Town Square Art Gallery to host juried art show, reception

WASILLA — The Town Square Gallery, in the Carrs Mall, in Wasilla, which is entering its 31st year in business, has been and still is the starting ground for many of the valley’s finest artists. The Valley Fine Arts Association (VFAA) chose gallery owner, Janet St. George to jury the mixed media art show which opens with a reception on the Second Saturday Art Walk from 1 to 4 p.m., Jan. 10 at the Town Square Gallery, at 591 E Parks Hwy, Suite No. 406, Wasilla. The public is welcome to come and meet the artists, enjoy the exhibit and have refreshments.

The artists, whose works were selected for the show, span a variety of background experiences and expertise. Juror Janet St. George says, “The show is about the best of art, but (it) is also open to all levels of abilities.” She is very adamant “about helping upcoming artist” get their start.

Here is a look at the artists and their backgrounds:

Martha Happs, who is serving her second term as President of VFAA, says that she grew up in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California, “surrounded by sage, Ponderosa Pines and animals.” Her college career includes, attendance at Orange Coast College, Clark College, UAA and Mat-Su College. It was in college that she first studied sculpture and drawing, and now “goes to painting retreats and workshops to explore and learn.” She works in mostly watercolor and acrylics. “One of (my) acrylic techniques is with molding paste, which creates a 3D effect,” she explains. She and her husband moved to Alaska in 1978. She hopes that through her creations she can “spread the joy of Alaska and life.”

Jim Leach, past Vice President of VFAA, is known as the retired veterinarian turned artist. He says he ”traded his scalpel for brushes and canvas” and though he takes workshops on occasion, he claims to be primarily self-taught. Leach says the name “ Trail Doc” was given to him by a staff member of the Frontiersman Newspaper in the 1970s when he was writing a weekly column. He and wife, Annie, “flew their airplane to many Bush villages to hold veterinary clinics,” according to Leach and he “raced sled dogs throughout Alaska and into Russia.” He says that he enjoys ”painting landscapes and wild life, to preserve and to share God’s beautiful creations.”

Terry Phillips, serves as Secretary/Treasurer of VFAA, and began painting in Hawaii more than 30 years ago, when she traded teaching someone a piano lesson for an art lesson. “The idea of taking a plain white canvas and creating a visual experience was absolutely thrilling,” Phillips said.She made many military moves with her husband Robert, and when in Cold Bay Alaska, she taught an Extension Service art class for UAA. She now travels and takes workshops. “One can never stop learning and acquiring new skills,” she said. She enjoys painting landscapes, florals and “portraiture is fast becoming a new goal,” Phillips says.

Maria McKiernan, who serves as Vice President of VFAA, was born and raised in Massachusetts. She says that she “has been playing with crayons, pencils, markers, paints and just about anything else that makes a mark since she was a little girl.” According to Maria she “began a career in teaching in 1976” and her recent retirement from the Anchorage School District “has allowed her to resume many favorite pastimes including the creation of art.” She is a versatile artist who works in pencil, conte` crayon, charcoal, watercolor and oil paint, doing “plein air” or working from a model, she enjoys her time at the easel. She says that when she is not at her easel, that you can find her “in her garden, kitchen, sewing room or on an airplane heading someplace exciting.”

Judy Vars sits on the VFAA Board of Directors and is an accomplished artist. She works in encaustic wax, and says, “As with all great notions it started with a daydream; move to Alaska and settle down in a cozy cabin, next to a lake, with my beloved other, dogs and family and create ART to my heart’s contentment. I am fortunate to have realized that dream.” Vars continues, “Because I believe art is essential and can raise the consciousness in a community….I strive to keep my heart, mind and spirit open to the possibilities.” Her work can be seen in the May 2012 Issue of Southwest Art Magazine and in the reality series “Houston Chronicles.” Vars says, “Inspiration is everywhere so I strive to keep my heart, mind and spirit open to the possibilities.”

Patricia Jones after living in Alaska since 1976, and raising a family, she retired from her nursing career in 1991. She delighted in the art studio of her dreams when her husband built their retirement home. For subject matter, she chooses to “cause an emotional connection” and therefore “sometimes finds it hard to part with her paintings.” Traveling to her favorite art colony, Santa Fe, New Mexico “along canyon road” multiple times, she says that is where she is “surrounded by the endless possibilities,” of creating art. She also enjoyed Florence, when traveling in Europe, and says that “David caught her eye” as she immersed herself in art history. She continues to be excited about “what” or “who” will become her next subject as she continues “in the discovery, of old and new techniques and materials.”

Karen Crandall, a Past Vice President of VFAA, joined the Alaska Artist Guild when she arrived in Alaska in 1973. At that time, she painted primarily acrylics on canvas or on redwood slabs. Crandall developed an art program for the Eagle River Christian Academy, while she was teaching elementary school. Crandall says she “continues her studies at UAA for a BA in Fine Arts, with emphasis in printmaking, pastel chalk, watercolors and acrylic paints, using sculpting paste for textural relief and dimension.” Among her many awards is Third Honorable Mention in the 41st Annual Alaska Watercolor Society Juried Show. Her work has been selected previously, for the UAA’s No Big Heads Show and for the Arts in the Parks Show in Anchorage.

