Local galleries welcome fall with First Friday openings.

October means a little more quiet and the pervasive feeling of transience as the season turns. Many of October’s art offerings share a quiet reconsideration of everyday instances and items that appear and vanish from our consciousness.

A torn sweater, a pottery shard, discarded plastic on ocean waves, even a drifting cloud or the flutter of a moth — all these pieces of life’s flotsam are lovingly captured and transformed by artists presenting this month. Catch them before they, too, move on.

Art Shop Gallery

202 West Pioneer Ave.

“Magic Moments,” photography by Taz Tally

Opening reception 5 to 7 p.m.

Longtime Homerite Taz Tally wears many hats as a geologist, adventurer, author, educator and artist. In this show, he shares more of his talent and dedication to photography, with a focus on images that capture those evanescent scenes of beauty that often disappear after a glimpse.

Artist Statement:

“So often, magical moments of light, color, tone, and composition are short-lived, fleeting, ephemeral moments of beauty. My 2026 gallery show features five such moments of ephemeral beauty. Some of these moments lasted a few minutes; others, only a few seconds. Because I know these scenes of natural glory are fleeting, I always keep my camera accessible and ready to capture them at a moment’s notice. And I rarely have a specific composition or lighting in mind; I’m nearly always surprised by what I encounter and am prepared to drop everything to enjoy and capture them, which, if I’m driving, often results in precipitous exits from a roadway … dropping everything while I’m hiking, biking, kayaking or skiing is usually less life-threatening … ;-)… I hope you enjoy these ephemeral beauties!”

Bunnell Street Arts Center

106 W. Bunnell Ave.

Work by Artists in Residence Kalina Wińska and Amy Meissner

Opening reception 5 to 7 p.m. Artist talks 6 p.m.

Bunnell Street Arts Center presents Kalina Wińska and Amy Meissner, as part of their “Alaska AIR” residency program; both artists will exhibit new work and host workshops in October. 

Kalina Winska is a Seattle-based artist who grew up in Poland. Her works present speculative landscapes that merge reality and representation, the environment and its technological translations, with imagery taken from weather patterns, climate models and virtual realities. In this show, Wińska shares works on paper integrated with environmental themes and found materials.

An interest in found and unwanted materials is also part of Anchorage artist Amy Meissner’s approach to creation. She elevates the everyday labor of mending textiles to an opportunity to examine the aesthetic of care and the often hidden vitality of women’s work. Seeing repair as “a first response to brokenness,” she uses the acts of deconstruction and reconstruction of damaged household cloth as a path to personal and community narratives.

Artist Statement by Kalina Wińska:

“My works examine diverse approaches to observing weather through direct human perception and indirect methods, like satellite imagery. This process highlights humanity’s complex relationship with climate change, weather modification, and our urge to control natural phenomena.

“My paintings on paper and panels often feature cloud-like forms layered with symbolic targets or molecular structures of greenhouse gases, while my installations echo cloudscapes and natural forms. 

Inspired by weather data codes, I integrate abstracted colors, marks, and shapes that reflect human influence on nature.”

Artist Statement by Amy Meissner:

“My studio practice combines traditional handwork, found objects, and abandoned or valueless textiles to reference literal, physical, and emotional labor. My social practice fosters repair culture by teaching the craft of clothing and textile repair as an act of prolonging, care, and accompaniment of vulnerable objects in transition. These two facets have either led or followed one another for several years — one conducted in solitude, the other in community, both addressing material fragility and long-term care of things.

Repair as the burdensome, inefficient task seems defined in our consuming-discarding-replacing society, but isn’t repair the generous entity? It offers itself relentlessly while we often ignore this insistent appeal to accompany, learn, and make better. What if we took this invitation seriously? Repair asks us to care, act, commune with more-than-human worlds, occupying the attachment between use and disuse. It tests our hubris.”

The Dean Gallery

40374 Waterman Road

Artwork by Jeffrey, Ranja and M’fanwy Dean

Reception 5 to 7 p.m.

The Dean Gallery stays open late on First Friday, so come check out this family-owned gallery at Dean Homestead and Art Studios. There is so much to see, including original artwork in wood, steel and bronze, and specialty prints on wood, metal and paper. 

Grace Ridge Brewing

870 Smoky Bay Way

“Guardians & Ghouls,” textile art and papier mâché by Daniel Dobrosielski

Opening reception 5 to 7 p.m.

Combining a love for monsters and a commitment to sustainability, Homer fiber artist Daniel Dobrosielski presents a new collection of whimsical beasties and the worlds they inhabit.

