Contributed by Diane Paoletti
Artist Tina Garrett is one of the most well recognized women artists in Contemporary Western Art and we are very fortunate to have her coming to Alaska to share her skills at a 3 day workshop.
Her works center on emotion and mood, and they often contain dramatic light or atmospheric effects. Being highly skilled as a Contemporary Representational artist, Tina has earned recognition as an Art Renewal Center Living Master, (ARCLM) and holds a Master Artist designation from the National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society. Tina was a proud State Ambassador for the Portrait Society of America and she is honored to be a mentor for the PSoA Cecilia Beaux Forum Mentoring Program.
Tina’s work is an integral part of her daily existence. “As I progress in my skills & my work becomes more widely recognized, I’ve done my best to present my work to everyone I can reach, risking whatever I’ve presented to the world as important enough to paint. Those who don’t create might not understand how much bravery it takes to do this over and over again. I love the paintings I create so deeply. Each one comes from my soul. Yes, my soul—the part of me that is connected to the divine, God, the universe, whatever you like to call it—that’s where my paintings come from. My soul is an endless well of inspiration. No matter how my work is received, there will always be another painting that must be created. There is no greater gift I can receive than another falling in love with my work so deeply that they must own it, bring my work into their home, and make it a part of their daily lives. I truly
do put so much of myself into each and every work, so loving it, giving it a home, that is the highest compliment.”
Teaching is also of primary importance to Tina, saying “I have found my bliss in teaching. It is an absolute delight when a student reaches a milestone of understanding. To have any student surpass me in my skill and success and look back and say, ‘Thank you, Tina, for all you taught me, is sublime. Because if I learned one thing from the great master of our era, Richard Schmid, it is that we do not own this information. All artists have a responsibility to pay forward what they know and assure that the next generation of artists has the tools to make great art.”
There is a certain transcendent quality that comes to a work of art when the soul of the artist runs deep. For anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting Tina, she is a warm, kind and optimistic person. She feels and thinks deeply about herself and the world. It is this quality that she also brings to her art. Her works are filled with a deep pathos that resonates with her viewers; one that is uplifting, but also filled with a sweet sadness, a nostalgic warmth that awakens feelings of past times filled with wonder, newness and the change that comes with each new season of life’s transitions.
Tina will be sharing with her students the practical methods she uses in her award-winning portraiture to help artists make the best paintings they’ve ever made. This July workshop is perfect for anyone struggling with portrait painting. Students will learn to see and simplify values, create form, and understand edges and chroma to control your composition and create dramatic
portraiture using Tina’s practical and easy to use strategies.
Tina will demonstrate how to pose and paint from the live model as well as how to photograph the model and how to edit your photos with and without Photoshop. Tina will teach you how to organize your palette to mix realistic colors, values, and temperatures for different skin types and how two easy strategies to achieve an accurate likeness in your portraiture.
If your portraits look cartoonish or dead, you need this workshop. Tina will demonstrate three oil painting starting methods including open grisaille,
accurate color wash and Tina’s favorite, selective start to help students discover the process that will help them achieve their best work.
Each morning Tina will demonstrate and lecture. Each afternoon, Tina will work one-on-one with every artist as they paint from both the live model and photos. Tina’s goal is to be as generous with her knowledge as possible, walking each student through the concepts so when artists leave her workshops, they are able to take their own painting to new heights. All levels welcome! Space is limited!
Make sure to check out Tina’s work online: www.artisttinagarrett.com
Contact Diane @ 907-355-4632 or email: dianeypaol@gmail.com for more information or to secure your spot. Class size is limited to 10.
Alaska-grown Los Angeles based indie artist Emily Anderson is releasing her single, “Margaret,” scheduled to
drop on Friday, May 20. This is the final single off her full-length album, “Salt & Water,” which will be released
on May 27. Produced by tenderpunk pioneer Sarah Tudzin (of the renowned illuminati hotties), “Margaret” is about a late-night phone call to an old friend, enveloping the listener in a warm blanket of guitars, uplifting vocal harmonies, and the dear memories of lifelong friendships. It’s your soundtrack for the road trips, with the windows down singing at the top of your lungs and knowing no one cares if you can’t hit the high note.
“Margaret isn’t about one person in particular, but a group of close female friendships I value deeply,” Anderson shares, “It’s about being completely understood and accepted for who you are and the gift of growing up together without growing apart.”
