Contributed by Eva Cohnen-Brown
A match made in heaven, or at least made in the Valley – that’s what you get when you combine very gifted and talented artists with a philanthropic bent. Kiwanis Club of Palmer is blessed and fortunate to have two award-winning artists, and members, who have created unique masterpieces which are being offered at the upcoming Kiwanis Art Raffle, to be held on December 18th.
Patrick Garley, of Arctic Fire Sculptureworks in Palmer, is a fulltime professional artist working in cast bronze and fabricated steel. He has created and installed several metal art projects around the state. Patrick was honored to have received a 2016 Governor’s award as an individual artist. His Palmer studio is equipped to do metal work, including casting, allowing him to produce work from start to finish.
Patrick has graciously donated a 2018 casting in bronze of an adult grizzly bear skull for the Kiwanis raffle, with a value of $1,500.
Kathy Rockey, quilter extraordinaire, has donated a lovely custom-made, all-cotton queen-sized quilt. In her words, she shares that “I have been sewing since I was a little girl; my mother taught me. She didn’t really do any quilting, but her mother, my grandmother did. I never met my grandmother, but I have some of her quilts….” Kathy states that she is mostly a self-taught quilter, and has continued to make quilts for friends and family and as donations for local causes. Some who have benefitted from her donations are St. John Lutheran Church Youth Auction (for 20 years), My House, the Children’s Place, and fundraisers for individuals in the community. She was commissioned in 2016 by the Alaska State Fair to make a quilt that included artwork from the State Fair anniversary poster, which was raffled for the Fair Scholarship fund.
Kathy shared that “I wanted the quilt I made for the Kiwanis drawing to appeal to a wide range of folks, so I chose a classic Lonestar design in colors from nature, blues and greens. I did a lot of detailed quilting in the background areas of the quilt. I enjoyed creating it and hope it goes home with someone who will really love it.”
Kathy has generously offered her newest masterpiece for the raffle; it has a value of $1,000.
The raffle drawing will be held on Tuesday, December 18th, with tickets priced at $10 each. Funds raised will be used to support the numerous projects that Kiwanis is involved with, including:
- Giving dictionaries to all Mat-Su Borough 3rd graders
- Presenting awards to outstanding 8th grade students
- Sponsoring Key Clubs at Colony and Palmer High Schools
- Awarding Key Club Scholarships
- Sponsoring K-Kids at Sherrod Elementary School
- Assembling and donating fleece blankets to The Children’s Place
- Offering Little League Scholarships
- Helping with Palmer Clean Sweep
- Maintaining Lucas Kiwanis City Park
- Assisting with Alaska State Fair Board voting
- Purchasing, fitting and donating kids’ bicycle helmets at Colony Days
- Donating to Arctic Paws for Service (service dogs)
- Supporting children’s cancer research at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital (Portland, OR)
- Donating to My House Homeless Youth Center
Raffle tickets will be sold at the following venues:
Sportsman’s Warehouse – Friday, 11/16/18, from 10-4 p.m.
Colony Christmas Bazaar – Colony High School on Saturday, 11/24/18, from 10-5 p.m.
Come and support your community and local artists this holiday season!
Interested in visiting and/or joining the club? Kiwanis meetings are held weekly on Tuesdays at Turkey Red Restaurant in the Event Room, at 550 S. Alaska Street, Palmer. We have a variety of interesting speakers, representing local volunteer and business groups. The first few Tuesdays of each month are lunch meetings, held from 12:00-1:00 pm. The last two Tuesdays of each month are evening meetings, held from 6:00-7:00 pm. Meetings are open to everyone, and you don’t have to be a member to attend. For more information, please check out our Facebook site - Kiwanis Club of Palmer Alaska - and the Kiwanis homepage at http://www.kiwanis.org.