Artist Statement:

“Born and raised in the suburbs of Maryland in the ’90s and early ’00s, artist Daniel Dobrosielski grew up during the birth of the monster catching genre, the “mon” era. At first, he was merely captivated by the eye-catching creature designs, but soon he was obsessed. From this obsession grew a compulsion to create his own creatures and craft original worlds. As he matured, he began to explore the intersection of these fantastical worlds and the ecological world around him. Grounded in a fierce commitment to sustainability, his process centers on rethinking waste and utilizing earth-friendly materials. In ‘Guardians & Ghouls,’ discover a collection of puppets and dioramas featuring creatures familiar and peculiar. Daniel hopes this collection inspires and encourages people of all ages to investigate the inherent whimsy and magic on this funny little planet we call home.”

Homer Council on the Arts

355 W. Pioneer Ave.

“Gathering at the Threshold,” ceramics by Sarah Sims

Opening reception 5 to 7 p.m.

“Gathering at the Threshold” is a solo exhibition of striking ceramic works by Sarah Sims. Raised in the Alaska Interior and now residing in Coastal Alaska, Sims explores the intersection of wilderness, wildlife and ritual.

This collection features intricate black and white sgraffito surface designs carved directly into the clay, revealing the color underneath. These high-contrast narratives capture the texture of Alaska flora and fauna and the rhythms of the Northern Pacific tide. Sudden and deliberate pops of color pierce the monochromatic landscapes.

Fired in an electric kiln to preserve the crisp, clean precision of every carved line, these contemporary vessels and wall pieces serve as modern totems. They invite the viewer to stand at the Threshold, where the forest meets the sea, and join in a quiet celebration of the Northern Wild. 

HCOA at South Peninsula Hospital

4300 Bartlett St.

“Weathered,” paintings by Holly Dickinson

No opening reception

Inspired by the weathered details of everyday life as much as the dramatic landscapes of coastal Alaska, Holly Dickinson’s paintings explore where nature and home meet. Through bold contrasts in texture and color, her works find beauty in both the overlooked and the extraordinary, revealing how the natural and built environments intertwine. This exhibit, transferred from Homer Council on the Arts, continues through November.

Homer Public Library

500 Hazel Ave.

Mixed media artwork by Shari Osti Chamberlin

No opening reception. Regular library hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday.

Anchor Point artist Shari Osti Chamberlin presents abstract mixed media pieces inspired by landscapes and “rooted in experimentation, place and emotion.” With four decades of experience garnered across the country, including a degree in textile design and sculpture, she has developed a distinctive approach to monotype printing that remains at the heart of her practice today.

According to Osti Chamberlin, she often begins by painting with printing ink directly onto a plexiglass plate, then runs the plate and archival paper by hand through a large lithograph and etching press. Peeling back the paper reveals a reversed image that is often unexpected, making spontaneity an important part of the process. Once the print dries, she builds upon it with paint, drawing, pastel, watercolor and sometimes collage, making every piece a unique original.

This Art in the Library exhibition is sponsored by the Friends of the Homer Library. The public is invited to view the exhibit during open hours at the Homer Public Library in the fireside reading lounge through Jan. 31.

Pratt Museum

3779 Bartlett St.

“Entangled & Ingested,” life-sized wildlife portraits by Dr. Katharine Owens

Reception 4 to 6 p.m. Artist talk 5 p.m.

This new show features 22 life-sized, hand-sewn portraits of wildlife harmed by marine plastic pollution made from unrecyclable plastic waste.

Join the Pratt Museum for an eye-opening exploration of how plastic waste affects our oceans and the creatures that call them home. From tangled birds to sea turtles struggling with plastic ingestion, University of Hartford Professor Katharine Owens unveils the staggering impact of plastic on the marine ecosystem.

Hear a firsthand account of Dr. Owens’ research on beach litter collection around the world. Learn about her art — transforming unrecyclable plastics into life-sized portraits of ocean animals — a powerful blend of science, conservation and creativity. This presentation will include 45 minutes of engaging lecture and 10 minutes of Q&A.

Ptarmigan Arts

471 E. Pioneer Ave.

“Abstract Tesserae,” abstract mosaic works by Cindy Nelson

Extended hours Friday until 7 p.m.

Homer artist Cindy Nelson is thrilled to announce a showcase of her new collection of abstract mosaic works, titled “Abstract Tesserae.” Don’t miss this show, as it will only be up for nine days through Oct. 11. Ptarmigan Arts has shifted to winter hours and is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.

Artist statement:

“‘Tesserae’ refers to the individual pieces — such as small squares of stone or tile — that make up a mosaic. Lately, I have been experimenting with new materials and designs, incorporating stone, slate, tile, pottery, glass, beads and shells secured in thin-set mortar.

Through recent online workshops, I learned to color the thin-set to match the tesserae, which has greatly expanded my creative options. Most of these new pieces are ungrouted, giving them a bold, striking appearance. By incorporating diverse materials at varying angles, the 3D construction creates dynamic and captivating visual effects.”