Garden art gala at gallery

Normally I don’t cover gallery happenings, but this is an exception for two reasons: one, I love this gallery, and two, their opening gala featured a metal artist I am a big fan of.  And a bonus reason because it’s Monday: The show was called “The Artful Garden.”  Now what kind of responsible garden blogger would I be if I wasn’t covering the big garden art happenings?

  

Back in February, Half Moon Creek Gallery and Glass Company shuttered their doors in Anchorage and headed down the road a piece to Palmer.  I managed to stifle a sob when told of this move, but croaked out, “why?”  Apparently the gals have families in Palmer that wanted to see them occasionally.  The nerve.  After making the round trip for the show, I can see how driving for an hour each way would seem like a time suck.  At least the scenery was picturesque.  Can’t say that about many highways….

The featured artist, Cindy Shake, has been working long hours for this show.  I’ve been following her blog, by the way, which is good fun for those of us that are, how shall I say it, less than handy with the welding torch.  The Last Frontier Gardener can only dream of creating beautiful things out of metal, but for a few ugly things I’ve welded, see here and here.  (I snapped up the toothy fish below to add to my collection of “tough” art that the kids can bounce balls around.)

I was pleasantly surprised to see some of the garden art being displayed outside, though it did challenge my already subpar photography skills (check me out in the window reflection taking the picture below).  I didn’t have to lay on too many cars to get a few shots of the goods.  Love the sax reuse in the photo below.  It reminded me of a saxophone fountain I saw at the garden show in Seattle.  Maybe brass instruments are going to be popular in garden art….  To ensure I was restrained in my purchases, I left the full-size truck at home.

  

The gallery was still in the process of unpacking, but I was assured they would have most of their inventory out for display “in a few days.”  Meanwhile, I was appreciating their opening hors d’oeuvres as I had brought no lunch.  As a frequent attendee of gallery shows, I was impressed with the grub.  One posh gallery in Anchorage (in)famously serves an atrocious, cheap cracker mix in a giant bowl for their openings.  Gross.  Nothing like that for these classy gals: grapes, cheeses, breads (I saw focaccia!), and were those chocolate-dipped macaroons?  Whatever they were, they were lunch.  Thanks, ladies.

 

Half Moon Creek is also a glass gallery and workshop and they are working on a space for their glass crafting classes.  I was just enjoying all the wild colors of the glass sheets, rods, and dust.  Surely some reader knows what all these bits and bobs are for?

  

There were a few other collections out that weren’t part of the show.  Taking photos at a gallery opening was a little trickier than I had supposed.  Dodging patrons and trying not to step back into something fragile and expensive kept me on my toes.

For those contemplating a drive to Palmer, Half Moon Creek is at 439 W. Elmwood Avenue off the Glen Highway, or in Alaska lingo, on the corner that doesn’t have a McDonalds, Carrs Grocery Store, or gas station.  Go soon for Cindy Shake’s garden art, go anytime for a fun, friendly gallery with with plenty to see (or in my case, buy: Happy Mother’s Day to me).   

Any great galleries in your area?  Garden art you can’t live without?