2020 a Year in Review and Looking Forward to 2021

In any normal year it feels important to look back in the rearview mirror, but when it comes to 2020 it is feels even more important.

Although 2020 brought many challenges, both locally and throughout the world, narrowing the focus to our little gallery community reminds us of all the support, encouragement and cooperation that happens everyday. We encourage you to take a minute and think back on the exhibitions and efforts over the last 12 months by clicking through the slideshow above (clicking the arrow buttons on either side will move you through the photos, hovering over the photo will show a caption, and clicking on the photo will take you to more information on that exhibition), it really tells a wonderful story of 2020, and all that was accomplished despite the challenges in this unprecedented year.

We are a space that is built to be a place for the community to congregate and experience contemporary expression and art. The realities of 2020 shook that fundamental identity; no more first Fridays, no artist talks, no workshops or weekly life drawing. At the time we closed, we were a week into our annual Members show, arguably the most social month of the whole year - a celebration of our gallery’s supporting community. We were finishing up the hand printing of invites to our annual member’s party when the decision came down to close the space. The decision was right, we needed to protect our members, volunteers and the visiting public. But the reality of the situation at the time was bleak.
Now, ten months later, that March seems like many years ago. The disaster of rescheduling exhibitions that had been scheduled during the three months of closure, the scrambling to develop new online and distanced efforts to promote and support our artists and community developed an environment where no idea was a bad idea. From installing weekly window displays to ramping up 3D scanning technology in our space, we did everything we could to keep on mission and hopefully be a light in the darkness for our community.

The year we are leaving behind could be summed up as a lonely year - a year of distanced, hunkered down, isolation. But in retrospect, we can, with absolute certainty, say that all of us came together and there were countless lights in the darkness. We have so many heroes to highlight for this year in review, not only to commemorate on the hard times, but to also celebrate that we all survived and in many ways we are reminded that no matter the distance between us - the thread of our community is woven of strong stuff.

First we want to extend our immense appreciation to the artists for being so flexible and cooperative throughout this crazy year. Cancellations, rescheduling, and short notice exhibitions - we asked a lot of these artists this year, but you all reacted and came through with grace and generosity, all while retaining the class, creativity, and ingenuity that we are so proud to facilitate. Thank you!

In addition to the artists, there are many entities working in the background to create this opportunity. We want to make sure and give credit to them for their extra efforts (both monetarily and with their time), which allowed us to keep our space even through closure, helping us to take the time to develop systems and adjust to the "new normal" that came along with Covid-19… Thank you to Neighborworks Alaska, Rasmuson Foundation, The Carr Foundation and the Municipality of Anchorage.

To our volunteers who showed up to the gallery and kept the doors open. During a pandemic, when the risks of being in the public is great, and the work of maintaining social distancing, sanitation, protection and security of the space was harder than could be expected of any paid employee... let alone a volunteer, you stood up to the challenge, and kept the doors open. You are absolute heroes to us, our exhibiting artists and the community. You are the reason this town still had a quiet, clean, safe space to visit amongst the chaos.
So - Joseph Carr, Mary Kancewick, Stephen Gray, Jen Wang, Linda Lucky, Elise Rose, Donna Carr, Lloyd Crow, Heidi Weiland, Kelly Brabec, Sharon Trager, Nan Thompson, Marybeth Holleman, Sarah Woolley, Nathan Perry, and Deborah Hansen - with full hearts we thank you.

Thank you to our board, Don Mohr, Daniel King, Donna Carr, and Amy Robinson & Joe Carr, that took the time and effort to have the discussions and make the calls through this very difficult time.

To our Gallery Manager and hanging assistant, Karinna Gomez and Hans Hallinen. It was a tough year, switching to being 100% online and then having the combination if in person and online exhibitions was no easy task. Through it all our contracted staff was there, dialing everything in and making sure the the gallery, its exhibitions (online and in person), and day to day operations continued with the professionalism and quality we all have come to expect from the IGCA… thank you.

And last but not least, To our members, the backbone of our financial stability. During an economic time of uncertainty, anyone would understand limiting the expenses that include one’s financial membership support of the gallery. We expected our membership to suffer because of the stark economic condition of our state and country. But our members responded by continuing to support our space, by continuing to place value on the IGCA. It is very encouraging to receive the public support during good times, but for it to maintain even during the darkest of times is humbling. We appreciate every single member as the family of the gallery, and we thank you.

On to 2021….

And now here we are in 2021. We are being careful not to put too much expectation on this brand new year. But that is a little hard to do with such a great line up of exhibitions ahead of us which you can preview via the slideshow below. Keep in mind, there are still a lot of unknowns out there so all scheduled exhibitions are somewhat tentative.

We will continue to monitor the pandemic situation and are hopeful that we will be able to have events and gatherings in the not too distant future. But until then, we will be continuing our programing of artist led exhibitions with limited open gallery hours of Wed through Sat, 12-4pm and extensive online efforts so that everyone can safely experience these wonderful exhibitions of 2021.

By the way, we do still have some gaps in our scheduling for 2021. Consider submitting a proposal to exhibit in 2021 or beyond. We would love to hear from you and are excited to see what you have in mind for the space.