The song is a sonic cocktail of Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson, and Phoebe
Bridgers. The single is part of the promotion for Anderson’s first full length album release in 5 years. The long-awaited album was originally set to be recorded in April of 2020, but the pandemic ultimately caused Anderson to shift course, focusing efforts on singles, video game soundtracks (Calico, The Stars Between Us, and Rec Room), and music for film and TV (featured in national Miller Lite ad).
“This record has been a lesson of patience for me,” recounts Anderson, “Without the delay, some of the best songs on the record wouldn’t have been on it - because they didn’t exist yet. I put my whole heart and soul into this album and I hope people will be able to feel that.”
“Margaret” can be pre-saved now.
A music video directed by Emily Anderson will be released in conjunction with the single. The album release show will take place at Goldie’s in Fairbanks, Alaska on May 28.
For more information, follow Emily Anderson on Facebook or Instagram at @emilyandersonak or visit her website at emilyandersonak.com
Contributed by Aurora Dora
Life for me feels perfect when I am photographing the Auroras! I have been chasing and photographing the Northern Lights for many years. The winter landscapes and views surrounding us in Alaska with the opportunity of experiencing the dancing lights across the skies make me happy.
Living in Talkeetna, I have all of these in spades!
But spring arrives, the nights get shorter, and we know summer is around the corner… And summer comes!
For me, summer is a bitter-sweet season, missing the beauty of the night, the stars, and the Auroras. But don’t take me wrong, I love summer. I enjoy hiking, fishing, visiting with tourists from all over, and the long days. But I am still waiting.
Summer is here. Yay! I celebrate the
summer solstice. Tomorrow we will have six fewer seconds of daylight!
And I wait.
And by early August, I see a few stars. By mid-August, a few more. And I am ready! Ready to photograph the northern lights again. Photographing the Auroras brings me back to a remarkable place, I feel complete, and it feeds my soul.
Cheers to a new summer season!
For the last 20 years, I have been chasing and photographing the northern lights.
As the Aurora season gives room to the bright summer months, I visit the many memories and stories from all these years and share them with the visitors of my gallery in Talkeetna.
Aurora Dora Photography Gallery is open 7 days a week. We are in downtown Talkeetna by the Welcome to the Beautiful Talkeetna sign.
Contributed by Carmen Summerfield
It’s time for another hot, Hot, HOT Iron Pour! Yes, for the 15th year, the Valley Arts Alliance Art on Fire Iron Pour Art Fest will be held on Saturday, June 25, 2022, in Wasilla.
The Valley will be buzzing with artists from across the country, as they gather to cast unique iron sculptures, create Raku pottery, and engage in other similar “fiery” events.
A team of skilled foundry men and women, consisting of Pat Garley, who owns Arctic Fires Bronze in Palmer,
D’jean Jawrunner, a college professor from New Mexico who teaches metal casting, Donnie Keen a commercial foundry owner from Houston, Texas, and other local sculptors and skilled metal workers will demonstrate the fascinating 5000-year-old iron casting process using a custom designed furnace known as a cupola.
In the weeks preceding this event, Pat Garley will be offering workshops in metal casting and mold making at his studio in Palmer. These workshops will continue at the VAA Art on Fire Iron Pour Art Fest, when these molds are poured with liquid iron. See scenes of previous years events on our archive
pages, www.ValleyArtsAlliance.com. At this Art on Fire Iron Pour Art Fest, visitors can create their own small molds, for their own unique iron plaques. These small mold blanks, approximately 6 inches square, can be etched or “scratched” with a design which, when filled with molten iron, will render a unique keepsake. Known as a “scratch block”, these blanks are available for $10.
Throughout the day, artists will conduct Raku pottery workshops. Raku differs from other forms of pottery in that after a short firing, the “red hot” vessels are placed inside a metal can full of combustible materials, a process that draws the oxygen out of the glaze and is responsible for the unique and completely unpredictable Raku look. The Association of Alaskan Black-
smiths will demonstrate blacksmithing techniques, Judy Vars will demonstrate Encaustic wax painting, and other fiery arts, such as glass flameworking, will also be demonstrated. Several local painters will setup their easels and demonstrate their work. Live music and food will be available throughout the day.
The VAA Art on Fire Iron Pour Art Fest will be held at the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry, located at 3800 W. Museum Drive (near the airport) in Wasilla, from noon until 5pm on Saturday, June 25.
