December in the Bear Gallery

Exhibition on view: December 3–23, 2021

Gallery hours: Monday–Saturday, 12–6 pm

Exhibition Opening: December 3, 12–7 pm

Bear Gallery visitors please note:

COVID-19 mitigation measures: Fairbanks Arts’ board of directors has approved COVID-19 mitigation measures that include (but are not limited to):

Visitors to the Bear Gallery are required to wear a mask. We ask that visitors bring their own masks, but should a visitor be without one, we have a limited supply we can give out.
Social distancing of no less than 6 ft apart must be observed within the Bear Gallery.
The current limit of visitors in the gallery at one time is 15 individuals.
Our COVID-19 mitigation plan involves the frequent cleaning of high-touch surfaces to ensure the safety of our guests, volunteers, and staff.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this effort to stay open while supporting artists and arts supporters safely and responsibly.

Water Transformation
by Crystal Rose Cudworth

Crystal Rose Cudworth lives and works in Juneau, Alaska. Her oil painting practice is engaged with the history of Impressionism by way of working “en plein air,” or in the open air. The healing properties of nature are invited into her artwork as hundreds of observational brushstrokes strive to become “one.” Positive and negative spaces in the paintings continually shift while recording the rhythms of sunlight, wind direction, and season. When a piece is resolved, it is a recording of both her surroundings and internal journey. She studied fine art at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and Tufts University. This exhibition is funded in part by Juneau Arts & Humanities Council and the Juneau Community Foundation.

You can find Crystal online at crystalcudworth.com

Artist Talk: Virtual – Streamed on our website

Back porch sightings: Pottery from the boreal forest
by Teresa Shannon

Back porch sightings: Pottery from the boreal forest features sculptural pots that are inspired by the small, often overlooked, wildlife that live in backyards around Fairbanks. The exhibition includes sculptural pottery that commemorates the lives of the squirrels, shrews, chickadees, and other tiny creatures of the boreal forest.

Teresa softly alters wheel-thrown and hand-built clay forms to create these playful utilitarian objects. Each piece is glazed with matte and glossy glazes that melt and flow together like a snowbank melting in spring.

She created these pots in her home studio in the hills overlooking Fairbanks. Teresa grew up in Fairbanks and attended UAF where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She moved to the Lower 48 for graduate school, but returned to Fairbanks upon completion of her Masters of Fine Arts in Ceramics. Teresa shares her love of clay and creative utilitarian objects with her students at UAF where she has been teaching since 2006. Her artwork has been exhibited throughout Alaska and the Lower 48.

You can find Teresa on Instagram @teresashannonceramics or on Facebook @tsceramics.