Live with Nancy Johns

BY CASSIA COLLINS July 17 09

There’s nothing like finding that perfect piece of art to complete your home decor—Nancy Johns might be exactly the person to help you do that. Artist and gallery owner, Nancy is a fine example of homegrown Windsor talent.

According to Nancy, she’s simply always done art. It seems to just be a part of who she is. During an art project in high school, one of her pieces was shown to the Board of Education and she sold her first piece of art to a teacher. “It was this really weird, demented, woman’s face,” she explains with a smile. Her art still brings a smile to her face as she says, “I think it’s the same feeling that I had that day that I have now when someone buys something.”

She continued with her art into university and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Windsor in 1990. Since then, in addition to working on her own original pieces, she worked for Posteroptics until 2006. In October of 2007, she opened her own gallery, Nancy Johns’ Gallery and Framing, and it is still going strong. Nancy gets to enjoy a new perspective in her own gallery as she does framing and shows original pieces there, compared to framing and posters with Posteroptics.

“Everybody’s got to have a day job, and this is my day job, but I totally believe that your day job influences your art,” comments Nancy. She runs the gallery with two part-time employees and a few co-op students throughout the year. Among her employees is Diane Clinton, also an artist, who started off doing an internship with Nancy. Nancy herself is a strong supporter of local art and artists, so Diane will have a showing at the Nancy Johns Gallery on Friday, August 7th from 7-11pm.

The gallery also does something called Thursdays Live, which is a kind of sales and showing for the local businesses near the Pillette Village. It takes place from 6-9pm on the last Thursday of the month. Nancy orients her part of the event more towards children, offering things like face painting by Diane Clinton, free small canvases for children, and an artist painting on the spot. “It’s really neat to see the kids because sometimes they’ll paint what the person’s painting, you know, they’ll try or use the colors. The parents love it, the kids love it,” says Nancy.

Nancy’s own art is includes painting, mixed media painting, and some furniture work. It isn’t hard to point out Nancy’s work in the gallery as it is so beautifully distinct. When asked to describe her style, she says, “It’s more of an abstract expression. There is nothing that I base it on.” Some of her collage-based work are the most interesting pieces with their intriguing colors and textures. She went on to explain that Kandinsky was a big influence on her, among others.

Painting is more difficult than running the gallery, in Nancy’s opinion; however, she explains that, “The more trouble a painting gives me, the more I like it. I have this huge canvas right now staring at me.” Nancy doesn’t seem afraid of the challenge though. Surely, many other artists can relate to such a sentiment.

Without having a set average, Nancy has completed nineteen smaller paintings this year, along with a few larger ones. Her pieces can range from $115 to $275 for a smaller painting to $700 to $1,100 for a larger piece. She likes to set herself goals for specific shows or sometimes dates, but generally, lets the inspiration to paint come naturally. This Friday, for example, she will be painting live along with Diane and others at the Walkerville Art Walk from 4-9pm. Other events that Nancy has participated in locally include Art in the Park. Though she did not paint this year, she has in the past.

Nancy gives off a very strong sense of pride in her city as she says, “I’m a big local advocate. I am a local artist and I want people to know that we have world-class art here and we don’t have to go away.” She displays that most in how she balances the gallery and her own art. She will admit that, for the moment, the gallery has taken priority; however, nobody could blame her. The gallery’s open concept space is filled with many beautiful pieces, and can even give off a homey feeling with her cat, Jackson, roaming the gallery during the day. The gallery doesn’t charge admission, other than when Nancy held a CD release party for Michou, and is definitely worth a visit.

The gallery holds art from 45 different artists, including local artists like Daniel Bombardier and Philippe Chouinard. For a full list of the artists showing at the gallery, visit the website at: www.nancyjohns.com.