As fall approaches winter and the daylight hours fade, the season turns to that magical time of the year when the low angle of the sun makes the mountains and glaciers glow. That quality of light is revered by photographers and artists. In a new exhibit by Halibut Cove artist Jan Thurston, “Light,” opening Friday at Fireweed Gallery, illumination is her theme, both literally and spiritually.
In her artist’s statement, Thurston said that mentor and teacher Diana Tillion urged her students to always be aware of the source of light.
“Many assumed she was speaking of the source of light in her paintings,” Thurston writes. “My hunch is her idea of the Source of Light went much deeper.”
November also is Hospice Month. In a collaboration with Hospice of Homer, the Homer Council on the Arts presents “Loss,” a community art show about the effect of loss. That collaboration extends with “Fame: They’re Not Going to Live Forever,” a performance by Letters Aloud at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Mariner Theatre.
Another group show is the Ptarmigan Arts scholarship show and art auction, featuring work by Ptarmigan Artists. The show raises funds for Ptarmigan Arts scholarships given to promising art students.
Also showing is the culmination of an artist residency by Amy Casey, opening at Bunnell Street Arts Center. Casey, visiting from Zygote Press in Cleveland, Ohio, has been living and working in Homer since September. One of her projects has been an art exchange with locals in which she does paintings of their homes in return for donations of art. Some of that work is displayed at Casey’s opening. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Bunnell, Homer artist Michael Walsh shows short films he made while doing a residency last summer at Zygote Press in Cleveland.
Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.
Bunnell Street Arts Center
106 W. Bunnell Ave.
Artist in Residence Work, by Amy Casey
5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception; 6 p.m., artist’s talk
Rasmuson Artist in Residence Amy Casey presents walnut ink drawings on paper featuring local scenes and the work created in her Art Exchanges these past six weeks. From Zygote Press in Cleveland, Ohio, Casey shows 32 drawings of local scenes from Bishop’s Beach and Old Town as well as mixed-media paintings of locals’ homes created in her art work exchange.
Fireweed Gallery
475 E. Pioneer Ave.
Light, paintings by Jan Thurston
5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception
Halibut Cove artist Jan Thurston writes in her artist’s statement that the theme for her exhibit came when a dear friend, Tay Thomas, who died several years ago, came to her in a dream. “She had one message for me: ‘Jan, you have got to lighten up!’I knew when I awoke, the theme for this exhibit would be ‘Light.’” Thurston said the late Diana Tillion urged her art students to always be aware of their source of light. “Many assumed she was speaking of the source of light in their paintings. My hunch is her idea of the Source of Light went much deeper,” Thurston writes.
Thurston was born in 1941 in Anchorage two weeks before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She was evacuated as an infant with her mother and sisters to Seattle, where she was raised. Thurston earned a degree in art and education from Central Washington State University in 1963, then returned to Anchorage and taught first grade, married and had two children. She was involved in the beginning years of the Alaska Artist Guild and the Potter’s Guild and was one the first women to have a solo art exhibit at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. She is a two-term past president and current member of the Alaska Watercolor Society and also a member of the Kachemak Bay Watercolor Society. She and her husband, Jim, built Stillpoint Lodge in Halibut Cove, where they have lived for nearly 20 years.
Homer Council on the Arts
344 W. Pioneer Ave.
Loss, community art show by various artists
5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception
“Loss” is a community art show presenting work submitted by members of the Homer community. In collaboration with Hospice of Homer, the exhibit recognizes November as Hospice month. Losing something has profound effects on us all. Creating work centered around that theme gives the artists opportunity to share their individual stories.
Ptarmigan Arts
Back Room Gallery
471 E. Pioneer Ave.
Scholarship Show and Auction, work and auction items by various artists and businesses
5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception
After a short hiatus, Ptarmigan Arts’ scholarship show returns. The auction features art created by the gallery members and art donated by many other artists, and featuring pieces by Barbara Lavalle, Rie Munoz, Karla Morriera and Laurel Carnahan. Ptarmigan artists have donated photographs, paintings, cards, woodwork, fused glass and other works. The show also features items donated by businesses. Bidding starts at the opening reception and ends at 5 p.m. Nov. 29
Amy Casey’s “Portrait of a Home for Kayla” was done as an art exchange at Bunnell Street Arts Center. Casey, of Zygota Press in Cleveland, O.H., has been in Homer since September, painting images of locals’ homes in exchange for art. She displays work from her residency in a show opening Friday at Bunnell.
