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Aug. 21, 2005
Vol. 20 No. 19 BY ANDREA BUSHEE
Telegraph Staff
Staff photos
by ED WOZNIAK
Nashua Telegraph
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Nashua outdoor exhibit
showcases artists’ pieces
Craig Linatsas, front, and Chris Chouinard, both of Nashua, walk past works of art on display at the Greeley Park Art Show on Saturday.
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 NASHUA – Monique Sakellarios can still
remember the first time she exhibited her artwork more than 20 years ago and can sympathize with young artists
who are nervous about showing their work for the first time.
“It’s hard,” she said, “You have
to be tough to persevere.”
Artists usually have to show their
work at exhibits for years before they become successful, she said. She has been showing her art at the annual
Greeley Park Art Show, hosted by the Nashua Area Artists’ Association, for about 23 years.
She and about 80 other area artists
exhibited and sold their work at the 52nd show Saturday and will also show their work today from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Over the years, Sakellarios has become
a successful artist and owns a gallery, called Maison de L’Art, in downtown Nashua.
The key to selling artwork is sticking
with it, she said. She has seen so many new artists show their work at the show, not sell as many pieces as they
would like to, and become discouraged. Many of them do not return the following year.
“The ones that keep coming are the
tough ones,” she said.
Anne-Marie Swierz, a Manchester-based artist, works on a portrait from a photo.
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Jacqueline Curtis, 23, is a brand-new
artist. She just graduated from Colby Sawyer College this year and displayed her work in the park Saturday.
“This is my first actual exhibit,”
she said “I was nervous. It was always kind of a goal of mine to do the Greeley Park show after I got out of school.”
Curtis, who lives in Amherst, is glad
she did. People seemed to respond well to her work, she said, which includes brightly colored acrylic paints, stained
and dripped onto canvases.
Her work is different, she said, which
seems to draw people in.
James Chase, 23, is also a new artist.
He has exhibited his work at a couple of events, mainly in Manchester where he lives, he said. He was intimidated
at first by some of the older, more experienced artists in the area, but said he felt better once he joined the
Manchester Artists Association. They welcomed him there and were encouraging, he said.
Since his first exhibit last summer
in Manchester, he has been showing his work more and more and has gained more confidence.
People seem to like his work, he added,
and say it is "strange", and "different." It makes people look closer, he said.
Chase does not drive and walks a lot.
He finds items on the ground such as old spark plugs or bottle caps and incorporates them into his work, which
blends painting, woodwork, and photography.
He also includes pieces of his life
inside of his art, he said, such as old tools used by his late grandfather. His pieces are dark and he borrows a
lot from his years of "teenage angst" when he creates them, he added.
Paul Szot of Newton strolled through
Chase's tent Saturday with his wife, Carol.
"These are really kind of cool in a
bizarre kind of way," he said. "This is very interesting. I like this."
According to Mark Vatalaro, the chairman
of the art show, encouraging and inviting young people to display their art is something he wanted to do when he took
over the show two years ago.
The event has grown over the years, he said,
and has had as many as 100 artists display their works. Some of the artists come from as far as Massachusetts, Maine,
and Vermont, and are invited to enter their work into a competition. Each year, there is an artist who wins "Best in Show"
and many artists who win first, second, and third prizes in several different categories.
IF YOU GO
Local artists will showcase an sell their
work at the 52nd annual Greeley Park Art show, hosted by the Nashua Area Artists’ Association, for on more day.
when: Today from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
where: Greeley Park, Nashua.
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