Bonus First Friday! Our April First Friday show, “Flowering Presence” features bright and beautiful blooms by Cynthia West, music by Ken Brown and the Crooked Road and great eats from Trax and Friar Tuck’s Hoagie House. This is our last FF till next season so don’t miss it!

A bit about the artist:
Cynthia’s intent is to transform the gallery into a garden of stillness, form, and color where those visiting can explore their connection with nature and flowers, find stillness and grace though color and form, and find beauty and wonder in the aliveness and silent presence of the flower.
Growing up in interior Alaska, Cynthia has developed a deep connection to nature. This connection is reflected in all she creates. Her creative process is a form of meditation. It allows her to listen, connect and respond with using color, form and light. Her work is fused with this energy. She uses oil paints on canvas to paint large flowers. She chooses the flower images because of their association with spiritual realization and the ease in which they convey joy and peace.
Over the past year she has been creating mandalas from wood. These circular shaped objects are also inspired by nature and often include petal forms and found objects. For her show she will be including both large flower paintings on canvas and mandalas to create unique “Flowering Presence”.

Here in a flowering presence, pause, observe, and nurture the space inside you longing to bloom.

Beer, eats, live music and art! November 1st, TRAX is proud to host artist Tammy Holland and members of the Fairbank’s Potter Guild for First Friday! Doug Sims, Mary Bunch, Mary Gebhart, Yoriko Freed, and Heidi Morel will showcase their whimsical wares. Live rockin’ music by Them Folkers and as always, HooDoo Kolsch on tap and Friar Tucks Hoagie House treats!

Them Folkers, acoustic locals Jeff and Teesha, put their spin on favorite songs from artists such as Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, and Yonder Mountain String Band. They can be found at www.facebook.com/themfolkers

Winter is a time to celebrate! Norwegians have a word, “Koselig” which means a sense of coziness. Alaskans are well versed in getting cozy as the snow falls and the temperature plummets. We frolic outside doing our wintery activities then come in for warm hot cocoa and toasty blankets with the fireplace blazing in the background. It’s a beautiful time of year! This First Friday is all about gorgeous art and a warm and cozy atmosphere at Trax. We have a myriad of artists that will fill our studio walls for the Christmas season. Featured artists Matt Moberly, Anya Toelle, Brandy Klindworth and more will be gracing our walls with their lovely art and photography.

Ice cold HooDoo Kolsch will be on tap as well as various wines and yummy eats from Friar Tucks Hoagie House. Word has it that Keri will be baking up some delectable pretzel bites to dip in their famous Hoodoo cheese dip. And of course delicious and savory wontons:) Don’t be late to this First Friday!

Live music by the South Cushman Social Club, an enthusiastic rock band that plays classic to modern rock and everything in between, will be jamming by the fireplace.

We have some amazing photographers in Fairbanks! This First Friday is dedicated to the beautiful images they’ve taken of Alaska in all its majesty. Kourtney Gundersen, Tobias Albrigtsen, Luen Compton, and Grace Wilson will be showing their works in the Kahuna studio this February. We’ll be rocking out to live music by the Casey Smith Project and serving up delectable eats from TRAX and Friar Tucks Hoagie House. As always, ice-cold beer from HooDoo Brewing will be flowing from the TRAX tap!

Artists:

Kourtney Gundersen
“I have spent my entire life in Alaska. I got my first DSLR camera around 2 years ago and have been in love ever since. It has helped me to appreciate so much about the place that I live from chasing the aurora borealis to adventuring in the backcountry.”

Tobias Albrigtsen
“My name is Tobias. Pronounced “To Be Us.” I like to take pictures and explore. It’s hardest to do both at the same time, but that’s when my best art is made. Photography has been a habit that I haven’t been able to kick and it’s transforming my life. What I enjoy about saving frames in time, is that anything can happen. It’s when I am out making photos that I believe most in the impossible. When sunlight shoots through the clouds and hits me dead in the lens, I wake up from my routine life. A grand morning of photos will power my inspiration for weeks afterwards. When I’m not with camera, I can be seen running, skiing, biking, coaching, playing guitar, and, on rare occasions, working.”

Luen Compton III
“I am a simple man who enjoys using his photography as an excuse to adventure, create, and explore. Traveling all over due to my active duty military career, I’ve lived in six different states and deployed three times, twice to Afghanistan and once to United Arab Emirates. My featured photos span the United States and parts of Canada too, crossing North Carolina, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, British Columbia, and now Alaska. In addition to traditional photography, drone photography has also become a passion of mine. Originally from Maryland and now living in North Pole, AK, I aspire to challenge myself with driven effort towards new challenges. Photography creates that outlet and I can’t wait to share my adventures through the lens of the camera.”

Grace Wilson
“I am a mother, wife, photographer, local business owner and life-long resident of Fairbanks, Alaska. I am very biased, but I believe that Fairbanks is home to some of the most generous, talented, exceptional individuals anywhere! Along with my business partner, Takenya Rosetta, I specialize in wedding photography, family and senior portraits.”

This First Friday is our last one of the season and we plan to knock your socks off! Spring is in the air at TRAX! Gorgeous art, ice-cold beer, yummy local treats, and live music are on the menu for March. Three local artists, Lisa Roger-Peter, Riva Sazama and Bob Bashore will be gracing our walls with their art and we’ll be rocking out to live music by The South Cushman Social Club. The Roaming Root will be debuting their amazing new business this night at TRAX! Come join us for an evening of fun!

Artist Bios:

Lisa Rogers-Peter is a Fairbanks Artist. Self-taught and native to Alaska. Although she works in many mediums, this exhibit will be the first showing of her new pour paintings. Her next shows are IABA and Woman’s Affair at the Carlson Center in March and April. She will also have her artwork at the Farmers Market all summer.

Riva Sazama is a copper artist living and working in Fairbanks. She specializes in creating wall art, jewelry, and dishes from copper sheets with extensive use of patinas. Riva’s work is entirely hand made, one of a kind pieces that are heavily influenced by nature and natural processes. For her First Friday at Trax, Riva will be showcasing new abstract wall art, as well as copper dishes, cuff bracelets, and new copper earring designs.

Bob Bashore
NXAK Fine Art Photography
A graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and the University of California at Davis, bob’s love of photography began in the early 1970s with surf photos and super8 ski movies, then later transitioned to city architecture. With the inaugural project of his new studio, NXAK (North by Alaska), bob turns his photographic eye to the 49th state. stylized and cropped in-camera, the images of “Overwinter” reflect the struggle of machines and nature against the frigid embrace of Alaska’s winter.