.m. The live auction kicks off at 7 p.m. with Zoe Story as auctioneer. And the donated art area will close to bidding at 8 p.m.

Grace Ridge Brewing is located at 870 Smoky Bay Way. For more information, stop by or call the Brewery at 907-435-0601, Monday to Sunday, 12-7 p.m.

A painted buoy created by Jan Peyton that is in her backyard, similar to what she will be creating during Ready Set Art fundraiser. (Photo provided)

Homer weaver Lisa Talbott weaves a scarf during the 2023 Ready Set Art fundraiser at Grace Ridge Brewing. (Photo by Christina Whiting/Homer News)