Art Shop Gallery
202 W. Pioneer Ave.
Ocean Treasures, by Bruce Nelson
5-7:30 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception
Kodiak artist Bruce Nelson shows his original oil paintings of ocean treasures and great beach finds.
Bunnell Street Arts Center
106 W. Bunnell Ave.
All Things Sacred, by Linda Infante Lyons
Ceramic art, by Teresa Shannon
5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception; 6 p.m., artists talk
In her new show, artist Linda Infante Lyons expands on the subject matter and theme of a portrait she did for Bunnell’s show, “Decolonizing Alaska.” These portraits were inspired by Alaska Native women she admires as well as friends and family. The show also includes paintings of Alaska landscapes and wildlife.
“The theme of this exhibit, All Things Sacred, was built on the idea that Christian iconography could be eclipsed and absorbed by indigenous cultures much in the way Christianity co-opted pagan myths and symbols as their own,” Infante Lyons writes. “Joining Alaska Native symbols of spirituality, tribal landscapes, sacred animal spirits and ceremonial relics with the dominant imagery of this Western religion could be a quietly subversive act of decolonization.”
Ceramic artist Teresa Shannon writes that her finished pots “suggest the look of the wet, fresh clay; they show the way that soft clay can stretch and nestle into your hands. I use matte glazes with muted colors on the exterior of the forms to emphasize the softness of the clay. The interiors are finished with glossier glazes, suggesting a wet, fruit-like, interior. I am forever intrigued by the subtle atmospheric effect created where two or more glazes meet and melt together.”
Shannon also embellishes her work with hand-made sprigs “like a three-dimensional stamp” of small animals. “Recently, I have been adding little dinosaurs to my pots (because dinosaurs are cool and fun!) I am excited by the way that these creatures can draw a user in and bring a sense of joy to the work,” she writes.
Fireweed Gallery
475 E. Pioneer Ave.
Windows, by Debora Deal and Dr. Heather Taushcek
5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception
“Windows” features mother and daughter duo, Debora Deal and Dr. Heather Tauschek. Window views are captured and interpreted through watercolor paintings and vintage glass sculptures. Dr. Tauschek took art classes in New York while in medical school at Cornell University. A radiologist, she says being creative makes her brain work better and makes her a happy person and a better physician. Deal has had a life long love of glass since visiting the Louvre in Paris and glass-blowing factories in Venice during the 1970s. In the 1980s, she visited a small gallery showing the work of Dale Chihuly and “simply fell in love,” she writes. Dr. Tauschek’s “Out My Window” series of scenes seen from her window combine with Deal’s window art in which she fuses glass elements into three-dimensional windows.
Homer Council on the Arts
344 W. Pioneer Ave.
Coastal Studies, paintings by Chelsea Horn
5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception
Chelsea Horn grew up in Homer, spending many summers across the bay in Halibut Cove. Currently, she and her husband Brian and their three children reside in Homer. As a child, she often carried a well used sketchbook around. As a deckhand through her teenage years, she would often use her downtime to sketch what she saw from the boat. Her art reflects her love for the Alaska coast life. Horn says she enjoys sharing stories and emotions through each painting, often allowing a painting to flow and create itself while playing with light, color and movement. She has been painting full time for almost three years.
“I enjoy expressing emotions through art. I like to feel as though each piece has its own storyline and energy,” she writes. “I used to be afraid to share my art publicly, but something changed. I realize how important it is to share as each person feels their own stories or emotions through art.”
Ptarmigan Arts Back Room Gallery
471 E. Pioneer Ave.
Celebrating Ravens, paintings by Jean Steele
5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception
“Celebrating Ravens,” an exhibition of Jean M. Steele’s paintings, shows 50 small paintings of ravens that she says challenged her to capture the expressive and moody nature of Alaska’s most mythical bird — ravens cussing and discussing, ravens tranquil and contemplative, flying ravens, curious ravens and protective ravens.
An artist her whole life, Steele has a degree in art and master’s credits in drawing, painting and sculpture. She has taught in public and private schools, and has taught college pottery. Well known in Homer for her pottery, the physical demands of the medium have compelled her to turn her attention to other art forms.
