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Photo Courtesy of Mike McGhan Erica Miller’s “One Percent Art Project” at Houston Highschool. It took three months to complete the project. Above Erica is working in a warehouse painting a large art piece. |
By Fayrene Sherritt
Turnagain Times
Hope Correspondent
A special Hope, Inc. meeting was held March 22 at the Hope Social Hall and there was a good turnout of Hope residents at the meeting. President Shawn Butler announced that the “open comment for site selection” that had closed on Feb. 23 had been extended by the Postal Service to April 8. Anyone who did not have an opportunity to write, before the prior deadline, is now encouraged to submit their comments and suggestions to Hope Inc. President Shawn Butler and to Hunter Roop, Western FSO-Project Manager at hunter.roop@usps.gov
Also discussed at the meeting was what the community wanted submitted in an official letter from Hope, Inc. regarding the community’s concerns on the location of the new post office facility. The main item was a request to have a two-week open period for possible new site locations to be considered by the Postal Service. The Postal Service selection, announced at the March 5 meeting, was based on the three properties submitted during the solicitation period in 2005. A draft letter was posted at the Hope Post Office for input from residents. The final letter was submitted March 26 to Hunter Roop and a copy of the final letter was posted at the Post Office
The second item on the agenda was a discussion on the exterior design. The members voted to have a dark green metal roof and to have a rustic type of simulated rough-cut wood siding for the exterior of the new structure. It is believed that closer to the construction of the building; color samples of the metal roofing will be available for a final selection to be made at a Hope Inc. meeting. Other items residents wanted submitted included any exterior lights be focused down, a timber-framed porch, a small post office sign on building, the area around the Post Office be landscaped, more windows in the building and that there is a buffer of trees around the building.
March 29, Hope Inc. President reported that Alaska Department of Natural Resources has now signed off the title for the land across from the Social Hall. Now UAA will advertise the lot for sale and at the end of that notice, Hope Inc. will then be able to purchase to land. The holding tanks for the public outhouses have been ordered. Work on the project is planned for this spring to have them in place and to be operational.
Local Hope artist, Erica Miller, recently finished completing “one percent for Art Grant”. Federal money is received through the State for the one percent for Art Grants. The large art project (each are 11 feet by fourteen feet) took over three months to complete and required the rental of a warehouse where she could work to create the two pieces. The artwork, now located in the Houston High School Gymnasium and is titled “Houston Hawks, Spirit of HHS”, was finished March 13. It was hung in the gym during the student’s Spring Break. Houston High School is located in Houston near Big Lake.
The concept for the design originated with the Selection Committee’s requirements that the high school’s mascot be in the art piece. Per Erica, her idea incorporated a bird, not as a “real” hawk that might be found in a field guide, but as a fantasy hawk that empowers and inspires school spirit. “Together the two hawks fly in the form of a circle. The diving aggressive bird represents hard work, struggles perhaps and the ascending bird victory.” She further stated that she saw the birds “as an extension this circle also represents school and community life, students and parents working together in society, a continuous pattern of work and achievement of goals.”
Erica Miller is a lifelong Alaskan, born in Anchorage and raised in Ninilchik. Her grandparents were original Hope homesteaders in the 1940s. As an adult Erica has chosen Hope as her permanent home where she has an art studio in her home. A graduate from State University of New York at Purchase, Erica earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing/Painting, Cum Laude. Miller’s paintings have won many awards in local, state and national exhibitions and are included in numerous private and permanent collections. She has been a featured artist in shows around Alaska and recently the Anchorage Museum purchased one of her portraits for their permanent collection. Her work in pastels and oils feature landscapes and portraits of people and animals. During the summer season, her artwork is available at the Sherritt Fine Art Gallery in Hope.
There will be a Hope Chamber meeting April 5 at the Hope Library at 3 p.m. All members are encouraged to attend this annual meeting. If you have not yet paid the $25 dues or turned in your information for the community brochure, this will be your last chance to do so. The 2008 brochure will be finalized and printed soon after the meeting.
The Hope/Sunrise Volunteer Fire Department mailed a letter March 31 to the property owners and residents of Hope requesting a donation. These monies will be used for the operating expenses of the building, all required insurance, vehicles and equipment maintenance. A donation letter was not sent in 2007, as monies received in 2006 were enough to cover the expenses for both years.
All are welcome to come for a free breakfast at the Hope Christian Church. Doors of the Church open every Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m. for coffee and breakfast is served to 10 am. Following breakfast, the Food Bank is open Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Any folks needing to take advantage of the food pantry, outside the regular hours, please contact Burgins at 782-1002.