Gallery Reopening for July

Starting Friday, July 3rd, we will be open with new gallery hours and three new showing artists. We are so excited to be opening our doors to the public once again, and have been working hard to develop the systems and resources in order to support our volunteers in this “new normal”, as well as safely welcome visitors into the space.

 
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New Hours of Operation - Due to a reduction in our volunteer force we have limited the days the gallery will be open. We will also now be open one evening a week through July. The new gallery hours are as follows:

Wednesday 12-4 pm
Thursday 4-8 pm
Friday and Saturday 12-4 pm

Our first day open in July will be Friday, July 3rd from 12-4 pm.

The gallery is no longer able to host public events, including openings and artist talks. Instead we will continue to encourage artists to gallery sit and we will publicize this opportunity for people to visit the gallery on those days for a chance to meet the artist and learn about their work directly. In addition, we will continue to maintain our online efforts — gallery, shop, and blog posts — for those that want to continue to support the gallery and showing artists but are uncomfortable with being out in public.

Social Distancing - We will limit the number of visitors allowed in the gallery at any one time to no more than about 12 and encourage 6 ft social distancing. There will be place marks on the floor indicating 6 ft distance on all three sides of the desk in order to help volunteers maintain that safe distance from visitors.

Hand Sanitizer - There is a hand sanitizer dispenser at the door and signage will encourage its usage for anyone entering and exiting the gallery.

Masks - The wearing of masks is required in the gallery as per the Municipality of Anchorage mandate pertaining to indoor public spaces.

Cleaning and Sanitizing - Volunteers will be sanitizing touch points consistently during their shift and before they leave. In addition, there will be janitorial cleaning which involves a deeper sanitation process. In order to help maintain best sanitation practices that are easiest for our volunteers, the bathroom will be closed to the public.

Sales - In order to eliminate the need for handling credit cards and close proximity to visitors, we will funnel all sales through our online store. The gallery sitter can direct the customer to our online store to purchase with their smart phone, home computer, or (if they are comfortable doing so) the gallery computer.

Anyone exhibiting symptoms -- be they volunteers, visitors, or studio renters -- should not enter the gallery space.

Bottom line: we are going to approach this in a down-to-earth, rational way, understanding the greatest impact we can have is efforts to reduce the number of people in the gallery space at any given point in time, as well as trust in everyone’s individual responsibility and understanding of the current health risks with being in public spaces in general.

 

Members Exhibition 2020 Artist Spotlights (Part 3/3)

This is the last of three blog posts that highlight each artist member that submitted work to our 2020 Members Exhibition. This, along with the online store and the window displays, represent our efforts to share with you, our arts community, the vision and talents of our creative membership.

This year, we challenged our members to look back on 2019 and define their work in a submission to this exhibition. Many of the artists took the time to tell us a little bit about themselves and where their creative focus has been in the past year, and we have shared those thoughts with you below.

You can look through the images by clicking on the thumbnails below the main image. If you are interested in purchasing any of the artworks for sale you can do that through our online store which is accessible via the “shop” button on the menu bar above, as well as by clicking on the image.

 

Don Mohr

Don is one of the founding members of the IGCA, and continues to volunteer on the board.

Brandon Moore

Brandon has been a member of the IGCA for about a year now, and volunteers as a gallery sitter as well.  When asked where his artistic focus has been this last year, he says,

“I’ve always enjoyed working with ink and now, over the last year, I’ve been experimenting more with stippling and working with other kinds of inks. It’s become a form of meditation and exploration for me.”

Discover more about Brandon and his work on instagram - @birberous, or on his website,  www.birberous.com.

Richard Murphy

Richard has been a member of the IGCA from the beginning, and shares with us some of this last years inspiration…

“This piece came from an enforced stay in Fukuoka, Japan on the southern island of Kyushu in February of 2019. The lotus ponds in winter are largely ignored, in fact this pond was clear cut of old lotus plants while I was there. These plants, and their soon demise, spoke to me of the Japanese concept of wabi sabi, of the transitory and imperfect beauty of nature.”

Find more information on Richard and his work by following him on Instagram - @instaak

Monica O’Keefe

A member for 7 years, Monica shares a bit about her work and her inspiration…

“I’ve always felt the need to make things and create art, and I’ve always been drawn to the outdoors, to the beauty and quiet of natural places. Living in Alaska it’s easy to get outside and notice the things that I want to interpret in paintings. I’m intrigued by variations in scale from tiny to vast. I continue to experiment with acrylic mediums, as well as carving rubber stamps and making stencils for use with acrylic paint, to create designs based on my concept of what looks interesting.”

Discover more about Monica and her work at monicaokeefe.com

Karen Olanna

Discover more about Karen and her work by following her on Instagram - @karen.olanna.art

Carlos Pereira

Carlos has been a member of the IGCA for 2 years.  We asked him to tell us a little about himself and his practice…

”My art is a soliloquy of tales from personal experiences. The styles I use include abstract, landscape, and impressionism work. At the age of 6, I started learning landscape techniques with my mother, an art professor in Texas. In the last two years I have begun experimenting with abstractions, and find that I can create art that communicates my personal experiences to the viewer. Through this channel of thought, I wish to capture an audience that is intrigued by my story.”