The ticket price is $10, with children under 12 admitted free. Please join the fun! We hope to turn this day into an extraordinary Iron Pour Art Fest in the Valley!
Music
After over a decade of writing music, on Thursday May 26, Appalaskan Jess will share her first recorded song with the world with a celebration at Spoonline Bistro in Girdwood.
The single “Rare Bird” is the title track to her debut album, releasing later this summer.
Known as Jessie Meybin offstage, and a songbird since birth, Jess started playing her guitar for friends in the Virginia’s where she was raised and has gone from open mics to touring with her bands here in Alaska over the last decade.
Self-taught after receiving her mother’s classic nylon string acoustic guitar as a gift (or a bribe to finish her graduate thesis) 13 years ago, she has tamed her ‘wild bird hand’ style of strumming,
her melodic singing and poignant but whimsical lyrics into a genre of its own that we can only say resembles folk with a twist.
Her setlist is unpredictable and can come from any musical direction- from reggae to bluegrass and back to hip hop- but we can all expect to be moved, moving... or at least entertained.
Come down to Spoonline from 7-9 pm on May 26th to show your support, or look out for her album “Rare Bird,” coming out later this summer.
You can also catch her touring around Alaska this summer with her reggae band, Loaded Karma, and her stringgrass band, The River Livers.
Follow @AppalaskanJess on Facebook for updates.
Nature
Contributed by Amy Jackman
AK SoulFest 2022 is Alaska’s newest & hottest festival, like none before!
That’s right, we’ve captured the essence of many diverse, economically viable, and thriving industries from over Alaska by creating a set & setting conducive to fun, community, education, health, and above all, personal sovereignty and FREEDOM.
Between August 12th - 14th 2022, we are hosting our first annual AK SoulFest (Full Moon) Festival 2022 in Kenai, Alaska, at the Diamond M Ranch. Visit diamondmranchresort. com for more information.
Across Alaska and beyond, industries host individually specific trade shows
and community gatherings, drawing in crowds aimed at their unique interests. While you will draw people interested in your industry, you’ve missed drawing on many diverse individuals interested in many aspects of life. AK SoulFest brings the best of the best to one table, creating a rich & diverse opportunity for you to showcase and educate the masses.
AK SoulFest has invited the following communities to this community event:
Yoga
Music
Cannabis HempFest
Food/Drink Metaphysical
Self-Sustainability
Healing/General Health & Wellness
Psychedelic Society/Decriminalize
We are not prohibiting other booths/ industries. If you are called to join us, please reach out. This is about fostering community and bolstering our Individual & Collective Sovereignty.
We are inviting you to create the future you want by being an active part of AK SoulFest Full Moon Festival 2022. Your Donation/Ticket Purchase allows you to take part in the transformation of our Alaska Community by lending your knowledge and wisdom, carried through your participation, to enhance the quality of life for generations to come.
Camping Promo Code: FEST2022 diamondmranchresort.com
Vendor Contract: tinyurl.com/aksoulfest
Facebook: facebook.com/AKSoulFest
Contact: Amy Jackman 907-398-4326
Your Sponsorship Is a Tax Write-Off.
Live Music, Full Moon Ceremonial Drumming, Locally Sourced Food, Yoga, Sound Baths, Hemp Demonstrations, Legal Cannabis Information, Gubernatorial Debate, Ecstatic Dance, Children’s Events, Presentations, Classes, Talks, Children’s Archery Range, Comedians, CBD & Cannabinoid Information, Sustainable Living Practices, Hay Wagon Rides, Permaculture Talks, Hand-On Demos, Locally Grown Foods, Reiki, and So Much More.
Community is Diversity in Harmony. Please Help Us Co-Create Unity In Our Community with Your Sponsorship.
Thank you
AK SoulFest 2022
Contributed by Anne Benson
Calling all youth who would like to experience the thrill of performing as well as learn and hone those skills that will enhance their lives on and off the stage!
The Palmer Arts Council is delighted to be bringing back its summer theatre academies!
Housed at Palmer High’s theatre, there will be three, 2-week long camps for youth, ages 8-middle
school. Session dates are June 6-17, July 11-22, and July 25-August 5. Cost is $300 per session with multi-family/multisession discounts available.
There is also scholarship funds for students who would like to participate but can’t afford the fee.
For more information go to www.palmerarts.org or call (907) 232-0085.
