Opening: Comic Show: AK Center for Natural Medicine

Quick recap of his past weekend's event - with another big ol' thanks to Fiona and everybody at the Alaska Center for Natural Medicine for putting on a great show. The pieces themselves will all be up for the next few months (until the end of July), but for the benefit of those who couldn't attend the opening and/or reside elsewhere here's a bit of a virtual tour of the digs.
As seen from the balcony above, visiting cartoon celebrity Chad Carpenter set right inside the front door with a table loaded with books and calendars in front of a dozen framed originals. People circulated around both floors, weaving through the clusters while looking at work on the walls until an opening would occur, when they could then meet with a particular creator, and maybe purchase some art. Sales were surprisingly fair - at least good enough to buy a bunch of stuff from other exhibitors after the tide of people went out.

Layla, Lucas and Brianna manning their stations

All told there was a total of eleven different artists with works on display, and eight of them physically on hand to peddle their respective wares for the evening. Overall there was a good turnout with sizable and varied crowd - a mix of friends, fans and random folks out making the 1st Friday rounds - I know that I personally handed out well over a hundred-fifty fliers for an upcoming gig up in the fall.

What with plenty of wall-space every nook and cranny was covered - never invite a bunch cartoonists over to hang art: they'll metastasize and treat the establishment like it's a Sunday funny spread. The building was a spacious maze of suites infused with eucalyptus... add in a couple hundred sweaty people and it was what a koala mosh pit must be like. After the herds of enthusiasts the first thing one sees upon entering is the impressive display of talent from Lucas Eliott, pieces that stepped up the stairs and wrapped around the corner upstairs (not to mention my favorite tucked in a hallway downstairs).

Next up a sample set of images by Brianna Reagan, were culled from her incredible "Word A Day" project. Not pictured but present with a couple laptops looping her work was the Aussie-Alaskan Animator, Hannah Foss.

"How's it hangin'?" (apologies for iPhone-grade images)

Downstairs featured a nice setup by the combined forces of two veterans of the Interior scene,
Layla Lawlor and Ellen Million.

Appropriately located in a children's nook Chrissy Fanslau had a handful of images from her new book on display.

Alex Bates brought in a couple pieces to supplement his table display of handcrafted game pieces, and also a couple canvases by Lee Post were hung next to the jazz band alcove.

Representing the editorial cartoon was a strip by Peter Dunlap Shohl along with a cryptic and comical illustration.

Relegated to the restroom areas, which in retrospect was some prime real-estate, I had a couple panels plus a few more tucked into a nice corner by some open windows, which is where I situated my table for the opening festivities.

A special note of thanks to local independent copiers Date-Line Digital Printing for the lush and timely pieces (see backposts here for Opera Fairbanks 2013 "Run of the Valkyries," "Psy-Ox," "Machetanz Changelings," the Anchorage Press "Super Shorts" cover, "Science Enthusiast," "Acadian Troll," and "Squonk").

Chad Carpenter has a bigger Sharpie®™ than me: though to be sure, these are just the Ultra-Fine and Fine (respectively): there's still the Jumbo Magnum size...