Discover more about Carlos and his work at carlospereiraart.com or on instagram - @carlospereiraart

Nathan Perry

Nathan has been a participating artist member for 10 years, as well as a consistent volunteer. This last year he as been focusing on “moving more towards color with Acrylics and exploring Combinations of Realistic Figurative with Abstract elements.”

Discover more about Nathan and his work by visiting his Facebook page, Nathan Perry, or by following him on Instagram - @nhperry01

Miranda Petruska

Miranda has been a member for a little over a year now and has spent much of this last year expanding her audience…

“The past few months I created a website for my work which features a shop, a blog, a gallery, and an “about me” section as well as acknowledgements. I’m still learning the business side of selling art. I’ve participated in a couple of pop-up shops to sell my earrings. I paint, but only when I have time. My full-time job is raising 2 young children, taking college classes, and also working for a tribal health organization. Never a dull moment in my life, which I am grateful for.”

Visit her website, www.dichinanek.com, to discover more about Miranda and her work.

David Pettibone

David has been a member for multiple years and when asked where his creative focus has been this year, he told us “I’ve been working on large-scale narrative work but also painting small, plein air studies. These studies, I find, are an important breath of fresh air while I am deep in my studio work.”  

That’s a coincidence - David and his work, WE FIND, are an important breath of fresh air.

Discover more about David and his practice on instagram - @pettibonedavid, or on his website, davidpettipone.com

Elissa Pettibone

Elissa has been a member for the last several years. You all will remember her as the former IGCA gallery manager, who couldn’t resist the pull of Homer. Over this last year, she’s been focusing her natural dye practice onto indigo. “After 10 years of working with natural dyes, I've dug even deeper into indigo. I am experimenting painting with indigo, a dye that goes through a redox reaction to color fiber. It's hard to paint fabric with a medium that oxidizes before the brush touches the fabric- leading to many experiments. Aside from experiments, I gained inspiration from a Japan trip last fall, learning traditional growing/processing/dyeing/after treatment techniques with indigo. An informative year for me and indigo!” 

You can find more information on Elissa and her work at blueredyellow.org or on instagram - @blueredyellow_dyers.

Tami Phelps

Discover more of Tami’s work and process on her website, tamiphelps.com

MaryBeth Printz

MaryBeth is a new member this year, and she took the time to tell us a little about where her artistic focus has been over the last year…

“My practice has developed from classical observational painting into creating imagery that is conceptual and poetic. I am a visual raconteur who explores a variety of subjects, both personal and societal, that I weave together to express my experiences, opinions, and feelings in an imaginative realistic style. My background in classical realism is meshed with elements of graphic design learned throughout my career and my imagination to produce visual images imbued with a sense of magic.”

Discover more about MaryBeth and her work on Instagram, @mbprintzart.

J. Reto

Jay has been a member for 2 years and is currently working on 2 different series…

“These pieces represent two series I'm working on. 1) Ice Scraper Landscape Series in which principle painting is done using the tooth side of an ice scraper. 2) Reverse Portrait Series implementing German reverse glass painting techniques with mixed media on plexi.”

Faith Revell

Faith has been a member of the IGCA for 3 years. She shared a little about where her focus has been this last year…

“Human geography, natural phenomena and the essence of movement inform my painting. An artist residency in Denali National Park and a float in the Kenai Fjords with scientists and educators inspired new work and a new perspective on the natural world. I puzzle over how to navigate the landscape with imagination, sometimes grace, and a measure of safety. And grow daily, more aware of the din that signals a global community in peril. My work, abstract and experimental, weds heavy with light.”

Amy Robinson

Not only has Amy  been a member for about 2 years, she volunteers as a gallery sitter and serves on the board as well!  When asked where her creative focus has been over the last year she says…

”I have been creating abstract pieces on board and canvas using primarily acrylic paint, pastels, and collage.  I am developing intentionality around shapes and techniques I use, and also trying to understand the shapes I repeatedly make and to embrace them.”

Find out more about Amy and her practice by following her on instagram - @amy_robinson_art

Elise Rose

Amanda Saxton

Amanda has been a member of the gallery for about 10 years.  We asked her to share a bit about herself and where her creative focus has been this year…

”This year I have concentrated on pen & ink illustrations about suffragettes. This exhibit print is in sepia on parchment to exemplify its historical context. I have had past illustrations for Environment and Natural Resources Institute, Taste of Home: Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska, and graphics for the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. I have a MFA in Art from University of Hartford and a MA from Syracuse University. I feel lucky to be in a city close to the mountains with vibrant art and music centers.”

Mikhail Siskoff

Discover more about Mikhail and his work on Instagram - @keysgoclick

Christine Smith

Christine doesn’t know exactly how long she’s been a member but its “a long time!” When asked about where her creative focus has been over the last year she says

“My work can be abstract but is generally grounded in realism. Everything from experimental cold wax paintings like these to animal portraits in oil to intricate mosaic work. Lots of commissioned work is keeping me busy this year!”  We are happy to hear it Christine!

