By gloria stravelli
Staff Writer
GLORIA STRAVELLI Crowds overflowed onto the sidewalk at Atlantic Artisans’ opening reception Aug. 9. The new gallery at 84 First Ave., Atlantic Highlands, exclusively features the work of local artists.
Nance S. Ciasca never buys the trinkets that vacationers usually take home as souvenirs. Instead, the Atlantic Highlands resident takes home artwork by local artists, a custom that inspired her to open Atlantic Artisans, a new gallery that opened recently at 84 First Ave. in Atlantic Highlands.
"We vacation at Martha’s Vineyard every year, and it’s filled with galleries exhibiting the work of local artists," she explained. "When my husband and I go souvenir shopping, we don’t buy T-shirts; we buy art by a local artist on the street."
"That was my goal in planning the gallery," said Ciasca, whose gallery focuses exclusively on the work of local artists and on making fine art available and financially accessible to the public.
Prices for artworks range from $5 for a pen-and-ink drawing to $3,000 for an acrylic painting. Media include watercolor, oil and acrylic paintings, pastel, photography, sculpture, woodwork, mosaic, stained glass, pottery, jewelry and textiles.
"It’s fine art, but I’m trying very hard to get the point across that affordable art is the way to go," she said.
"Sea of Artisans," the gallery’s inaugural exhibit, includes works by Adrienne Shippee, Marge Levine and Germaine Murray, all of Atlantic Highlands; Megan Gilhool, North Long Branch; Linne Grant and Joseph Prusky, Middletown; Gail Griffiths, Ocean; Lyndsley Frazier-Dellomo, Long Branch; Jennie Meares, Matawan; and Vicky Culver, Howell.
Ciasca traded a career as a middle school teacher in Jersey City to fulfill her dream of running her own business. While she tossed around different ideas, she was committed to locating the business in Atlantic Highlands, where her family has operated a business for 35 years.
"I have roots in the business community," she noted. "Plus, it’s an up-and-coming town, and I wanted to be a part of that."
A frequent gallery visitor, Ciasca came up with the idea of opening a gallery in Atlantic Highlands, a Bayshore town experiencing a resurgence.
Ciasca went to art shows and galleries to sound artists out about their needs.
"I found painters and photographers, serious artists, who said there was a need for gallery space," she recounted.
With input from friends and family, Ciasca converted a space formerly occupied by a coffee shop into an intimate gallery space. Doing some of the work herself, she created a neutral background that highlights the artworks on exhibit and invites browsing.
At the gallery opening earlier this month, some 500 people showed up on a balmy summer evening, overflowing onto the sidewalk outside Atlantic Artisans, where a buffet was set up.
According to Ciasca, response from the art community has been overwhelming as well.
"Since I’ve opened, artists are walking in and asking how they can be a part of it," she said.
But Ciasca is limiting gallery space to locals and deferring requests from out-of-area artists.
"My idea is to feature local artists," she explained, "especially emerging artists who just need a chance."
Shows will change every three months at Atlantic Artisans, which is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 3 p.m. Sundays and by appointment.