We are celebrating our 9th Anniversary with a HUGE SALE July 6, 7 & 8. Everything in the gallery will be 20% off (except greeting cards)!
Come help us celebrate nine wonderful years and four featured artists on First Friday, July 6 from 5-8 pm. Musician Jeannie McLeod will be performing, and of course, we will have cake!
Our featured artists include Cordova potter Michael Anderson, Iñupiaq carver Jerome Saclamana, carver Robert “Utuqsiq” Apangalook from Gambell and Yup’ik storyteller, mask maker, and drum maker Jerry Lieb, Jr (Sivaluaq) of Bethel.
Raised in the Willamette Valley, Michael Anderson fished for crawdads and bluegills and explored the forests from ferns to treetops. Son of an architect and a builder, he was reading plans as a toddler from his mother's lap and later learned treehouse building skills from his father. He loved playdough and mud, using it to pave roads in matchbox car cities and to form watertight dams on Saum Creek. Michael's art started out as playful functional pottery and those roots remain. His work is done in a studio above Cordova, overlooking Orca Inlet.
Jerome Saclamana is an Iñupiaq carver from Nome. He comes from a long line of artists and learned his craft from his father and grandfather. His exquisite work features bone, ivory and baleen. Jerome always has a smile on his face and will answer any and all questions you have during our First Friday event.
Robert Apangalook is from Gambell, located on St Lawrence Island. He started carving at the age of 14 under the watchful eyes of his uncle Ron Apangalook. Even though he grew up in Anchorage and Wasilla, he visited Gambell enough to soak in the traditions and culture. St Lawrence Island is known as the "walrus capitol of the world", which is why there are so many ivory carvers on the island. Robert is certified at UAA to teach carving and he is a much sought after artist. Don't miss this wonderful carver!
Jerry Lieb, Jr., also known as Sivaluaq, is a Yup'ik artist from Bethel, Alaska. He is best known for his masks, drums and storytelling. Jerry first learned the art of drum making from an elder in Kodiak but the stories depicted in his paintings and carvings are from many Yup'ik and Iñupiaq traditions told by the Elders. Be prepared to be entranced.
Our July non-profit is Hospice of Anchorage. Founded in 1980, Hospice of Anchorage is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization and a partner agency of the United Way of Anchorage. It is a community agency comprised of a team of volunteers, nurses, social service coordinators, bereavement coordinators and chaplains who provide assistance to meet the transition from life through death and to cope with loss and grief. All services are provided at no cost. Their mission is to help individuals and families prepare for and live well with serious life-limiting illness, dying and grief.
Please give generously to this essential community organization.
Other gallery highlights this month include a series of Dale DeArmoun wood cuts, a number of rare Scott McDaniel original oil paintings, whimsical new jewelry from Hsu Studio, gorgeous lightweight summer scarves and the new clay ravens from Isolde Gibson.