Find more information about Christine and her work at www.christinebradnersmith.com

Becky Stephan

Jen Wang

Jen has been a volunteering as a gallery sitter since last summer and shares with us a little about her process and focus this last year…

“I'm an oil painter. I start a lot of pieces and never finish them, and forget to cap my paints in the meantime. I've gotten better about it only recently, with better habits and more time spent in the painting chair. There's a lot of trust involved in making strong decisions and then allowing yourself to call a work "done." This past year was one full of blocky coloring and cartoon birch trees.”

Discover more about Jen and her work in Instagram - @amanita_house

Lee Waters

Lee has been a member for over 5 years, and she shared a bit about herself…

“In addition to being a special education teacher, I teach American Sign Language in the community. My art work is primarily based in Encaustic, mosaic sculptural pieces and fused glass jewelry. This year, in addition to spending time with my family, I dance to live music 2-3 times a month and host dinner/game night parties. Currently I am a teacher mentor in training and also a post-grad fellow at UAA.”

Visit her website, leewaters.org, to discover more about Lee and her work.

Deondra Welch

Deondra is a new member who has been practicing stained glass for about 25 years.  This last year she been putting her shop back together after moving back to Alaska nearly 4 years ago. 

“The piece that I am submitting is the first one that I've done in 4 years and now belongs to my Aunt.  Most of my work is made as gifts but I do plan on displaying more of it and possibly selling some in the future.  I don't have a website or Insagram yet but that is something else that I will be working on in the coming months.”  Everyone look out for her on instagram in the near future and give her some love.

Sheila Wyne

Sheila, a member of many years, took the time to share with us some of her inspiration and process…

“My work reflects a personal view that an artist’s perspective is applicable in many venues. The media I use is as wide-ranging as the scale, scope and emotional content of each project. No material is off limits. Everything is available for the creative act. I gather the flotsam and jetsam from Northern communities – objects, words, stories, attitudes, ideas and events. I dismantle and deconstruct. Then reconfigure these remnants to find new meaning with fresh insight.”

Visit her website to find more information about Sheila and her work - www.sheilawyne.com

Members Exhibition 2020 Artist Spotlights (Part 2/3)

This is the second of three blog posts that highlight each artist member that submitted work to our 2020 Members Exhibition. This, along with the online store and the window displays, represent our efforts to share with you, our arts community, the vision and talents of our creative membership.

This year, we challenged our members to look back on 2019 and define their work in a submission to this exhibition. Many of the artists took the time to tell us a little bit about themselves and where their creative focus has been in the past year, and we have shared those thoughts with you below.

You can look through the images by clicking on the thumbnails below the main image. If you are interested in purchasing any of the artworks for sale you can do that through our online store which is accessible via the “shop” button on the menu bar above, as well as by clicking on the image.

 

Jonathan S. Green

Jonathan is a printmaker that has been a member of the IGCA for the last three years. He took the time to tell us a little about his practice…

“My research and practice is concerned with climate crisis in the era of the Anthropocene. As of late, it has been focused on the human interaction with geology - specifically the relationships between them. Meaning, a relationship in which rock and human a/effect each other. This implies a boundary between animate life and inanimate life that is more permeable than we currently imagine.“

Find more information about Jonathan and his work on instagram - @jonathansgreen

Somer Hahm

A new member, Somer is a practicing artist based in Fairbanks.

“My most recent body of work, titled "The Painted Quilt" was exhibited January 2020 at FAA's Bear Gallery. A large series of acrylic on canvas, hard edge abstractions, these paintings are directly inspired by the timeless beauty of quilt block designs. Out of this recent body of studio work grew my new artistic endeavor called the Far North Quilt Trail Project (FNQTP), a comprehensive community wide public art project that will establish a distinctly unique barn quilt trail in Fairbanks, Alaska.”

Discover more about Somer, her practice, and this ambitious project online at somerhahm.com and www.thefarnorthquilttrailproject, as well as on Instagram - @somer.hahm and @thefarnorthquilttrailproject

Annekathrin Hansen

Annekathrin has been an IGCA member since 2013. When asked to share a little bit about herself and her practice, she says…

“Nature leads me to the creation of photos, paintings, mosaics, and mixed media pieces. The design of the mixed media picture "Musher - Heading North" is based on photographs of Iditarod mushers. The mixed media piece "Eisbear - 11:03am, 13 February 2019 AKST" (Polar Bear) was created in connection to the Aiviq and Nanuq Sea Bear community exhinition at the Anchorage museum last year. The picture was generated out of a collage of several photos.”

Discover more about Annekathrin and her work at…
artwork-by-anne.com
fineartamerica.com

David Hansen

David is a new member and this last year he has focused his artistic practice on “looking at the northern landscape for ideas about function and inevitability.”

Deborah Hansen

Deborah is not only a long time member, she is also a practicing artist and much appreciated volunteer.

Lesley Harrison

Lesley has been a member for about 12 years. When asked to tell us a bit about her practice, she shares…

“I like to experiment and work on a theme for some time. This includes researching a topic to help me get beyond the obvious. I enjoy combining images which are not typically seen together, to add interest and tension or a surprise which enlivens the resulting image.”

Find more information about Lesley and her work on her website, www.harrisonharrison.com.

