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

Textile artist Amy Meissner primarily works with hand stitching, which she calls “a quiet skill that feels tenuous, nearly lost when placed in a contemporary context.” The connotation of quilts as protective, warm and soothing is something that begs to be pushed against, she writes in her statement. “I sew because I don’t know what it is to not sew, despite the connotation of ‘minor art’ or ‘women’s work,’” she writes. “I take the traditional, beautiful handwork that I was taught as a girl, then later as a professional seamstress, and couch it within the painful or frightening or uncomfortable. I cut myself apart. I sew myself together.”

Mary Kaye Denkewalter teaches metalsmithing and jewelry at East Anchorage High School. Previously she had been known as a textile artist; she said that she quickly developed a love of the art of metalsmithing. As a former textile artist, she said she couldn’t resist bringing some of those surfaces into her work.

“Metal is a way for me to interpret what I see in my mind, thus projecting it onto a piece of pliable metal with basic form and texture at the center of my jewelry. I play a lot in this series with the negative and positive space and shapes of my forms,” she writes. “The creative process for me is an extension of who I am. I need to have a challenge that takes my ideas from the two-dimensional thought processes through to the finished three-dimensional object. I feel that I need to continually keep creating to keep in touch with who I am as an artist and a person.”

Fireweed Gallery

475 E. Pioneer Ave.

Different Strokes, by Sandra Falkner-Chandler

5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception

Wasilla artist Sandra Falkner-Chandler presents Alaska themed works in many mediums, including acrylic, pen and ink, graphite, and mixed media. She said she admits to rarely working with only one medium at a time and describes her show as “both clean and soft lines, and juicy colors in progress at the same time.” Falkner-Chandler also works in therapeutic art that she provides through Matsu Regional Hospital and Valley Hospice Resources. Her work is on exhibit through July 1.

Homer Council on the Arts

344 W. Pioneer Ave.

Paper or Plastic, by Desiree Hagen

5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception

Known primarily for her paper cutting collages, Desiree Hagen branches out into an exploration of natural (paper) and synthetic (plastic) materials, including two-dimensional, as well as sculptural and wearable art. She also employs and experiments with decoupage, sewing, mold making and casting.

Homer Elks Lodge

215 Jenny Way

Paint In by Gus Beck

5-9 p.m., First Friday

Homer Elks Lodge continues its summer First Friday Paint In, this week with art by Gus Beck. Beck will paint a 7-foot-by-4-foot canvas on the back deck of the Elks from 5-8 p.m., and the painting then is auctioned off at 9 p.m. “I was born in Homer, where I continue to have a good time,” Beck said.

Homeric Traders Marketplace

1130 Ocean Drive

New works by Nicole Wall

Artist Nicole Wall with Moose Haves, “crafty creations fur the cute and wild,” shows her work. A newer gallery venue, Homeric Traders is on Ocean Drive across from the Homer Farmers Market.  

Pratt Museum

3779 Bartlett Street

Watermark, oil paintings by Asia Freeman and digital video by Michael Walsh

5-7 p.m., Opening reception, Thursday; exhibit also showing until 7 p.m. Friday

Artists Asia Freeman and Michael Walsh present a duo show of their connections to the local landscape through painting and digital images. The artists have shared a studio for several years and have collaborated before on shows, including “Backyard, Alaska,” a 2010 Pratt show. “They also share a sensual language of mark making with a focus on water as media and muse,” they write of their work. “Watermark centers on artwork that hovers between pure abstraction and natural realism.” The show opens today and remains on exhibit through Aug. 2. The show also includes music by Joe DeCino originally composed for one video piece by Walsh.

Ptarmigan Arts Back Room Gallery

471 E. Pioneer Ave.

Neptune’s Treasure, a solo exhibition by Jean Steele

5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception

Homer artist Jean Steele writes that her “lifetime love with clay has morphed into a meditation. A playful one.” The result is what she calls “sea bowls.”

“At the time I was just reminded of water in its various forms, specifically, ocean water. I often thought of tempestuous seas and calm seas and stormy seas, the metaphors for life as a human, whose body is made of 75 percent water,” she writes.

Her show, Neptune’s Treasure, consists of ceramic bowls, but she also includes found driftwood sculptures that have been painted and enhanced with wire, thread and yarn.