the essence of art in Homer
Fireweed Gallery
To purchase art,
please call the Gallery at
(907) 235-3411
| Fireweed Gallery the essence of art in Homer | Fireweed Gallery | To purchase art, |
| The Year 2013 in Review |
Happy New Year to All Our Friends |
 |
This series reflects Rebecca's interest in art, her appreciation of Alaskan landscape, Alaskan history, and her work experience. For many years Rebecca was a shipwright repairing wooden fishing boats and spent time crewing aboard trollers and longliners. She was instructed in wood engraving by Dale DeArmond. All of these elements converge and are brought forth in the images presented. Rebecca's exhibit opens on Friday from 5-7pm, March 1st and continues through April 2. |
 |  |  |
Anchorage artist, Janaan Kitchen, has created a vibrant show of fine art
batiks to herald in Springtime. |
 |
| This year KBWS celebrates the process of coming together with special dedication to the late Paula Dickey, mentor and advocate for the arts. Always a popular feature is the unveiling of the yearly group collaborative painting. Collaborative pieces have reflect the incredible collective energy that has evolved within KBWS over the years. Sales of collaborative pieces and prints help fund workshops and events. |
Place mouse cursor on image to view name of painting and artist |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Pilferes, Paddlers, and Banditry--the art of birds", watercolor paintings by MaryBee Kaufman Naturalist-guide, artist, art instructor, photographer and writer. For MaryBee, birds are a passion. She finds solace in their presence, awe in their subtle strength, and joy in their synchronicity. Her paintings portray organic shapes, laying feather upon feather, to discover structural integrity on nature's scale. Both exhibits open with artists receptions from 5 to 7pm on Friday, May 3, and continue up until June 5. |
Place mouse cursor on image to view name of painting and artist |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 June 2013: Wind and Water' Beauty Portraits of Alaskan Models |
Fireweed Gallery's June featured artist is local photographer Joshua Veldstra. Joshua was born and raised in Homer Alaska, then traveled to Portland to study studio and photo processing with professional photographer and film maker Jelani Memory. Joshua has always worked with the goal of showing the heart and soul of the people he photographs. That has led him to India, Europe and the Middle East. In 2010 Joshua made his passion a reality and made photography a full time business. He works have been published in The GOODS magazine and three times in Vogue Italia's Photo Vogue. The exhibits open with artists reception from 5 to 7pm on Friday, June 7, and continues through July 3. |
|
"A WELCOME TRANSITION FROM WATER TO OIL" I believe painting should be an expression of one's own inner reality, perhaps
married to an impression of what we see around us. I am committed to
painting
out-of-doors when the subject is a landscape or close-up view of organic,
usually botanical forms.
Four of these paintings were done outside. I strive to
seize a particular moment when the light gives my subject the most color and
contrast in values. My goal is to convey a lively surface of hue and
energy.
The interplay of bold colors and shapes is the foundation to my
compositions. I
combine the abstract with the real.
I painted predominately watercolors for over thirty years, until 2007, when I
received my fine art degree in Virginia. Since then I have been painting
in oil
as well as watercolor.
This show represents that transition. However, my brush
work of loose individualized strokes acquired from my many years painting
wet-in-wet watercolor is still evident in the oils.
I work to create unity in the pictorial relationships of lost and found
edges,
in the recognizable shapes linked with unrecognizable shapes, and in color and
emotional impact.
My goal is to provide an image that holds interest and
inspires. The exhibit opens with artist's reception from 5 to 7pm on Friday, July 5,
and continues through July 30. |
 Oil Painting by Rebecca Middleton |
"Here"by Fireweed Gallery presents "Here" cut-work art by Valisa Higman. Valisa was born in Seldovia, Alaska, and studied psychology and art at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Influenced by her father, a wood-carver, her grandfather, and mother who both hand cut silk-screens; Valisa began working at a young age. Her cut-paper artwork all starts as a sheet of black paper. Carving away at the background using an exacto knife, her images are revealed in an intricate lacework of lines. Using the black as her foreground, she fills the negative space by piecing together layers of paper in vibrant colors and textures. As a finishing touch, she adds the last details and shading with watercolor. Her work reflects her love of community, food, and nature. Most of the pieces in Valisa's show "Here" were completed over the last year in a small yurt on her mother's land in Seldovia. Scenes of Alaskan life and landscape are punctuated by pieces designed during recent travels to Mexico, where she studied ceramics with a potter in Oaxaca, and to Bahrain, where she was given a generous introduction to a vibrant culture. Her artwork has been featured in cafes and galleries throughout her journeys. Recent juried shows included the Mayor's Art Show in Eugene, OR, and The Clay Cup, a national juried exhibition at the George Caleb Bingham Gallery at University of Missouri. The exhibit opens on Friday, August 2nd, with a reception from 5 to 7pm. Valisa's works will be on display in the Fireweed Gallery through September 4th.
|
 cut-work art by Valisa Higman |
September 2013 Exhibit "Dreaming of Teeth and Treasure" "I sometimes have dreams that evoke such a powerful feeling by their images and characters that they stick with me for years. I try to recreate those dreams and feelings but usually it's like grasping at mist and the picture is only partially complete, so I add a layer of consciousness. Here on the walls before you, you see what my sleeping and waking minds have made." Julia was born and raised in Homer, the daughter of two artists and sister to another. She has traveled extensively out of Alaska and enjoys the new wonders the world has to offer - sometimes places, but mostly the life in them. Julia just turned 30, enjoys telling people that she is 30, just finished a Masters degree in teaching (but does not tell anyone she is a teacher) and thinks that life is getting better with age. She also finds it strange to talk about herself in the third person, but that's what people do in artist biographies, right? In any case, she hopes you enjoy (or get some sort of feeling from) her paintings and hopes that you will indulge your creative side too. She is often astounded and inspired by other people's cleverness and wishes more people would nut-up and make something neat. She thanks you for coming! The exhibit opens on Friday, September 6, with a reception from 5 to 7pm. Julia's works will be on display in the Fireweed Gallery through October 2nd.