Judith Hoersting

Judith has been a member and supporter of the gallery since the very beginning. She is a regular participant in group shows as well as a great volunteer. This last year she’s been busy prepping for 2020…

“Studio work is focused on my solo October 2020 exhibition at Alaska Pacific U. Global traveling to several will provide visual excitement & challenge! Stay tuned!”

Esther Hong

Rhonda Horton

Rhonda has been a member for the last 8 years. This last year she has focused on travel and learning some new processes…

“I am an artist-printmaker who works with various materials for construction of matrixes for printing. This past year, through an artist residency with Master Printmaker Maureen Booth in Pinos Genil, Spain, I had the opportunity to learn solar plate intaglio process and book art. My work focuses on discovering shorebirds of Palmer Hay Flats through the act of drawing, solar plate, monoprinting, and book art. The shorebirds I have chosen are vulnerable and currently on Audubon AlaskaWatch List.”

Discover more about Rhonda on her website, rhondahortonart.com and on Facebook - RhondaHortonArt

Margret Hugi-Lewis

Jody Jenkins

Jody is a long term IGCA member and shares a bit about what her practice and influences…

“I am ever in awe of where I live in this northern place and I am passionate about drawing. My art is created primarily for myself, documenting what I experience and think about. Though, I do like my art to tell a story of some sort, and I do at times want to share my work. I would like others to look carefully and try to figure out if there is any meaning to any of this.”

Dakota Jewell

Dakota is a new member at the IGCA and has been focusing on “impressionistic landscapes and representational abstract paintings” this year.

Melissa Kapelari

Melissa is a new member of 6 months, she is not only a practicing artist but a consistent volunteer as well. She shares with us what has been her focus over the last year…

“I have an experimental love for oil painting. Recently I've been dabbling in acrylic and come to love it's wild range of colors that I can't always get with oil. I’m mostly interested in bright colors, fantasy landscapes, and geometric shapes. This brings me to my current obsession with power lines. The wires form so many shapes and chaos from the cables which fascinates me.”

Discover more about Melissa and her practice on her website, melissakapelari.wixsite.com, or follow her on Instagram - @merlissak_art.

Amy Komar

Amy is a new member to the IGCA, and we asked her to share a little about herself… 

“This past summer, my family & I moved from Fairbanks, my home of twenty years, to Homer. Since graduating from UT Austin with a BA in Studio Art in 2001, I have maintained a regular painting practice. I am no stranger to creating make shift spaces to sustain my practice, having a strong belief that consistently showing up for your work is the way to find your voice and direction as an artist. I’m currently working on a painting series exploring the intersection of self and motherhood.”

Discover more about Amy and her work by visiting her website - amykomar.com, or on instagram - @amykomar

Susan Lagrande

Susan has been a member of the IGCA for over 5 years. The last year saw a shift of focus and a new body of work to show...

“The two submissions are part of a new series which explores the notion that all things are connected by the space between. In the past year I have focused more on my painting than my wire sculpture works. This effort culminated in a showing this fall of my paintings at South Restaurant.”

Go to Susan’s website, SusanLaGrandearts.com, to discover more about her and her work.

Carol Lambert

Carol has not only been a member of the IGCA for the last 17 years, she volunteers her time to help run the life drawing sessions that we host in the back work area of the gallery. When asked what her creative focus has been over the last year and she shares,

“I have, over the last year and a half, changed my art practice from oil painting to printmaking, mainly etching on copper plates. Whereas my oil paintings were representational, my etchings are inspired by illustration, comics, and political cartoon traditions. My prints address environmental realities and areas of social conflict. I always depict human and/or animal figures, often in surreal landscapes. I use colors, characters, and unusual imagery to both amuse and provoke the viewer. “

Discover more about Carol and her work on instagram - @carollambertarts, and on her website, carollambertarts.com

Jonathan Lang

Jonathan has been a member of the IGCA for about 7 years, and we always appreciate his unique contributions to our Member’s Exhibitions. He took the time to share with us a bit about his focus over the last year…

“ In the last year I have focused more on video embedded in sculptural pieces of found and re-purposed objects. Projecting still images and video has remained a staple of my studio time with shop time devoted to making and assembling the sculptures as well as working out the (literal) kinks in the wiring and electronics.”

Discover more about Jonathan and his work on Facebook - Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain Films, or on Instagram - @AKFilmmaker

William Lee

William Lee, an IGCA member for the last 2 years, is an artist that creates computational artworks based on mathematical fractals. ”My work explores the creative abilities inherent to mathematics. It is my aim to provoke a renewed interest and passion in the audience for the wonder and joy that math and science bring.”

Find out more about William and his work on his website -  www.ArtistryInEquations.com, or on his Facebook page -  Artistry in Equations.

John Letourneau

Kristin Link

Kristin, a member of 2 years, does lovely work that blend science and art delightfully…

”I work with mixed media, collage, drawing, and cyanotype. My recent work explores watersheds and related ecosystems in Alaska. It looks at glaciated landscapes and rivers, coastlines, and ocean-scapes. I am interested in the multiple ways people come to understand the changing landscape through science, beauty, mystery, and magic. This work was completed during a recent artist residency at the Jenni House in Whitehorse, YT and as part of a collaboration with poet and writer Jeremy Pataky.”

