My Own Piece of Alaska

Nine years ago some friends and I cruised the Inside Passage of Alaska. But due to time constraints, I was not able to continue on to the land part of the trip from Anchorage to Denali. All that time I felt I had not closed the book on Alaska. So in mid-May, one of my friends from that trip (KJ) and another friend (KL) decided to sign up for the Sierra Club bus trip visiting Anchorage, Talkeetna and Denali. It was a spectacular trip, and I am so happy I decided to return to the land of ice and tundra. But more about that in another blog.

Our first morning in Anchorage KL and I discovered the Anchorage Market and Festival just up the hill from our Comfort Inn. One of the vendors was Ed Mighell, an artist who makes and designs tiles. I immediately fell in love with several of his pieces and knew I had already found the best possible souvenir of my trip to Alaska. Especially as Ed personally collects the clay from the coast of Cook Inlet in Anchorage near the Turnagain neighborhood.

It was a difficult decision but this is the tile I chose. The bear on the surface of the ice and the seal underneath. Notice the seal's air hole in the ice. Bears have been known to wait patiently for hours at an air hole until their prey appears. I read that they will even make their own hole in the ice a few yards from the seal's air hole then dive into the water behind the seal and grab it.

In Alaska I was very much aware of the balance of nature... and animals eating other animals is part of it. Not something you think much about in southern California.

I saw more of Ed's work on sale at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, but I like my tile more than anything I saw there. Plus, there is nothing better than owning artwork from an artist you have met and talked to. His mother was from the Inupiaq Eskimo village Point Hope but he never learned much about his background until he moved to Alaska in 1980. A few years ago he gave up his secure, well-paid engineering career to work as an artist. Certainly he made the right decision!

He doesn't have his own website but you can click here for more information about Ed Mighell and his tiles.

(Photo copyright roslyn m wilkins. Tile design copyright ed mighell.)

Going, Going.... Almost Gone
Saturday, May 10, GZ and I serendipitously happened upon the California Art Club's 97th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition. This is running until May 18 at the Pasadena Museum of California Art.
We were leaving the Pacific Asia Museum when I noticed the "Art Museum" sign on the top of a building down the street. Let's see what it is! And that's how we stumbled upon the exhibition. I've seen the Art Club's shows at other locations in the past. The PMCA is a lovely gallery, ideal for an exhibit such as this.
I enjoyed the exhibit immensely. Several paintings I would have taken home with me (except for the prices, of course). I was surprised, and happy, to see so many sold tags on the paintings. I didn't see anything that absolutely knocked my socks off for originality, but there is nothing wrong with good, solid work. Of course, you would expect that I disagreed with some of the choices for awarding prizes, but that also means I did agree with a few!
I have to admit I have an affinity for seascapes, or anything with water in it... lakes, rivers, waterfalls. But a couple of landscapes caught my eye too.
If you happen to be in the neighborhood, I would recommend stopping by the PMCA before May 18 to catch this show. And, if you are a KCRW member as I am, you get a 50% discount!
As for the Pacific Asia Museum which was the purpose of our trip, we happened to arrive as they were having a free Family Festival: The Arts of the Pacific Islands (with free parking too) celebrating Pacific cultures and the opening of the new exhibition Pacifika: Young Perspectives on Pacific Island Art. As we were touring the galleries we enjoyed listening to live music of Samoa, Fiji, Hawaii, New Zealand and Tahiti with traditional dancing. It must be 15 years since I last visited this museum and it was a very pleasant afternoon.
(Photo copyright roslyn m wilkins)