Fireweed Gallery presents Winter Moon Metals handwrought jewelry by Homer's Mary Huff of Salty Girls.      The exhibit opens with a reception on Friday, February 3rd, from 4pm to 7pm, and will remain in the main gallery through February 29th.

copper jewelry by Mary Huff

Mary hammers and etches sterling silver and copper metals and combines them with the moody bluesy gemstones of labradorite, moonstone and aquamarine.  She then takes it a step further and mixes in the natural materials of wood, bone, and shell, resulting in jewelry that is earthy and organic--uniquely Mary and entirely wearable.

     

"I feel as if I have just launched myself off a springboard into an endless world of creativity.  Recently I began to work with wire, then etching and soldering, cold connections and forging.  My head is spinning with ideas to combine metals with the stringing and beading I have been doing for years.  The rising price of sterling silver led me to experiment with copper.  My favorite materials are sterling silver, copper, and the moody, bluesy gemstones: labradorite, moonstone, and aquamarine.  Mixing them with natural materials like wood, bone, and shell results in earthy and organic creations.  I am not a perfectionist.        "Etching on Copper: Etching adds texture and detailed images to metal.  It is addicting.  Like most processes there are many different ways to go about it.  Here is my method: I stamp or draw images onto a sheet of copper.  The stamped image will resist the etchant.  I protect the sides and back from the etchant and then suspe And the metal upside down in the ferric chloride like little boats.  Then after about a ½ hour they go into an ammonia/water bath.  I cut the pieces out with my jewelers saw, sand and form.  I also patina most pieces in liver-of-sulfur and then tumble to polish and work harden.  I don't polish to a high shine because I like the moody dark shadows."

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"Event Horizon"

"La Paz de La Palomas"

     

"When I returned to art after retirement, I began by painting with watercolors. However, I found that everything I painted was intensely colorful, so I tried acrylics, and am able to get that intensity and layering of color I want to express. Flowers of all kinds have always touched my soul in a very positive way, and I want others' to find that uplifting feeling through my art. I particularly enjoy the large format, since painting something large engages my whole body. I dance the picture as I paint the piece."

"Gone Forever" "These two old boats, the 'Spanky Paine' and the 'Honcho' were hauled out of the Homer Harbor in 2011 and cut up for scrap metal. I thought they were picturesque and wanted to remember them in a painting.

"I paint because of the way it makes me feel--totally absorbed in the interaction of watercolor and paper--totally disconnected from all the problems of the outside world. If I create a work that's pleasing to others, it's a bonus!

"My favorite subjects are the wild landscapes of Alaska, where I've lived since 1976. Capturing thier magnificent beauty on paper is a challenge that keeps me striving to improve." Also held over from the April exhibit is a selection from "Soul Expose', large scale floral images by Lou Anne Person. These acrylic paintings are bold and colorful, a feast for the eye.

July 2012

"Capturing the Character of Elusive Subjects/Sketches from a Pencil Box"
by
Mary Bee Kaufman

Whether sketching to the frenetic pulse of Brazilian guitar music or to the cries of gulls along the beaches of Kachemak Bay, sounds create the cadence.       A sketchbook is MaryBee's constant companion and she has been laying line and watercolor into her field journals for many years--come take a peak!       Exhibit opens with a reception on Friday, July 6th, 5pm to 7pm and remains in the gallery through the month.

      

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August 2012

" FISH.PEOPLE.BOATS "
by
George Maurer

"A visual story about Homer, Alaska. The unique design of every boat (and fish) motivates me to draw the beautiful, graceful lines. The curves in the hull as it meets the water, the myriad of lines in the rigging, and the working people on the docks come together for me into energetic compositions. The colors I see in the buoys, the nets, the fish and the boats dancing on the every changing water keep me coming back to draw another day. So, during the month of August special for the Gallery, I am drawing a boat a day. That drawing will be in the gallery the next day,"       Exhibit opens with a reception on Friday, August 3rd, 5pm to 7pm and remains in the gallery through the month.

     

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---I used oil based paint to paint this on unstretched canvas. The water color in the river that runs next to the boardwalk matches the white chalkiness of a glacier fed river. But the subject is caught fish. Unlike most of my other work, I tried to show these fish as close to realism as I could.---

September 2012

HOME LANGUAGE
by
Carla Klinker Cope

"This winter, I spent a lot of time sorting through piles of my old artwork: images I'd drawn as a child, paintings from high school, prints from college. I was struck by how free it was, tapped directly from my imagination. In recent years, I've been working almost exclusively from things I see and photograph. I enjoy creating paintings this way, but in the blank whiteness of winter, it felt limited. I needed a new challenge and I wanted to get back in step with my creativity. I asked myself: if I took away the photographs, what would I paint?       "Home Language is the result of that exploration. When I start a new painting, I begin with color or a repeated pattern and then respond to my materials by layering paint, crayon, charcoal and clear mediums. Eventually, images surface. I see the images that emerge: fish, bones, house, scales, nest, and egg, as icons. They function as a symbolic language. Each one feels very personal, but they are not exclusive symbols. I like the fact that a nest, a house, an egg are rich, universal concepts, open to metaphor and interpretation. I think of Home Language as a conversation in my natural language: picture-making."       Exhibit opens with a reception on Friday, September 7th, 5pm to 7pm and remains in the gallery until Tusday, October 2nd.

     

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October 2012

Alaskan Watercolor Paintings
by
Caren Graupe

In between life's activities and daily emotional dramas Caren makes time to paint.  In her work she strives to communicate what she sees--the beauty of land and sea, the unpredictability of water and Alaska's natural environment through the seasons,  her goal, to communicate the beauty of this every changing world in paint      Alaskan Watercolor Paintings is the result of that exploration.       After moving to Seldovia Alaska, Caren learned she could paint.  She joined a group of friends and painted every week for years. "Presently I am living between Homer Alaska, Washington and Pennsylvania.  During the winter months I am able to drink coffee and experiment and continue practising watercolor painting.  The results of the past winter are presented in the October show at Fireweed Gallery."       Caren's exhibit opens with a reception on Friday, October 5, 5-7pm.

November 2012

Mixin' It Up
by
Michael Murray

Fireweed Gallery is "Mixin' It Up" with well known local watercolor artist, Michael Murray.       Michael selected the title because (he says) the art work he's featuring has no specific visual theme and includes a variety of subjects.  One thing they all have in common is that they almost always tell a story.       And...he has he has a litle more "mixin it up " to do by bringing a few of his friends along with their ukuleles to provide some hand-clapping entertainment at the opening reception.       The reception is from 5pm to 7pm, Friday, November 2nd.  Michael's exhibit will remain in the gallery until December 5th.