Discover more about Kristin on her website, KristinLink.com, or follow her in instagram - @linkkristin

Petra Lisiecki

Petra has been a member of the IGCA for at least 10 years. She shares a little about her practice and inspirations…

“I am an Anchorage based photographer but have also lived and worked in London. My focus has been on portraiture and photographing in the theatre world, different disciplines, much behind the scenes. I love movement in images and unusual light, either very dark or very bright. My work is showing in the Cyrano’s Patrons Lounge Gallery at present, until March 11th. The title of my show is “All’s well that ends well.”

Discover more about Petra on her website, petralisiecki.com.

Linda Lucky

Lucky has been a member of the IGCA for at least 17 years, commonly participates in our group shows, regularly volunteers as a gallery sitter, and is a passionate supporter of the local arts community at large. Follow her on Instagram to see more of her work, as well as the work of many local artists - @aklindalucky

Linda Infante Lyons

Find more information on Linda and her work on her website, lindainfantelyons.com

Shiela Mahaney

Shiela, who has been a member for 3 years, has been incredibly busy over this last year! She has been in 12 juried exhibitions Internationally, including a museum exhibition in Massachusetts, magazine publication in Colorado, Fujifilm photo exhibit in Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central in New York City. Her artistic artwork received a Best of Show award and she also received another Honorable Mention award in the International Photo Awards. Last fall, she was invited and attended the Photo Gala Awards in Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Discover more about Shiela and her work on Instagram - @axleblu or by visiting her website, shielamahaney.com.

Enzina Marrari

Find more information about Enzina and her work on Instagram - @enzinamarrariart

Scott McDonald

Scott has been a participating artist and member of the IGCA for 18 years. He shares a little about his adventures over the last year…

“In 2018, my family and I took a year-long leave of absence from our Alaskan lives to live in Cuenca, Ecuador. There we immersed ourselves into Ecuadorian culture and I rented a small studio space. Although our home, and my studio, is in Anchorage, we also spend much of our summers in Homer, Alaska. Over the past 18 months I worked in these three locations, in three different studios, which has led to three distinct bodies of work.”

Find more about Scott and his work checking out his website, www.scottmcdonaldart.com or by following him on Instagram - @scottmcdonaldpaintingstudio

Amy Meissner

Amy has been a member of the IGCA for about 5 years and we asked her to share a bit about herself and the direction her creative focus has taken this last year…

”I have a craft-based practice that utilizes materials made by women who came before me, most of whom are unknown. This work considers their literal, physical, and emotional labor within the context of radically caring for their memory and marginalized skills. This last year I started an MA in Critical Craft Studies outside of Alaska, and locally have been engaged in the participatory practice of community mending through the Anchorage Museum's SEED Lab.”

Discover more about Amy and her work on her website - www.amymeissner.com, and on instagram - @amymeissnerartist

Diane Melms

Diane has been a member for the last 10 years. What has she been up to this last year? 

“I have been busy in the studio… creating a new body of work for two upcoming solo shows. This new work is not yet ready for exhibit, but I am happy to be showing two other recent pieces. Focus and Gather are machine pieced compositions which I created using a line of commercial stripe fabrics. I particularly enjoy working with stripe fabric because of its potential for creating interesting patterns in a composition.” 

We congratulate her on her solo exhibits and can’t wait to see the new work!

Discover more about Diane and her work on instagram - @dianememsartist or on her website, dianemelms.com.

Members Exhibition 2020 Artist Spotlights (Part 1/3)

This is the first of three blog posts that highlight each artist member that submitted work to our 2020 Members Exhibition. This, along with the online store and the window display, represent our efforts to share with you, our arts community, the vision and talents of our creative membership.

This year, we challenged our members to look back on 2019 and define their work in a submission to this exhibition. Many of the artists took the time to tell us a little bit about themselves and where their creative focus has been in the past year, and we have shared those thoughts with you below.

You can look through the images by clicking on the thumbnails below the main image. If you are interested in purchasing any of the artworks for sale you can do that through our online store which is accessible via the “shop” button on the menu bar above, as well as by clicking on the image.

Behind the Eight Ball Enterprises (J.E. Ilgen & C. E. Licka)

This project and artwork is produced by the non-profit consortium, Behind the Eight Ball Enterprises, which has been a member of the IGCA for the last 20 years.

T.V. Baranov

Tristan is a new member this year and we are excited to have another metalsmith with us. We asked him to tell us a little about what he’s been focused on this year…

“Work space and tooling changes brought about an exciting change to work in a larger scale than before, which has been a long term goal. This year I have been focusing on finish and patina, my goal is to be able to use low impact and local materials to complement the recycled metals I prefer to use.”

Find out more about Tristan and his work by following him on Instagram - @tristanbaranov

Daniel Becker

Daniel is a new member of the IGCA and has been focusing on film, photography and painting this last year.

Elizabeth Belanger

Elizabeth has been a member of the gallery for about a year. This last year she’s been working on exploration of style.

“I’ve been transforming my style from more realistic based portraiture into increasingly imagination based portraiture and scenes from memory.”

Discover more about Elizabeth and her work on Facebook - Elizabeth Belanger and on Instagram - @b_richie_b

Mandy Bernard

Mandy has been an IGCA member for the last two years.

