Sending a message

Two Wasilla artists have combined gritty industrial photography and serenely cool images of the Southwest in a new display at Kaladi Brothers Coffee.

Gail Gibbs Moses utilizes handmade paper, copper fasteners, clay, willow branches and pastels and pencils to create ethereal pieces that also have deeply personal touches.

Its texturey stuff, Moses said at Thursdays opening of her show as she gazed at Blinded by the White, her dominant displayed piece.

I had issues that I had inside that I wanted to release and let go, so I externalize them and put them on paper.

A ceramic knot that accents her pastel drawing of a woman is made with raku pottery. To create raku, she heats the clay until its hot, then places it on pieces of paper, which burns up around the clay, adding another layer.

I burned up some old journals, she said. The layers of her pieces illustrate that people have several layers, she said.

Were blinded by the superficial layer, Moses said. We tend to focus on the little things, instead of seeing the bigger picture.

Moses knew as a child that she wanted to be an artist, and today she teaches art classes to both adults and children at Family Fitness & Fun. New classes begin in January.

In counterpoint to Moses cool aesthetic, Wasilla photographer Judy Patrick has brought gritty pictures of the cold, dirty work on the North Slope to the Valley.

These images are to show people what its like to work in Prudhoe Bay, because so many Alaskans do, Patrick said. It almost has more meaning for people in the Valley because percentage-wise, more people here work in Prudhoe.

This is the second showing of Patricks exhibit, Working Girl.

Ive been very pleased with the feedback from the exhibit, she said. After she and Moses hung their work at Kaladi Brothers last week, the women sat back with a cup of coffee to look at the walls.

People stopped to actually look at the pictures, Patrick said of the clientele.

That was really cool.

Shes particularly pleased when someone she doesnt know admires her work.

I had a guy in Anchorage say, I just love your pictures, she said. Thats the highest compliment when a total stranger likes your work and can relate to it.

When so many Alaskan photographers are noted for their wildlife and scenic work, why does Patrick focus on industry?

Im scared of bears, she deadpanned. Thats my primary motivation. But beyond that, I like things that move and I like people. She finds action and big equipment she documents in monumental projects to be exciting.

After she discovered she liked industrial photography, she realized that could be her niche.

Its like everybody does it and so many people are good at it, I didnt need to be another person who was good at it, she said of nature photography. And for some strange reason I like the Arctic. I dont like trees, and there are no trees up there.

Patrick opened her Wasilla photography studio in 1984. She specializes in industrial photography for companies such as Alaska Interstate Construction, Arco, Nabors Alaska Drilling, Peak Oilfield Service, Unocal and the publisher of Alaska Petroleum News, Mining News and Business News.

Many oilfield employees have commented that her art helps explain their work to their friends and family.

I have had guys say, Ive tried to explain to my wife what its like to weld out there, or I used to work there, she said Its not a total picture, but if your husband works on the Slope, I think it can help you understand what its like.

Patrick admits that theres more to the show than capturing images of industrial work.

I have an agenda. Im trying to educate people about what the North Slope is all about, and how the development has really been done responsibly, she said.

When viewers look at her pictures and see how small of an area the oil companies use for drilling, they can see that for themselves, she said.

The Moses-Patrick show runs through Jan. 2.

Photo:Gail Gibbs Moses, shown here with Blinded by the White, is displaying works in conjunction with photographer Judy Patrick at Kaladi Brothers Coffee through Jan. 2.

Photo by MELANIE BRUBAKER MAZUR.