Shorebirds, cranes and other spring birds also have begun to arrive. Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival featured artist Erin Rae shows her whimsical paintings and illustrations of birds at the Homer Council on the Arts. An artist with an intimate relationship with birds, Rae’s work expresses not just the vision of birds, but the landscapes they live in.
New Homer artist E.M. Remme explores whimsical themes in her first Homer show opening at Grace Ridge Brewery. Remme paints in oils, but also has been combining photos transferred onto scorched wood.
One of Homer’s finest commercial artists, Dan Coe, can be seen everyday in the signs he has painted for local businesses. Coe has shown he creates fine art with an Old Town public art mural he did of changing fireweed on the fence of the Driftwood RV Park on Bunnell Avenue. Coe recently has been experimenting with digital art, and for First Friday does a demonstration at his show at Ptarmigan Arts. See Coe’s mural while checking out this month’s Bunnell Street Arts Center’s artist in residence, Karin Lowney-Seed. The sister of Homer artist Deb Lowney, Lowney-Seed is a nationally-known painter who has shown at museums in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Miami.
Another longtime artist known more as a talk radio personality and Realtor, Chris Story, shows raku pottery at Fireweed Gallery. He exhibits with the artists of the Kachemak Bay Watercolor Society, back again with one of their 12-part collaborative paintings.
At Art Shop Gallery, artist Lisa Carlon shows her 3-dimensional stained glass, many with themes of nature such as wildflowers and other subjects. Rounding out this month’s show is student art — and writing — at West Homer Elementary School. Writing on Our Walls features student writing, and Art with Heart, done under the direction of Homer artist Marjorie School, examines student visions of home. An art auction supports the Art with Heart program, whose mission is to bring the healing power of creative expression to all kids in need.
Reach Michael Armstrong at marmstrong@homernews.com.
Art Shop Gallery
202 W Pioneer Ave., Suite A
This, That and Flowers Too, 3-dimensional stained glass by Lisa Carlon
5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception
Lisa Carlon is an Alaska artist who specializes in Alaska wildflowers and other natural subjects and scenes. She captures nature in a medium of 3 dimensional stained glass. Each piece is hand-crafted and a unique one of a kind.
Bunnell Street Arts Center
106 W. Bunnell Ave.
Artist in Residence, paintings by Kárin Lowney-Seed
5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception; 6 p.m., artist talk
The sister of Homer artist Deb Lowney, Kárin Lowney-Seed is Bunnell Street Arts Center’s artist in residence for May. An award-winning artist with a sharp and direct style, Bunnell describes her paintings as “bold, confident, and colorful with a keen eye for visual balance and intrigue.” A college professor of art history and studio classes, Lowney-Seed has shown her work throughout the country and is part of many private collections. Her work has been shown at the Brooklyn Museum, The Philadelphia Art Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, Art Basel Miami and Art Expo New York (invitational). She was featured as an expert artist on The Learning Channel. Lowney-Seed holds a bachelor or arts and a master of fine arts from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
“Currently I am working on the elements of hard and soft as they are reflected in nature,” she writes. “While driving across the country twice this year, on different routes, I became deeply invested in the shapes and colors that caught my attention.”
Lowney-Seed also presents a two-day workshop on accessing, interpreting and applying abstract and contemporary art in student artwork. It’s an opportunity for artists and nonartists to work together. The workshops are 6 to 9 p.m. May 6 and May 8, with a $25 fee for both sessions.
Fireweed Gallery
475 E. Pioneer Ave.
Beyond Oceans, work by the Kachemak Bay Watercolor Society
Back in Black, raku pottery by Chris Story
5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception
“Beyond Oceans” is the Kachemak Bay Watercolor Society’s 22nd Annual Spring Show. It features a new collaboration, “Sea Stars,” completed by 12 artists.