Romie Deschamps took his first art class in New Zealand, near Aukland, when his wife was a nurse there and he was on leave as a Pharmacist in Alaska. His teacher used Charles Reid’s book “Painting What You See” and Deschamps later met Charles Reid in 1987, when he was guest instructor for the Alaska Watercolor Society in Anchorage. After winning several prizes with his oil paintings, including an Honorable Mention at the University of Anchorage, he said he “felt oils are where (he) should be.”

Glenda Field, who serves on the Board of Directors, joined the VFAA after moving to the Mat-Su Valley from Fairbanks , where she lived for 35 years, and retired from her career being a speech therapist. Field has taken several of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival workshops, and says that she “loves doing the challenging skill of painting in watercolors.” She has “focused mostly on botanical subjects” but hopes to increase her skills in oils and acrylics. Field says, “Painting has become am important part of my life providing a creative and almost meditative escape.”

Diane Meekin who was born in Topeka, Kansas, says she “grew up in the beautiful, culturally diverse San Francisco Bay area.” She has been a Mat-Su Valley resident since 1981, where she and her husband own an air taxi service. Meekin “began painting in 2008 after taking watercolor classes locally ... (and) studying (art) at Mat-Su College.” She has completed several workshops with nationally recognized watercolor artists. Though only painting a short time, Meekin received the First Place Award in the Juried Student Art Show at Mat Su College in 2012. She was honored with the 2014 “Best of Show” at the Alaska State Fair. “I paint with watercolor because I love the intensity, discipline, and challenge the medium requires. Above all, I enjoy the transparency of the paint and that it literally shines,” says Meekin.“ (Also) I like to create paintings that tell a story and convey a sense of a time within history.”

Francine Long says, “As a horse-crazy child in Idaho, I drew and painted horses.” She went on to study animal science and agribusiness, and now teaches math in Palmer. She explains, “I decided to draw a horse one day and was amazed at how well it turned out.” She draws inspiration from her own horses as they go on pack trips in the Alaskan backcountry. To further her knowledge she takes workshops from visiting artists and for the past three years, has had one of her watercolors included in the Annual Alaska Watercolor Society Juried Art Show. In 2014, one of her art pieces was selected for the Arts in the Parks show in Anchorage. In late March 2015, she will have her first solo show at Mat-Su College. She said she appreciated the opportunity VFAA provides to paint portraits from live models as well as the camaraderie with fellow artists.

Linda Peters moved to Palmer after spending 27 years living in Nome and working as a nurse. The Nome are with tundra provided many wonderful subjects to draw and paint, and it was there that she took her first art classes. Peters continues to take classes and workshops including current classes at Mat-Su College and studying with artists in Alaska and Canada. She says she “likes painting scenes from her travels to Italy, Ireland,and England,” and gains inspiration even from “the nearest park where she walks with her Dog, in Maui.” She proclaims that “portraiture has become her latest passion, both in drawing and watercolor.” She is active in the VFAA and says that she “loves getting together and painting with other artists.”

Jerry Edwards says that he “did lots of drawing in high school,” but there was little time for art during his career in Industrial Plumbing and Pipefitting which took him from Moreno, California to Texas, Oregon and Alaska, including ten years working in the North Slope Borough, where he taught building management to the natives. He has been painting in watercolor for about three years, taking classes at Mat-Su College, at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, and at workshops with the Kachemak Bay Watercolor Society in Homer. He says he feels privileged “that the opportunities were there for (him) to study under three internationally known artists” in his first few years of painting since each “offered a different approach to watercolor.” Edward’s work has been exhibited statewide and won an Honorable Mention at the Juried Student Show at Mat-Su College in 2011. Edwards says he “enjoys the newness that each painting brings,” as he explores subjects from his travels, from wagons and old buildings, to roosters and kangaroos.

Suzanne Edwards (yours truly) handles publicity for VFAA, and began studying art through the Interior Design program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Even though I have been in Alaska for forty-two years, art really became part of my life in 1990, when I decided to paint everyday for a year. My focus changed to art management with my appointment as Director of the Alaska Fine Arts Academy, followed by my position as the Fine Arts Coordinator at Mat-Su College, where I retired in 2012, after founding the Machetanz Art Festival in 2010. Last year, for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I produced the breast cancer awareness play “ The Cost of Living Revisited.” I enjoy teaching workshops and traveling with my husband Jerry. Watercolor painting on Yupo, which is an acrylic substrate, and ink painting on rice paper ( called Sumi-e`) are my most challenging and favorite endeavors at the moment.

The Town Square Gallery Juried Show will hang from Jan. 10 to Feb. 6. There is sure to be a style for everyone’s taste and a subject matter for everyone’s interest.

For more information, call 376-0123.