Made on Nantucket
Season Opens Saturday
By Laura Raskin
Independent Arts Writer

Kathleen Duncombe, in front of her walk-up gallery Made on Nantucket, models a crocheted shawl she made from natural and synthetic fibers.Independent Arts Writer

Kathleen Duncombe, owner of the Made on Nantucket gallery on Main Street, will have an opening reception on Saturday, July 9, for the first artists' group show of the summer season.

This is the twelfth year that Duncombe has owned the gallery, specializing in art and crafts made by 41 Nantucket artists. Duncombe is one of the nine artists in the show and will exhibit her own monoprints.

She earned a Masters in Fine Arts in painting from the Pratt Institute. She owns and teaches at Shredder's Studio, focusing on children's workshops, jewelry making, painting and drawing. "Teaching is what I enjoy the most," she said.

Duncombe is already gearing up for Made on Nantucket's show "Insider Art,"opening Saturday, Aug. 27. Following the success of a similar show last year, Duncombe will sell the acquisitions of island collectors. As opposed to selling one family's or person's collection as was the case last year, Duncombe is acquiring pieces from various sources for this summer, ranging from the 1970s to the 1990s. "Nantucket collectors are coming out of the woodwork," she said. "People keep adding to the show, which makes it very exciting."

The following is a list of the artists showing in Made on Nantucket's season opener, which runs through July 24. An opening reception will be held from 6 to 9 p.m., Saturday, July 9, at the gallery upstairs at 44 Main St.

Garth Grimmer: Grimmer has been coming to the island for 40 years and has been a photographer for that long. He began a career as an aeronautical engineer and was the black sheep of a family of artists. Now retired, Grimmer is a translator for the Nantucket Historical Association, runs the old mill, is a sailor and takes photographs. Grimmer is drawn to abstract landscapes and water, and tight shots of the inner workings of the old mill.

Gerry Scheide: Nantucket resident Scheide's primitive art is a mix of simple and colorful images that capture the island, where she has been vacationing since the 1950s. She works primarily in oils on various surfaces - from shutters to antique buggy seats. Her work incorporates nautical scenes and those of old Nantucket.

Marilyn Chamberlain: Chamberlain is a watercolor teacher for the Artists' Association of Nantucket and Shredder's Studio. She works in a broad-brushed layered technique in oils, pastels and watercolors in the tradition of French and American impressionism.

Brian Araujo: Araujo also teaches at Shredder's, works for the Steamship Authority and grew up on the island. He works in mixed media, including monoprints and etching.

Bill Dickson: A retired teacher from Connecticut who lives here seasonally, Dickson has captured Nantucket through photography since the 1970s.

Deborah Marchel: Nantucket native Marchel co-owns The Bee Hive, a small gift shop on Straight Wharf, with her best friend since first grade. Her landscapes and cityscapes are most influenced by the Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. "He's really my inspiration," said Marchel, who discovered his style and use of color on a trip to Vienna 20 years ago. Marchel is a mixed-media artist, blending watercolor, acrylic, pencils and wax on the same canvas. She also designs rugs, which are woven in Poland by a small group of women whom she helps to sustain. Marchel's husband's family lives there and they visit once a year.

Susan Welihan: After moving to the island from New York City in 1999, Welihan has been creating mosaic compositions using tiles from cracked plates. She finds the plates at the Madaket Mall and thrift stores, as well as in her travels around the U.S. She describes her style as fairly unique because, unlike the usual decorative and geometric style of mosaics, Welihan uses the tiles like paint to create compositions. Welihan has a BFA in video, animation and graphic design, but continues to use her fine arts training. She is a new artist at Made on Nantucket and the assistant gallery director at the Artists' Association of Nantucket.

Diane Nava: Nava is a decorative painter.

Rob Benchley/The Independent