“Back in Black” features raku pottery from local artist, Realtor and radio personality Chris Story. Story said that “Raku”is pottery make at the most elemental level, in the ancient Japanese tradition. Purely handmade pots.” Story learned this pottery style 30 years ago and it is now his sole artistic practice.
Grace Ridge Brewery
3388 B. Street off Ocean Drive
New work, paintings by E.M. Remme
5-7 p.m., First Friday
Born and raised in Alaska, E.M. Remme has been oil painting for many years. She received her bachelor of arts in psychology with a minor in art from the University of Alaska in 2010. Remme primarily focuses on abstract painting and enjoys experimenting in surrealism and contemporary art. Her oil paintings are often influenced by whimsical themes, historical folklore and ancient mythologies. Recently she has been experimenting with transferring photos onto scorched wood and combining other mixed media such as silver leafing. Photo transfers are pictures that she took in Alaska or while traveling around the United States. Remme also uses the technique of pallet knife painting, where paint is moved with the flat, arrow-shaped tool. This is her first art exhibition in Homer.
Homer Council on the Arts
344 W. Pioneer Ave.
A whimsical collection of Alaskan bird illustrations, paintings by Erin Rae
5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception
Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival featured artist Erin Rae shows her paintings and illustrations of birds. She writes “Each painting represents a moment in time with a bird that I will remember forever. Some of them were hard to identify, some sing my favorite songs, some were the very first birds to be checked off my list and some sat with me through hard times. Birds are my companions, not just tiny prizes to be spotted and then forgotten about. My favorite moments in life are sitting outside with my cup of coffee and being able to identify every song I hear and watching them live their little lives.”
Born and raised in Anchorage, Rae said she got “teased in school for making my skies purple … my love for colors and experimentation has only grown over the years. … I approach painting with a sense of childlike wonder and whimsy and I use painting to stay completely amazed by the world around me. I strive to capture the delicacy of life and the spaces in between it. I use oil paint, acrylic and other neat things on plywood.”
Pratt Museum
3779 Bartlett Street
Kachemak 2068 and Ties Us Together, art by various artists
5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception
Pratt Museum has been a cornerstone of Homer and Kachemak Bay for 50 years. What might the next half-century hold? What will Kachemak Bay look like, and what might the museum seek to collect? Kachemak 2068 is a combination of “future visions” and samples from private collections from the region that explores the future of both the community and the museum on its centennial of 2068.
Ties Us Together seeks to mend the divisions in our community by exploring the similarities of Homer’s people. Working from community-sourced themes, artist Sharlene Cline weaves current and historical perspectives on the activities that tie us together as a community. Historical photos from the Pratt collection, collaged with original painting, fabric, and decorative paper weave the past and present. Local mementos, memories, and student sourced artworks also weave into the site-specific installation.
Ptarmigan Arts Back Room Gallery
471 E. Pioneer Ave.
Paintings and digital images by Dan Coe
5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception
Homer artist Dan Coe has become known for his beautiful signs around Homer and for his painted furniture. He paints in oils, acrylic, and digitally. For First Friday, Coe will feature many digital images and demonstrate his technique. Coe said he sees no difference between painting with a digital pencil on an iPad or painting with acrylic paint on canvas. Dan paints landscapes, animals, and mythical creatures that are just as at home on the bottom of a skateboard deck as on the walls of a large lodge.
West Homer Elementary School
995 Soundview Avenue
Writing on Our Walls: Writers Fair by student writers
Art with Heart by student artist
6-7:30 p.m., First Friday
Celebrate student writing at West Homer Elementary School’s Writers Fair. Writing on our Walls showcases student writing and presents an opportunity to participate in various literary activities, including a poetry slam in the Music Room at 6:30 p.m. There also will be a silent auction featuring student artwork in the library.
Sixth-grade students also show art work representing their homes in connection with their Art With Heart service project. The students worked with Homer artist Marjorie Scholl on the project. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Art with Heart Foundation, whose mission is to bring the healing power of creative expression to all kids in need.
