Don Decker

The late Anchorage artist Hugh McPeck is remembered as a transformative teacher and "consummate trickster." Colleagues and students will honor his memory in an upcoming art show.

Dalton M. Ghetti sculpts art carved from the pointed end of a graphite pencil. The figures -- some now on display at the Kimura Gallery -- are so small they are almost lost from view without magnification.

The artistic quality of Ted Herlinger's past work is uneven, but always thoughtful, sincere and edgy. His style and media are all over the map, even off-road -- always irreverent and anti-establishment.

"I've always made art," says Anchorage artist Scott McDonald. "In some ways it's a monkey on my back. It's like a compulsion. It's natural and necessary, but it takes immense energy and time."

Instead of awarding the monetary stipends as past practice would dictate, Sean Licka instead designated a roll of 50 pennies to be claimed by each artist in the annual invitational exhibition at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art.

There is much to look at in the four shows currently at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art, including photography, glasswork, sculpture and painting. The five contiguous gallery spaces hold an array of divergent methods and materials.

Esther Hong pays homage to her grandmother and the memory of a tragic day for her family in South Korea through her exhibition, "Lachrymatory," showing at the University of Alaska Anchorage's Kimura Gallery.

Briton Alan Turner is back in Alaska after a 10-year absence. His installation, "Making Connections: Train Sets and Switches in Time," is a work in progress at the UAA Kimura Gallery. The show has evolved during January as he added or removed parts. The next and final stage will emerge Monday.

The show is billed as "Bead International 2006," but all the included artists are from the U.S.