Artist Talks @ Bunnell

“In Memory of…” offers space for reflection and to honor the people, places and experiences that shape us. The theme invites expression of grief and loss, as well as of joy and love. Variations and interpretations might include retablos, paintings, altars, constructions, mementos mori, or other works. more...

“Being creative is extremely important to me. It’s my passion, my life’s work and how I contribute to my community. The images, subjects and narratives in my art stitch together my experiences of family, music, pottery, agriculture and love as a stay-at-home father of two and a part-time farmer. I also play music on a regular basis. My hope is that my work communicates my passions and inspires others to create from their own experiences." more.

Tune In: Homer” is an audio soundscape featuring voices of people and place in Homer created by sound artist Andrew O’Connor, from Toronto, Canada.

O’Connor created this audio installation from soundscapes and interviews he captured while  artist-in-residence at Bunnell Street Arts Center during the month of April 2024. The audio installation is four unique audio loops transmitted from stations located around Old Town, Homer. Anyone can experience this installation by listening to a transistor radio set to 98.1 FM and walking slowly through the neighborhood between Bunnell Street Arts Center, Two Sisters, Islands and Ocean Visitors Center, Bishops Beach, and The Driftwood Inn or on roads, trails and Bishop’s Beach. The transmission comes through more clearly when you pause. Sit at a picnic table, a rock, a bench or a beach log on any of these routes. At times you will experience two transmissions as you move from one transmitter to the next. Borrow a handheld transistor radio from Bunnell Street Arts Center set to 98.1 FM and tune in!

Learn more here.

“Clouds mediate between earth and atmosphere, imagination and make-believe. We study clouds to gauge the amount and distribution of moisture, the atmospheric stability present at a given place and time, the type of convection that is occurring, or what changes in the weather are coming. more...

“When I’m mindfully moving through nature my senses are alive to color, pattern, shapes, movement, flow, and contrasts. Being in nature while fully present to the experience is a spiritual and life giving experience for me. I feel more deeply connected to myself and to God….My style of painting could be described as a painterly realism. more

“In Alaska we are surrounded by abundance. For over ten thousand years, Indigenous people have inhabited these lands, caring for the wild resources that surround us so that they in turn will sustain our communities. Knowing how to make use of local resources was and is a way of surviving and being in good relation to this place. This is a way of being that has been maintained over time through subsistence cycles and place-based practices that are contingent upon taking good care of the resources that surround us. This is our way of living.

“I believe in the importance of hand-made objects in an increasingly disposable world.  Contemporary issues associated with waste, commercial manufacturing and consequential practices such as repurposing, recycling, and the DIY movement influence my work.  Embellished with the suggestion of mending, my vessels commemorate the endangered art of repair. Working in clay, I explore the spaces that exist between maker and user, disposable and reusable, sentimental and material value.  Through experiencing a handcrafted object, I urge my audience to consider the cost of a throwaway culture and the significance of the items we keep in our lives. more

In the process of creating this show, my efforts and explorations with composition on the heated plate have led me to variations in technique, including the addition of hand-carved printing blocks inspired by a recent trip to Ireland. My family roots are deeply embedded in the history of the landscape there, shifting my work from above to below, and back again.” – Kathy Smith more

Wayfinding is a collection of hand-crafted books and box constructions which look both backward and forward in expressions of grief, hope, and gratitude. They all reflect a personal interaction with materials – the beauty of tanned salmon skin, a perfectly formed rock found on a beach walk, a unique flitch of boreal birch, or a quirky object found in a junk store – each takes me by the hand and leads its own transformation into an artist book or box construction.” – Margo Klass more...

“This body of work draws inspiration from changes I have seen take place over many years living in Alaska.  Many of them are visible and accelerated due to global warming, which deeply concerns me. I have been actively involved with the In Time of Change program for the past 12 years, studying with scientists to understand their research and what it means for our natural world.  I strive to convey, in a very personal way, what I have come to know.” – Ree Nancarrow more...