|
 Painting by Julia Stutzer |
OCTOBER 2013 Exhibit "Yours In Kelp" Fireweed Gallery presents "Yours In Kelp", wearable and decorative fiber art by Linda Weatherwax. Linda enjoys spending time walking along the water's edge at the harbor and beaches of Homer. She has drawn inspiration for this exhibit from the undulating forms of kelp as it moves in the water and as is found washed up onto the beach. Linda has used the ancient art form of batik to create the fiber works on display. Batik is a wax resist dyeing technique on fabric. Melted beeswax is used as a resist. Linda first outlines the kelp form, then applies beeswax with a brush. When the forms are defined, fabric dye is brushed into areas to be colored. The work is given time to dry and then she repeats the process to achieve desired texture and color. Linda's exhibit includes a variety of hand dyed clothing, table linens, banners and scarves. Her exhibit opens with an artist's reception from 5-7 on Friday October 4 and continues through October 30.
|
 Batik painting by Linda Weatherwax |
November 2013 exhibit Fireweed Gallery's November offering presents works by three of Homer's best artists
"Journey's End"by
Don Henry
Don Henry
began creating metal art is the early 1960's. In 1966 his first
entry was awarded Best of Show. He moved to Alaska in 1974
then to Homer in 1984. His employment required precision, so he learned
to enjoy the artistic freedom of welding together whatever he desired
to create sculptures. He collects interesting metal objects,odd bits of
equipment and
yard sale finds which are then incorporated into his sculptures.
. Don's title comes from his many years collecting just the right
parts in order to complete his feature piece, the Tricycle. "Aurora on Canvas"by Dennis Anderson
Dennis Anderson
is a master at photographing Alaska's illusive aurora in all its
forms, colors and intensities. His passion has taken him as far
as Norway where his photo "Angle Fire" won him the award of Northern
Photo of the Year in 2005. New this year, Dennis is presenting
these works on canvas. His exhibit presents new images along with a few
favorites.
. Viewers will be enjoy seeing auroras in larger format on canvas
. "Travel Impressions--Homer to Oaxaca"pastel,pen & ink
by Kristen Tonga
For the past two years Kristen has spent sunny days sitting on the streets of
Oaxaca and recording daily life in pen and ink, and pastel. She's taken
to the
road again for this exhibit and presents a colorful slice of Mexican life, its
buildings, landscapes, and people encountered along the way. Also on
exhibit are
several artworks from artist friends. As a bonus, Kristen will be
sketching a
few quick portrait commissions for viewers during the reception.
| ||||||
Begining reception is from 5pm to 7pm on Friday, November 1st. All three artists works will remain on display in the gallery hrough December 4th. |
December 2013 exhibit Fireweed Gallery's December offering "Fireweed at the Fireweed and Other Local Renderings by Dan Coe" "From hand painted foyer benches to wall art - fine art for everyone's Holiday gift list." Perhaps its been because of his pragmatic Western Pennnsylvanian upbringing, Dan Coe's art career can be described as "art through the back door". He received a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Arts from Grove City College were he took every available art class. After graduation started a contemporary clothing company along with fellow GCC graduate Alex Hutnick. Named the "Baba Klub", it was based in Pittsburgh. Theirstore featured a variety of unique designs inspired by a mixture of the region's eastern european heritage, Andy Warhol pop and finally the neo-hippie movement (then popular in 1985-87). A debut on a nationally syndicated television show, press coverage in several east coast newspapers, two trade shows in New York and the "DNR Spring Press Preview" in Atlanta, Georgia launched his entrance into the East Coast art scene. Dan freely melted pop design with commercial practicality working large canvases for pos displays along with the clothing he created . In the 90's, Dan was inspired to turn from canvas to furniture. Antiques, ever popular to the middle age crowd opened the door to another medium for Dan. On a spontaneous trip to the beach, a Civil War era chest, beat beyond usage caught the Coe artistic eye. It lay for sale on the side of the road. Dan repaired and restored it, then painted a beautiful landscape on the very plain wood. He turned to full time painting-using unfinished and stale "ugly" pieces for a local resort furniture store which sold everything that he painted. Training began as that store turned their barn-like shop into a furnishings gallery. Dan took a night-shift design job with a local newspaper publisher. As he got used to working in darkness, he explored western markets for art and found Alaska to be an endless source of beauty. Dan and his wife Nancy packed up the children in the summer of 2000 and drove to Anchorage, Alaska where friends there said they must start. Amid commissions like the Bear Display at the zoo and the Salmon at Phyllis's Clam Bake Restaurant Dan found colleagues like Bob Parsons, the sign painter and Ziggy the muralist to be very encouraging. During that time the Fireweed Gallery sold pieces on consignment. Dan "Handpainted" furniture surpassed 500 original pieces and its ten year anniversary. Needing space for growth, the Coes rented space beneath Bunnell Arts Center where the art community tolerated sporadic hours and "bohemian" style creativity for a time. A sign commissioned for the upstairs cafe reminded Dan of the need to stay active in the effort to beautify and encourage the Peninsula business community. Brad Hughes suggested a new signage product and gave Dan some tips for sign longevity and Handpainted-Signs were born. This enabled Coes to build a modest house with a lot of help from their friends.
|
Copyright: Fireweed Gallery
All Rights Reserved