Welcome New Artists Carly Hoag and Kayla McGrath

Ptarmigan Arts Gallery is happy to welcome fiber artist Carly Hoag.  Her felt creations are intricate and beautifully constructed.  Let’s learn a little about Carly.

Carly is a self-taught fiber artist based in Homer.  Her focus is on needle felting, using a barbed felting needle to compress and sculpt wool, bringing creatures both natural and fantastical to life!

Carly moved here from her hometown in New Hampshire after working in Homer seasonally as a naturalist and deckhand.  She hoped to become more involved in art and science.  Carly is amazed by the opportunities that have arisen and the landscape, critters, and people around her that inspire her and also influence her artwork every day.

We are also welcoming another new local artist, Kayla McGrath, whose paintings and birch bark jewelry will be a wonderful addition to our gallery displays.

Kayla is a contemporary landscape artist now based in Homer.  She captures the dramatic light, vast scale, and untamed beauty of the northern landscape through oil paintings, watercolors, and handcrafted birch bark jewelry.

Kayla grew up New York with an artistic family and turned to art as her primary form of expression from an early age.  She graduated from the Delaware College of Art and Design in 2006.  Kayla then joined the Peace Corps and embarked on extensive world travel.  She lived for a time in New Orleans, where she developed her painting practice with a focus on abstraction.  

A transformative summer spent in Alaska in 2010 shifted her artistic direction toward representational work.  The majestic mountains, glaciers, and lakes of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve inspired her to embrace realism as a means of sharing the profound beauty of the natural world.  From 2012 to 2025, Kayla lived year-round in a small off-grid cabin on Long Lake in the McCarthy area, surrounded by the pristine wilderness she depicts.  

Kayla moved to Homer in August of 2025 and has found connection and inspiration with coastal life.  She works both en plein air and in the studio, using color and value to define space and evoke fleeting atmospheric moments—such as the last light on mountain peaks, golden dusk glows or dancing reflections on glacial waters.

Kayla’s art serves as both celebration and personal anchor.  Deeply connected to her environment, she also creates handcrafted jewelry from local birch bark, extending her engagement with Alaska’s natural materials.  Following a breast cancer diagnosis in 2024, she has leaned even more fully into her practice, viewing art and the beauty of the land as powerful sources of healing, resilience, and connection.

Carly Hoag and Kayla McGrath now have their unique artwork on display.  We hope you will stop by to view their individual work and enjoy their creative expressions of life in Alaska.