Art Briefs – April 11
2012 shorebirds take wing The 20th-Anniversary Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival is May 10 to 13, 2012. Keynote speaker Dr. George Archibald will speak on worldwide conservation efforts for cranes and other birds and the remarkable recovery of the Whooping Crane. Registration is open at homeralaska.org, and events are filling quickly, so register soon. Volunteers are [...]
Hospital art, giant florals, quilts greet spring
One doesn’t normally think of a hospital as being an important place to focus on art, but a new partnership points out how art benefits health and can help people feel better.
South Peninsula Hospital is partnering with the Homer Council on the Arts and South Peninsula Hospital Foundation to host a Hospital Gallery. It opens as part of First Friday in a reception from 5-7 p.m. It will be a rotating exhibit of art from the HCOA gallery exhibit program which is open to local, visiting and emerging community artists. After exhibiting in HCOA’s gallery, chosen work will rotate to the hospital for display in the hallway on the upper level between the laboratory and pharmacy. New artwork will be rotated into the Hospital Gallery every one to two months.
Grimms’ beware: Carefully enter the woods
“Into the Woods” takes creative license with centuries old Grimms Fairy Tales, and in the process resurrects them to new levels of logic.
Like Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters. After the famed ball Cinderella flees and drops a slipper and the Prince and his valet arrive.
In their eagerness to be the one whom the shoe fits, the stepsisters chop off their own big toes. That illustrates ambition.
And what’s the deal with Cinderella’s flight from the prince? If landing a prince-husband is such a desirable goal some would chop off a toe for the honor, why would a girl in her right mind flee?
Art and education briefs – Mar. 28
KBC’s Bayview gains art installations The Kachemak Bay Campus of Kenai Peninsula College-UAA announced that art work by four artists has been selected to be installed at its new Bayview Hall during the upcoming summer as a result of its recent call for proposals. Committee members included Campus and public representatives. A unique metalwork project [...]
Inupiaq film debuts in classic new cinema
The film “On the Ice” premieres Thursday and Saturday in Homer; a rare glimpse into life at Barrow by an Inupiaq filmmaker.
Director Andrew Okepeaha MacLean’s film presents what critics are calling an engrossing and suspenseful feature film about two teenage boys who share a dark secret. Played by Barrow residents Josiah Patkotak and Frank Qutuq Irelan, the boys have grown up like brothers and “go about their lives in the comfortable claustrophobia of an isolated Alaska town.”
Three amazing women: distinct, wise, young
Public health nurse Bonnie Betley was named Woman of Distinction 2012 by South Peninsula Haven House, Susan Phillips Cushing was named Woman of Wisdom and Kayte Kerns is honored as Young Woman of Distinction.
The prestigious Women of Distinction awards are presented annually to recognize and honor three women who have made extraordinary contributions to improving the lives of other women and girls. Their outstanding activities and achievements contribute in meaningful ways to the health and future well being of the community.
South Peninsula Haven House created the Women of Distinction awards to publicly celebrate the women whose leadership and compassion for others make Homer a better place to live.
Musical McKenna featured at HCOA
“Writing songs is hard, unless you’re surrounded by influences,” says Cindy McKenna, a self taught singer, songwriter and guitarist, who is performing original songs from her CD “Joy of Life” and others at the Homer Council on the Arts building Friday evening.
Although inspired by solo artists, principally — Judy Collins, Kate Wolf, and Joan Baez — McKenna said she “is trying to do more collaborations with other musicians.”
Soulful sounds from glacier trek
Composer Phil Munger finds inspiration in the most varied of places.
His cantata “The Skies are Weeping” was inspired by Rachel Corrie, who was killed by a bulldozer demolishing a house in the Gaza Strip in 2003. He wrote a ragtime piece in tribute to a conductor friend — and ragtime fan — Gordon Wright, who was found dead on his porch during a cold snap in 2007.
“He was sitting on his porch frozen, sitting on top of this casket he’d made for himself years ago because he was 6-feet, 8-inches (tall)” and he didn’t want to be buried in a casket where they’d have to bend his knees,” Munger said, describing how Wright’s friends wound up putting him in that casket to carry him down the hill his house sat on.
Living ‘Life on Ice’
Hig and Erin Higman took on North America’s largest tidewater glacier to learn about climate change, trekking with their toddler and baby. They will talk about their experiences at 7 p.m. tonight at Islands and Ocean Visitors Center.
The talk is called “Life on Ice.” Over the course of two months in the wilderness, they watched a world in transformation.
Dramatic coastal erosion, newborn lakes, disappearing rivers, giant bears, and forests on shifting ice make this 1,000-square mile glacier one of the most dynamic places in the world.
Flaring aurora fires up First Friday skies
While many of us are sleeping, the northern lights flash their incredible brilliance across the night sky. A photographer earning fame for his ability to capture them, Dennis C. Anderson, will be exhibiting his photos at AJ’s Old Town Steak House at 120 W. Bunnell Ave, beginning with a reception 5-7 p.m. on Friday.
“While You Were Sleeping,” is a collection of 17 photographs taken of the northern lights over the past 10 years from the Kenai Peninsula to Interior Alaska. Anderson lives in Homer and frequently catches the aurora borealis from his home. He uses hand-built cameras that shoot medium and large format.