Find more information about Mandy and her work on Instagram - @mandybernardstudio or on her website, mandybernard.com

Kayo Bogdan

Kayo has been a member for about a year and creates delightful fiber works based on nature. She is eager to “experiment with other fiber art skills” this year and we are looking forward to seeing those explorations. You can find her crocheted creations at various venues around town especially during the festival season in the summer.

Discover more about Kayo and her work on Instagram - @roomswithshrooms or on her website - roomswithshrooms.com

Albert Bowling 

Jackie Bowling

Jackie has been a member of the IGCA for 2 years now, and her colorful pieces brought smiles to everyone during install and First Friday.

”I took painting classes Spring and Fall last year. These two pieces are light-hearted and fun. My ideas usually come from my dreams or from humorous events I see around me each day. “

Linda Brady Farr

Linda has been a member for several years now and we asked her to share a bit about where her artistic focus has been over the last year…

“In 2015, after working in and exhibiting fiber art in Alaska and the lower 48 for over forty years, I have turned my focus back to painting and printmaking. The 2016 presidential election and the resulting turmoil in our country motivated me to paint a series of tornadoes. By 2019 the political and actual climate had become so worrisome that I have continued to fill large canvases with turbulent skies and tornadoes.”

Abby Brown

Abby became a member of the gallery this year and we are happy to have her on board!

“I've been experimenting by adding depth to my work, finding ways to create unique textures.  This year, I focused on the beauty and complexity of mental health.  My works are reflections of sunsets, which embody the self-reflection process and aren't symmetrical to represent cognitive distortions like over-generalization.  Going forward, I want to continue exploring psychology, particularly suicidal ideations. I hope we can a open dialogue and minimize the stigmas associated with seeking help.”

Find out more about Abby and her work on her website at www.themistyvalleystudio.com, or on instagram - @themistyvalleystudio

Meghan LH Bundtzen

Find more about Meghan and her work at meghanlhbundtzen.wordpress.com

Randall Carlson

Randall is along time supporter of the IGCA, a member since 2002.

"For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror which we are barely able to endure and are awed because it serenely disdains to annihilate us." ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Discover more about Randall and his work on Facebook - Laniakea Dreamscapes.

Sally Carr

Sally has been a member of the IGCA for over a year now. This last year has seen lots of changes in her artistic focus with the start of her first year at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where she has been exposed to many new mediums.

Find more about Sally and her work on instagram - @sallycarr907

Joe Carr

Joe has been a member of the IGCA for the last 5 years. In addition to being a supporting member, he regularly volunteers his time on facility repairs and maintenance as well as serving on the board.

Find more about Joe and his work on instagram - @isaboja, and on his website, antiquatedpress.com

Joyce Coolidge

Joyce has been a member for about 10 years now and is a delight to have in the gallery. When asked what her artistic focus has been lately she shares…

“I've been working mostly in encaustic medium for several years,and my work has been focusing on line and repetition. There are times that I've had work in a group show that I struggle with a theme and remaining consistent to my aesthetic. This is a frustrating venture but is an opportunity to stretch myself. I'm currently working a artwork for a solo show in April 2020 at the Georgia Blue gallery.”

Find more information about Joyce and her work at joycecoolidge.com

Carla Cope

Carla is a new member to the IGCA and we asked her to tell us a little bit about herself and what her creative focus has been over the last year.

”I’m an artist and a mother. At times these two identities struggle to co-exist, but being a mom has also focused and intensified my drive to make art. In 2019, I embarked on a series of creative experiments, playing with new materials, ideas and forms. My new work is about relationships: to the self and to each other. I paint to find balance and to express the contradictions within these relationships. I'm inspired by the cycles of the natural world, and the human place within it.”

Discover more about Carla on instagram - @carlacope, or on her website, carlakcope.com.

John Coyne

John is a multimedia artist that has been a member of the gallery for the last two years. We asked him to share a little bit about himself and what he’s been up to artistically over the last year.

“I am a painter and a sculptor, and although these cross disciplinary practices influence each other, I've mostly kept them separated. But this summer I combined the two forms, and under Alaskas municipal Percent For Art Program I completed a sculptural installation on the corner of Spenard and Benson. The title of the piece is "Spen", and it combines mixed media, stainless steel and cast bronze, and I've incorporated hand painted murals into "Spen". “

Find more information about John and his work on his website, johncoyneartist.com

Katie Ione Craney

Katie has been a member of the IGCA for the last two years. When asked to explain where her creative focus has been over the last year, she shares…

“Discarded and found materials continue to guide my process. I've been working with imagery and qiviut gathered from the Norton Sound area outside of Nome, alongside single-use, human-made ephemera, to explore historical and contemporary ways we buy and sell Alaska.”

Discover more about Katie and her work on her website, katiecraney.com, and on instagram - @decipheringchange

Darin Crow

Darin just recently became a member of the IGCA and has spent the last year sculpting in both stone and wood “attempting to retain the organic form the material.”

Lloyd Crow

Not only is Lloyd a long time member, he regularly volunteers his time to gallery sit and is always happy to have a conversation about the art showing in the gallery and the arts community in general.

