Last Thursday I had the honor to attend the Governor’s Awards for Arts and Humanities in Fairbanks, Alaska, as a member of the board of directors of the Alaska State Council on the Arts.  The event was hosted by a partnership between the Alaska State Arts Council, Alaska Humanities Forum, Fairbanks Arts Association and the [...]

I found a few spare hours during the NASAA conference in Austin, Texas, to walk about the beautiful city.  I enjoyed hiking several miles around Town Lake in the middle of downtown where a myriad of walking/jogging trails, bridges, and benches are located serving outdoor enthusiasts, dog lovers and those seeking a good work out [...]

During the busy NASAA convention in Austin, Texas, the Texas Commission on the Arts provided special flavors and entertainment breaks with performances by soprano Alicia Gianni, zydeco accordionist Keyun Dickson, musical actors from Austin’s ZACH Theater, we were entertained at lunch by Mariachi Los Gallos, and another luncheon serenade by two incredible violinists sponsored by [...]

I just returned from a wonderful conference, Assembly 2010,  hosted by the Texas Commission on the Arts, presented by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, held at the beautiful Omni Hotel in Austin, Texas.  The photo above shows the Networking Breakfast Buffet held in the hotel Atrium Lobby.  Directors and Council members from 49 [...]

If you have visited the Palmer Courthouse recently you might be wondering about the three big squares of different colored paint on the entry wall.  The maintenance department is ready to paint the upper portions of the entry wall and the right hallway in preparation for the Per Cent for Art project that I am [...]

Boy’s and Girl’s Club 2010 Auction Gala at the Sheraton Hotel, Anchorage, Alaska, September 18, starting at 5:00PM will feature a canvas giclee of “Wing Dancing” and other items by artist Gail Niebrugge.  Bob and I will attend this glittery event, and lend support for the auction.  This is a very worthy cause, I look [...]

I’m exhausted from two very intense days of meetings with 20+ leaders in the Alaska arts, culture and humanities who have volunteered to serve on the State Arts Council’s Cultural Trust Taskforce to define, and establish a yet unnamed entity that will eventually help fund future creative endeavors in Alaska communities.  One member described our [...]

Ready for opening day at the fair with sunshine and flower pots from our yard gracing the doorway to our booth.  Many of my Facebook friends, old neighbors and collectors stopped to visit and purchase art.  Here’s hoping this wonderful weather continues.  Meanwhile the smells of junk food and sounds of music, bells, whistles, and [...]

Friday, June 4, 2010, the Board of Directors of the Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA) met in an all-day strategic planning session, followed by an Open House to celebrate the relocation to beautiful, spacious new offices in Mountain View and to showcase the newly acquired artwork for the Art Bank.  At the reception [...]

Videographer Greg Lytle standing with Bob on our dock scouting out scenes to use for filming a commercial for ACHIA, the Alaska Comprehensive Health Insurance Assn., a health insurance plan for people who are turned down due to pre-existing conditions that Bob helped create for Alaska years ago.  Northwest Strategies handled the production, it was [...]

One day last winter while the wind screamed outside I sat down and started writing, before I knew it four hours had passed.  I decided to try my hand a writing a poem about the wind, and submit it to the Palmer Arts Council’s 2010 poetry anthology Voices Between Mountains. A few weeks later I [...]

Nineteen members of the newly formed Cultural Trust Leadership Committee met all day Friday, March 12, at the Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage, led by facilitator Alice Galvin, Manager of Leadership and Organizational Development with BP Exploration, to brainstorm formulating an action plan.  The morning began by dividing the group into four units who took turns [...]

“Basin Road” 54″x 72″ original acrylic on canvas commissioned by the Alaska Per Cent for Art program for the Juneau Pioneer Home, painted in 1991, ©Gail Niebrugge I have to admit my learning curve with Photoshop has been long and hard mostly by trial and error, with more errors than success at times.  I’m sure [...]

I’m new to Twitter and FaceBook, but I can already see that this social network stuff can eat up a huge amount of time.  Thinking that the exposure would be good for my art and bring people to my website I signed on to these sites.  And, it has been a good move.  But, I’m [...]

Two hard working volunteers on the Mat-Su College Fine Arts Advisory Council, Sharon Allen and Janice Strong, confer on auction items during the first annual “Tie the Knot Community and College” fundraiser held at the Palmer Depot last Friday night February 12, 2010.  The proceeds of the auction will be used to support the first [...]