A Skagway restaurant hosted live art, enabling customers to watch a mural being created on the spot. 

 

Red Onion Saloon patrons were delighted with a live exhibition by muralist Kate Kolodi on May 26. Kolodi started with a piece of blank 6.5 foot by 3.5 foot paper, stapled to a wooden panel. She finished three hours later with a black and white charcoal sketch of a woman draped across a buffalo, a bird flying above her head.

Diners sipped craft cocktails and watched Kolodi create the underdrawing, or the rough sketch. While she worked, Christian Jensen played electric guitar. 

The event was called Speakeasy Sunday, and will occur the last Sunday of the month throughout the season.

Year-round resident Rebecca Kameika’s presence at the saloon was intentional.

 “I went specifically for it,” Kameika says. “Because I saw that the Red Onion had posted they were doing that. And then I also follow her on social media. So, I had it in my calendar since, like, the first time I saw it posted.”

Kameika says she’ll attend the next Speakeasy. She describes it as “the perfect night out” with the opportunity to be part of an experience that sparked interesting conversation. She was struck by Kolodi’s ability to make art in public.

​​”I feel like I would be so overwhelmed and scared to be putting myself out there like she did,” Kameika says. “And I couldn’t believe that she just was totally in the zone, and able to put this beautiful piece of work out. And with people watching her. It’s a very vulnerable place to be when you’re doing your art and people are watching. I thought that was really incredible. That she’s able to do that, execute that in that space.”

At the next session, Kolodi will add color and finish the piece. Generally, Kolodi auctions off her murals on Facebook. It takes a special buyer to have space for large pieces of art. Kolodi creates high resolution prints of her murals so those with smaller areas can enjoy the pieces. 

Kolodi says it has been difficult finding businesses to support live art and her particular style of creativity. She’s been told her subject matter isn’t happy enough, which she takes as a compliment.

 “You know, people want to sell bears and moose, whales and the Northern Lights,” Kolodi says. “So, I’m struggling to find a place in Skagway for my work. And if it’s not going to be selling it, then events like last night are kind of where I’m starting to feel like I’m finding my place.”

Kolodi’s art degree is in oil painting. But when she started traveling to Skagway, she transitioned to drawing mediums that don’t make a mess, such as charcoal and pastels. 

“And then I just started working bigger and bigger and bigger,” Kolodi says. “And now, it’s just my safe zone. I don’t think I could scale down if I wanted to now. I think large, it’s sometimes more impactful for the viewer. And it requires so much more of my body physically to work and I really enjoy that. I really love using my whole body as a gestural movement. It’s much more of a physical intimate connection with the piece.”

When Kolodi works in public, she has a process. She has a reference image on a tablet she spent hours preparing. While she is focused, she is also available for interaction with visitors.

“I love questions,” Kolodi says. “I love discussing it with people. I’m a little bit awkward with compliments. But if you have questions, I love talking about it.”

Kolodi says she strives for emotion and empathy in her art, along with a relationship with the viewer. She remembers a tourist who saw her peiece, “Deconstructed,” on the walls of Skagway Spirits. The woman was on a cruise, a healing journey after the suicide of her son. She bought the artwork as a reminder of her Alaska journey.

The next Speakeasy Sunday is scheduled for June 30.