Graham Dane

Find more about Graham on Facebook - Graham Dane, and on his website - grahamdane.com

Monica Devine

Monica has been a member of the IGCA for 6 years. We asked her to share a little bit about herself and her practice…

“I am a writer and visual artist who exercises an eclectic approach to the creation of ideas. I draw from my participation in sculpture and painting to explore the existential quandary of humans, animals and objects through the medium of ceramics, and often use my poetry as a springboard for inspiration. “

Find more information about Monica and her work on her website, monica devine.com and on Instagram - @monicadevine.art

Tea Di Ramos

Tea has been an IGCA member for the last 3 years and you can find more about her and her work on Instagram - @teart_design

Adria Dobson

Adria has been a member of the IGCA for the last 2 years. When asked where her artistic focus has been this last year she says…

“My practice this year has included acrylic painting in the Baroque Revival and creating more color of vibrancy. Practicing lots of painting with acrylic ink and some water color has been the recent mediums I have worked with.”

Zelma Denise Gallup

Zelma, a member of many years, works in a variety of mediums…


”My practice consists of many media; fiber, printmaking, drawing, painting and mixed media. I explore methods and concepts in no particular rhythm but my own.”

Find more about Zelma on Instagram - @zdenisegallup

Dianne Gillis-Robinson

Dianne has been a member for about a year now, and she is also a dedicated volunteer, who is always happy to chat about art. This last year she has “taken a deep dive in Alaskan landscapes beginning with small studies and progressing to larger works.”

Discover more about Diane and her work on instagram - @dianne.makes.art or on her website, studio3519.com.

KN Goodrich

A member since at least 1999, Kay tells us a bit about her artistic focus over the last year…

“I've spent most of the last year focused on recovering from knee surgery. The pieces I've submitted were completed in 2018 between spine and knee surgeries. My goals are to create somewhat mysterious compositions that symbolise or resonate with a narrative which remains impenetrable, allowing the viewer to find a parallel in their own life experiences. My practice involves combining traditional painting mediums with modern digital technologies.”

Find more information about KN on her website, studiogoodrich.com

Ann Gray

Ann has been a supporting participant of the IGCA community since it first started in the 80s.  She is a consistent member, practicing artist, and a generous volunteer as well!

“I have always been an 'observer ' and easily distracted by things that I see around me. My attention is often drawn to the graphic arrangement of things and the juxtaposition of people or objects in different situations that I see. I enjoy having a camera or my cell phone at hand to help me capture a moment or something that I find visually interesting. I often use my photographs as a source of inspiration for printmaking images.”

Gallery Closure and 2020 Members Exhibition

GALLERY CLOSURE as of March 13th

Tufted Puffin | Acrylic | Nathan Perry

Tufted Puffin | Acrylic | Nathan Perry

In response to the current global pandemic, the IGCA board has voted to close the gallery to the public. This closure is intended to protect our volunteers, our members and our greater community. 

We do not know how long this closure will extend, but as of today we are planning on being closed through April. We are working directly with the affected artists to reschedule. Please keep an eye on our upcoming exhibitions page for more information. 

Moving forward, we will be assessing the situation regularly and may need to adjust programming beyond April. We will, of course, communicate in advance any updates on this closure to our members & subscribers via email and our social media platforms. 

MEMBERS EXHIBITION

We have been looking forward to March since the last members exhibition, and although the IGCA itself is closed, we have creative plans to continue the 2020 Membership Exhibition. It is such an important event for the gallery and it's supporters, and we are committed to sharing the work and talents of our creative community.

Our current plan for the Members Exhibition:

  • Going Digital : we will pursue even more efforts in promoting individual artists & works on our social media, through posts & stories. Please look out for these and engage with us as we attempt to bring the exhibition out of the gallery. 

  • Online Gallery : we are going to use this opportunity to build an online gallery of the Members Exhibition work. This will allow people to view the work, read more about the artists and make online purchases. 

  • Window Installations : We are going to build a temporary, lit, display wall in our large front windows. This will allow us to cycle work from the members exhibition on a weekly basis and display it to our community. Please drive or walk by on occasion to check it out.  

  • Extended through April : Since we have cancelled April's exhibition - we are extending the members exhibition (window & virtual) into April. 

If you are a participating member in the exhibition, and you need your work before the end of April, please communicate with us directly and we, of course, can coordinate for pick up. Otherwise plan on pick up dates for the members show exhibition to be in early May. 

Our annual Members Party is also indefinitely postponed. We love our members celebration and are CERTAIN to host it eventually. As mentioned above, we will update plans as we get more information and it becomes safer to open the gallery and consider social congregation. 

The Opening was very well attended - nearly 300 people through the door! We are thankful that we had the chance to see so many supporters in person and celebrate our amazing community.

The Opening was very well attended - nearly 300 people through the door! We are thankful that we had the chance to see so many supporters in person and celebrate our amazing community.

IN CONCLUSION

We want to encourage our community to please stay safe, adopt proper protection, hygiene, and social distancing efforts to prevent the spread of this dangerous virus in our community. The best way to collectively assist in this environment is to be diligent as individuals. This is true if we are part of the vulnerable population or not. We are all in this together. 

The IGCA may be closed, but we are going to work harder than ever to support, promote, uplift, and pursue our mission in this difficult time.