Murrysville art exhibit to showcase Latrobe artist’s students
When Mark and Amanda Clemente opened Brushes & Beans in Murrysville, they wanted to have a business that was part of the community.
Hosting art classes and exhibiting local art has been a big part of that. In April and May, the Clementes will host one of their biggest exhibits yet, partnering with Gabi Nastuck, of Miss Gabi’s Art is Good Studio in Latrobe, on a gallery with more than 250 pieces representing nearly 90 art students.
“That’s what we said we wanted to do from the beginning,” Mark Clemente said. “We met Miss Gabi through East Suburban Citizen Advocacy. She’s taught classes here, and when she came to us with the idea, we thought it sounded great.”
Nastuck, 44, of Latrobe, said she started thinking about an exhibit the moment she came in the door at Brushes & Beans.
“As soon as I saw the space, I thought, ‘We should have a show here,’” she said.
Nastuck was introduced to the Clementes through Heather Speeney, executive director at East Suburban Citizens’ Advocacy.
ESCA has formed a partnership with Nastuck that has allowed her to run free online art classes twice a week for the past few years. The classes include students of all ages and all abilities, including from Clelian Heights, a vocational, educational and residential facility for children and adults with developmental disabilities.
“We wanted more for her students than just being able to create,” Speeney said. “This allows them to get their names out there, to even make money by selling their art.”
Nastuck said selling their art has been, well, a tough sell for some students.
“A lot of them didn’t want to part with theirs,” she said. “And what I said was: if you want to be an artist, you have to be able to part with your work. It was a good lesson.”
Below, Nastuck and Speeney discuss their partnership.
Speeney said the exhibit — and giving students a choice to sell their art — is good preparation for the future.
“It’s a way to prepare them for next year,” she said. “We can talk about, ‘What are you going to make for the show?’ versus ‘What are you going to make for yourself?’”
Nastuck said the exhibit is a great way to take her studio full of art and share it with a wider audience.
“All my students are so proud of their work,” she said. “But seeing it in a space like this, hung in a professional way? It makes you feel differently.”
Nastuck will host an artists’ reception on Sunday, April 10, from 1-4 p.m. at Brushes & Beans, 4550 William Penn Highway in Murrysville.
For more, see MissGabisArtStudio.com.
Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick at 724-850-2862, pvarine@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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