The Kenai Fine Arts Center May show features a wide variety of eye pleasing works from the Peeps Young Artist exhibit sponsored by the Kenai Peninsula Birding Festival, to horn carvings and wildlife photography to an Ancestral Homes of Alaska study done by a 4th grade Kalifornsky Beach Elementary school class. According to K-Beach 4th grade teacher Darcy Marcou the project started out as a short Alaskan research project on Ancestral Homes, “The children were invited to choose one of five traditional Alaskan culture groups and do a research project making a power point and as a homework piece they could build a model of that style dwelling. I’ve never seen kids as excited about a homework project as this one. We displayed them at a parent night at school and Joe Kashi came and was excited about helping make it part of the May show here at the Fine Arts Center,” she told the Dispatch. “Our children learn in a variety of ways and whenever they have a chance to apply their learning with a tactile type exercise like what these kids have done with the Ancestral Homes project it is impressive not only for the community but these children will remember what they’ve learned here for a long time as compared with other book learning which they may learn quickly but not retain for as long as an exercise such as this. It’s very impressive and we appreciate the community support being here tonight,” commented Dr. Steve Atwater KPBSD superintendent of schools who was on hand to cut a ribbon opening night of the May art show.

Kathy East a needlepoint artist has a unique McCaw piece hung at the May show, “It’s two McCaw parrots and I created it on a mesh canvas with yarn that I used to make different patterns and colors with a long stitch utilizing different types of fabrics and threads for embroidery and cross stitch needle work to get the final effect,” explained East. Kathy says she has been doing this medium since she was ten years old and for the McCaw piece used a pattern but often will use a photo to work from in making a pattern and matching life like colors, “It can almost create a three dimensional effect that I like from the texture of the threads. But basically anything I can find to embroider on, I do,” laughed East. Kathy currently works at Central Peninsula Hospital and can be contacted for custom work at Kathy’s Custom Tutoring which is another private business she operates. The May art show at the Kenai Fine Arts Center will be on display through the end of the month, for more information on all the Kenai Fine Art galleries call 283-7040 or log onto kenaifinearts.com.