It's been a busy year, especially from April to August with two artist in schools residencies, one in the village of Wales on the Bering Sea, and the other in the village of Kobuk, then off to Juneau to conduct a spring break kids art camp at the Canvas Community Arts Center then returning in July to teach an adult landscape painting workshop.
It was a busy year for exhibits as well, with one solo show and three invitational exhibits. I opened a solo show of paintings at the Alaska Native Arts Foundation and participated in a drawing invitational, 'Close at Hand" at the Alaska Pacific University, an invitational at the Cordova Museum featuring birds, and the Valdez Museum and Historical Archive's invitational exhibit commemorating the 50 year anniversary of the 1964 earthquake.
Most exciting this year were two artist residencies, one in Munich, Germany, Franz Mayer Architectural Glass Studio and a ten day artist residency in the Denali National Park and Preserve. I was invited to Munich to explore the possibility of translating my paintings and photography to glass and mosaic. We produced glass and mosaic samples for future public project proposals. My residency in Denali National Park was awesome, staying in a remote cabin 45 miles into the park, surrounded by wilderness and inspiring landscapes.
Thanks to the Alaska State Council on the Arts for funding my attendance to the Creative Capital Professional Workshop here in Anchorage and for partially funding my travel to Munich.
I recently submitted photographs to the annual AK juried photography show, Rarified Light. Two of my photographs were selected for the show and one image received an honorable mention. This makes me extremely happy as I am absolutely addicted to photography and my favorite past time is taking my camera out and hunting for images. There is much for me to learn regarding techniques and technology, but in the meantime I'll be out looking for "the shot." The Rarified Light exhibit will open at the Anchorage Museum, First Friday of November.
This year has been a banner year as there were two major museum acquisitions of my work, paintings for the Alutiiq Museum and Archeological Repository in Kodiak, AK and the Alaska State Museum, in Juneau, AK. I am very moved to have a piece in Kodiak, birthplace of my mother, my dear grandmother and her family. My exhibit at the Alaska Native Arts Foundation was inspired by imagery of Kodiak and was dedicated to my grandmother, Mary Reft. The Alaska State Museum purchase is very meaningful as I visited Juneau twice this year in March and July, touching down in our beautiful capital city for the first time and absorbing the coastal landscapes that have haunted my dreams and occupied my paintings for years. The painting purchased, "Low Tide' is a 4' x 5' oil painting of just this scene....inner coastal islands and tidal zones and a quietly erupting volcano in the background. I am pleased this painting has found a permanent home in Juneau, AK.
It seems like a lot of activities in 5 months, but when you are doing what you love, the work is a pleasure and each trip an adventure. My last big trip was to Denali Park, my "down time".....alone time to quiet my mind and reconnect to the creative source.
I'll have time now in the studio to set up painting classes for adults and to create new work. I have a public and private commission to work on as well as a piece that will be donated to the Denali National Park as part of the Artist in Residence Program. It feels good to stop and take a breath, but I am eager to start painting again and look forward to my next adventure, a research trip to Cuba in November. I can hardly contain my excitement over having the chance to visit this island which has been so closed off to most of the world. More on that later....
This is my first blog entry and I have some catching up to do. I'll be taking some time to post images of this year's activities as well as information on upcoming workshops and other events at my studio.
Always feel free to contact me by email: linfantelyons@yahoo.com and if you live in Anchorage you can call and set up a studio visit. 907-351-4478.
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