Smiley’s Cabin

Categories: B&B, Gifts, Lodging, Shopping & Specialty Retail,

Address

Smiley’s Cabin

13618 E Main Street
Talkeetna, AK 99664

Mailing Address

Smiley’s Cabin

PO Box 315
13618 E Main Street
Talkeetna, AK 99676


Hours of Operation

Summer Hours: through 9/23 10am to 8pm daily Fall Hours: 9/28-11/17 Fridays 12-6 Saturdays 12-5 Holiday Hours: 11/23 through 12/23 Daily from 12-5

Contact Information

Telephone Number:

1-(907)-733-5323


Description

Contemporary Art by Alaskan Artists

At the Dancing Leaf Gallery our focus is to represent artists from the Upper Susitna Valley, while also showcasing art from all around Alaska. You will find everything from original paintings to pottery, jewelry to jelly, books to birch bark baskets, wrought iron to woodwork, and a good deal more; all produced right here in Alaska.

A Philosophy:

…It is the power of patience and practice, the power of imagination and endurance, the power of our own hands, feet and voice, the power of the human spirit that transforms willow wands into baskets, stone into sculptures, wood into wardrobes, sound into songs and words into poems…

…Being an artist or an artisan is not a hobby: it is a livelihood. Moreover, a craft economy is a truly sustainable and resilient economy; indeed, a peace economy. The sooner we embrace the arts and crafts as an integral part of our everyday lives, the sooner we will be able to address the economic, environmental and spiritual issues of our time. The industrial economy is a growth economy – never enough and never satisfied – whereas the craft economy is a dancing economy – always active and always joyful…

An excerpt from “The Power of Arts and Crafts”, Satish Kumar, Resurgence

http://www.resurgence.org/magazine/article3216-the-power-of-arts-and-crafts.html

Shannon Cartwright will unveil her latest children’s book Alaska’s Animals, You and I Wednesday, November 30th from 4:00 to 7:00pm

The Timbers…

The timbers in the gallery are reclaimed Alaska Railroad Tunnel Timbers! They were salvaged from the “Moody Tunnel” near Denali National Park a few years ago. The tunnel went into service around 1920, and due to a number of factors, including the ever larger rail cars passing through the tight tunnel, the Alaska Railroad saw fit to tear the roof off the tunnel and open the path by removing the timbers. Luckily, the foreman on the railroad demolition crew recognized the value of these beautiful Douglas Fir timbers and worked out a process with the Alaska Railroad to salvage and purchase them. They were transported from the Healy area and when we found out about their existence, they were sitting in the foreman’s yard only a few miles from our home. We acquired the timbers in March, 2011, and got to work modifying the building plans to suit the timbers and started the long process of cleaning them up and cutting the frame. It is an honor to have such beautiful and historic timbers framing our gallery; they cleaned up amazingly well and it can be hard to believe they were under ground for 88 years, but if you look around you will see blackened old bolt holes, and a number of dynamite holes that, luckily, were never put into service! (Thanks Cliff!) I am working on a full write-up and pictorial about the timbers and the process from rail to roof, and hope to have a display on the porch in the spring. Here is a link to the “Moody Tunnel Demolition” web site. http://www.alaskarails.org/sf/Moody/index.html

Enjoy! Troy Smiley