On Friday, March 4th, Lea-Ann Wadleigh was the guest artist being featured at Sevigny Studio and Alaska Art. Her images of jellyfish that are printed on a thin sheet of aluminum were hanging for First Friday.

Aluminum prints are made by the fusion of a thin sheet of metal with a paper containing the color pigments of the image. The distributor bakes the paper onto the metal where the ink is transferred to the metal, creating a clean and crisp image.

Wadleigh chose to print her images on aluminum because the colors are brighter and the details are easy to see. “Sometimes with paper or canvas the ink runs because the surface is more porous,” she says.  

Katie Sevigny, owner of Sevigny Studio, chose to feature Wadleigh because her pictures, “are something we have never had in the store.”

The Washington native came to Alaska to visit when she came across Sevigny Studio. She decided to take a risk and ask to be featured.

Wadleigh contacted Sevigny Studio through email to ask about displaying her artwork. Manager, Bill Waltz, then offered her a slot as a First Friday artist.

“The event went really well. We had a lot of people interested in her images,” said Sevigny. None of Wadleigh’s images sold, but she had many discussions with customers in the store and got them more interested in what she does. “I had a bunch of family and friends come that I haven’t seen in so long,” said Wadleigh.

Wadleigh’s images come in sizes ranging from 11×14 inches to 30×40 inches. Prices range from $175.00 to $1,100.00.

Kaytlin Smith, a customer the night of First Friday, explained, “The prices of the smaller images seemed reasonable, but sadly I can’t afford a $1,000 picture.”

Wadleigh is an up and coming artist who specializes in jellyfish, but she also photographs weddings and does portraits. To get her images of the jellyfish, Wadleigh photographs the jellies at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.

She uses her Canon 6D and Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art Lens to get bright images without having to use flash. Wadleigh says that if she were to use flash, the jellyfish would be in distress.

She is often asked if she goes deep water to take her photographs. Wadleigh explains even though she is fascinated with sea creatures she is, “claustrophobic of deep water.”

Smith said she enjoyed the “bright colors and the contrast” of the images. The jellyfish Wadleigh photographs are Sea Nettles, Purple-Striped Jellies, and Moon Jellies.