January First Friday held second Friday

Posted: Friday, January 09, 2009

The First Friday of the New Year is being held on January's second Friday this year as to not compete with last week's festivities of ringing in 2009.

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Courtesy of Jean Rogers
Courtesy of Jean Rogers

Several of the galleries that are usually open for the monthly downtown art walk will not be participating in January, but there are still a number of artists and galleries that will have their work on display for viewing and to purchase tonight.

Below is a selection of artists showing their work on January's Second Friday:

Juneau Artists Gallery

175 S. Franklin St.

Batik floral scarves by artist Dianne Anderson will be featured at the Juneau Artists Gallery for the month of January. Anderson, who will host a reception from 4 to 8 tonight at the gallery, is celebrating the New Year and her 50th-plus birthday with the exhibit titled "Batik Roses in Winter."

Batik, which is an ancient process of applying dye to fabric that is outlined or contained to a shape by using wax or other resists, is a new media for Anderson. She uses a brush to paint the dye onto silk like watercolors. Some of her silk painting subjects include local wildflowers "to welcome in the spring."

"I am especially fond of fireweed and wild roses," Anderson said. "I've also included a 'Shrine Icon' with St. Therese holding roses."

In all of the compositions she includes the Big Dipper as her "Made in Alaska" logo and salt textures, which absorb the dye, making random raindrop patterns in the sky.

"How can we not be influenced and look for beauty in our constant companion of rain," she added.

Accompanied by her husband, painter Mark Vinsel, Anderson was able to paint at the Shrine of St. Therese on a rare sunny day this fall.

"The light fell across the statue of the saint allowing me to see details I never noticed before. It motivated me to find out more about her. She is also known as Little Flower and is Alaska's female patron saint. My design on silk is a tribute to her."

Anderson has been exhibiting printmaking collage compositions on her own handmade papers for years. She has received awards at Juneau's Artabon Show, Ketchikan's Blueberry Festival, Homer's Shorebird Festival, and Seattle's West Coast Paper Exhibit. Now she has become "re-energized" by experimenting with wax and resists, vibrant colors, and using the subject matter she loves, transforming silk fabric into garments.

"There is something very exciting about guiding the flow of dye on silk," she said. "It blends, transforms, and resists like watercolor paintings yet can be set with heat to become a permanent wearable piece of clothing."

Classes at the University of Alaska Southeast in batik and silkscreen/serigraphy, taught by Anderson, are available online at www.uas.alaska.edu or in person on campus until January 11. For more information on these classes, call 796-6100.

The Canvas

223 Seward St.

Art can be found in many places, including in the pages of old magazines. Jean Rogers has taken to creating collages out of old magazines, an artistic venture she took up in her 80s.

Rogers, the author of numerous children's books that have been illustrated by local artist Rie Muñoz, will exhibit her new collage work throughout January at The Canvas gallery. An opening reception will be held from 4:30 to 7 tonight at the gallery.

In addition, from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, Rogers will demonstrate the art of collage during The Canvas Family Book Day event. The event is free and open to the public. People are encouraged to come recycle books and prose into found object art and collage at The Canvas.

Juneau Arts & Humanities Council gallery

350 Whittier St.

Local photographer Barbara Kelly will exhibit new work in a show titled "Leaf Paintings, Impressions of Light" at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center throughout January. An opening reception will be held from 4:30 to 7 tonight in the gallery in the old armory.

Using slow shutter speeds and varying types of camera and lens movements to create color abstract images, this body of work resembles paintings more than photographs, the artist said. The images were made in Juneau, the Yukon and the Midwest over the past three years.

"What I love so much about photography is that it makes me look at the world in a more intimate way," Kelly said. "With camera in hand, I see things I might never otherwise notice. What seems commonplace at first glance takes on a new dimension of interest when I look through my camera lens."

Her interest in photography began at a young age. Her parents gave Kelly her first camera and photography became a joyous creative outlet, she said. With a degree in photojournalism from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Kelly's pursuit of photography in college led her into the world of large format, black and white fine art photography. She began making her first digital color images in 1997 after moving from Fairbanks to Juneau in 1993.

Kelly's work is in the collections of the University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks and the Alaska State Museum, and her work has been included in several statewide juried Alaska Positive shows as well as exhibits in Arizona, Montana and Washington state.

In 2006, she and her husband, Micheal Francis Kelly, had a joint photography show, "Tongass Green," at the Juneau Arts & Humanities Council gallery.

During the reception, the miniature golf course "Hit the JACC Putt," will be open in the main hall of the Juneau Arts & Culture Center. A round of golf is $5. A party pass for groups of 10 to 15 people is $50.

In addition, "Tidewater," a new trio in Juneau, playing bluegrass, swing, country and old-time, will play in the main hall during the reception.

Juneau-Douglas City Museum

114 W. 4th St.

The city museum will be open for the second Friday event, however, its opening reception was held last week for January's show of recent acquisitions from 2006 to 2008.

The exhibit includes objects that the museum has acquired through donations or purchases over the past two years. Some of the items include historic photographs, contemporary art, and even a costume from the Filipino community used in the Fourth of July parades, said Alysia McLain, curator of public programs for the museum.

"It's kind of a mismatch of stuff, but it's a good representation of Juneau and Juneau's history," she said.

In addition, a book signing will be held at the museum from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. with Sandy Harbanuk for her new book "Running Toward the Fires: 101 Years of the Juneau Volunteer Fire Department."

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