"My bucket list, a journey of a life time, finally came down to just 5 hours in a small one-man raft on a very remote, desolate and lonely lake tucked away in the Kenai Fjords Alaskan wilderness," wrote Fine Art Photographer Vern Bartley, Crossroads featured artist during the month of May. Vern, along with his wife, hired a bear hunting guide to ferry them as far up Bear River as the morning flood tide would allow. From there, they began an eight mile hike and upstream paddle in a small one-man raft to the rivers choke point where they transitioned from the river, through several large ice bergs and onto Bear Lake, at the toe of the Kenai Peninsulas 13 mile long, Bear Glacier. Vern began shooting in digital color with his Nikon DSLR and after two or three ice bergs, he thought he'd see how they might look if captured in black and white infrared? And... WOW! Needless to say Vern was overwhelmed with the infrared's ability to pick up the tonality, texture and what he came to understand as the Voice of the Ice.

Glacial Miracles ~ Nature's Art of Melting Ice Bergs, consists of 21 black & white infrared images from Vern's amazing Alaska adventure. The exhibit will be on display May 4th through June 1st, with the opening artist reception Friday, May 4th 5:30 - 8pm. The exhibition is made possible through the generous support of Ace Nursery. Live music will be provided by Nancy Ames and Baker Middle School will have artwork on display in the Student Gallery. Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, you'll have the opportunity to win a $25 gift certificate to El Erradero during the opening reception! Join us and make Crossroads your first stop during First Friday Art Walk.