First Friday Artist Reception: Kathleen Carlo-Kendall & Chris Ehlers

Kathleen Carlo-Kendall was born in Tanana, Alaska, the daughter of Poldine and William "Bill" Carlo. She moved to Fairbanks at the age of five where she lives today. She started making her artwork at the Native Arts Center in the University of Alaska Fairbanks. In the late 1970s, Carlo-Kendall emerged as one of the first Alaska Native women to carve wood, traditionally considered a men’s practice. As masks were not used extensively within her own Koyukon culture, she reflected upon the masks of the Yup’ik and other cultures for inspiration. Kathleen's artwork sometimes symbolizes an event or spirit, other times it is just what comes out of the shape of the wood. Chris Ehlers is originally from Tucson, Arizona, but has lived in Fairbanks for the past nine years. For most of his adult life, Chris worked as a general laborer but recently began wood carving after taking Native Arts classes at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Ehlers’s mentor is Kathleen Carlo-Kendall and decided to explore his Dine (Navaho) heritage in his work.