Haines — Get a sneak peak of new work by artist Donna Catotti at the Alaska Arts Confluence’s Main Street office from 5 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 5. The show, part of the Confluence’s First Friday series, will preview 10 portrait, still life and landscape pieces Catotti has created for a September opening at the Juneau Arts and Humanities Gallery.
Anchoring the show is “Keeping the Tradition from Afar,” a 40-by-20-inch oil portrait of former resident Carla Earnest dressed in her traditional Phillipine attire. Another piece, “Tlingit Closet Regalia at Alaska Indian Arts,” features a raven headdress, rattle and drum with killer whales.
“Standing at my easel, I work to satisfy only myself; not an easy task,” Catotti said. “In each of my figurative works, I hope to portray some depth of human character and emotion that transcends the individual portrayed, and helps us all become more understanding.”
Gene Kennedy’s four-foot metal sculpture “Weather Gal” will also make its public debut at First Friday. Created at the request of Cottage Arts owner Nelle Greene for display and sale at her Fort Seward shop, Kennedy’s sculpture is informative as well as decorative: She measures the temperature, wind direction, and rainfall. The steampunk sculpture’s body is made from a Paloma water heater, which Kennedy saw overturned in his shop one day. “She just looked very feminine and humanoid,” he said. The rest of “Weather Gal” is comprised of miscelleneous plumbing parts, an old flag pole, a teapot, a canoe paddle and rolling wheels from an old set of Haines School bleachers.
“I try to use things I just have on-hand,” Kennedy said.
Other events slated for the Feb. 5 First Friday celebration include Hannah Bochart’s “Death, Dreams, and Dill Pickles” storyboard assemblage art collages on display at Skipping Stones Studios, and Kerry Cohen’s “WINTER Reflections in Clay” ceramic exhibit opening as part of the Sheldon Museum’s Six Week Spotlight series. Both events run from 5 to 7 p.m.
Haines began celebrating First Friday in February 2015, with local businesses and organizations holding arts and cultural events on the first Friday of each month, creating an Art Walk in downtown Haines that now extends from Jones Point to Historic Fort William H. Seward.
AAC continues to accept proposals for both rotating and semi-permanent art installations in Art on Main Street storefront, to adorn the windows, wall space, and some floor space. The request for proposal application is available to download at www.alaskaartsconfluence.org.
For more information, contact Carol Tuynman at 303-0222 or visit the Alaska Arts at www.alaskaartsconfluence.org.
