With a lifetime steeped in art, Nancy Stamm still enjoys first-time experiences, including her exhibit in Homeland’s Florida Room gallery.
It’s nice when people “see art where they don’t expect it.”
“I like the idea that people walking in their daily events can see different artwork,” Stamm said. “If there weren’t art on the walls, it would be very plain. Very uninspiring. People would think, ‘I have to go get something to eat and get back to work.’”
Stamm is this fall’s featured artist for the Art Association of Harrisburg’s community exhibits, which match local artists with venues throughout the area. For the long time, quarterly series at Homeland, artists bring a variety of works based on their skills, media, and interests.
“You see something different,” Stamm said. “It’s nice that it rotates.”
Stamm’s exhibit of pets, birds, children, and still lifes reflects a lifelong fascination with nature. It began during her childhood in Boiling Springs, a rural community outside of Carlisle, PA.
“Love of nature inspires many artists, and it did me, too,” she said. “Just having the opportunity to grow up in a quiet world. It was so pretty.”
Stamm studied commercial art and worked for Fry Communications in Mechanicsburg as a graphic designer and art manager. Her artistic skills brought her to the attention of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, which led to ongoing today – designing and performing post-construction restoration of church ceilings.
Her church works are now dotted throughout central Pennsylvania and other states. Sites include St. Patrick Church in Carlisle, Prince of Peace in Steelton, and historic Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church in Quarryville, Lancaster County.
“Central PA magazine called me a ‘modern-day Michelangelo’ because I was always standing on scaffolds, painting ceilings,” she said.
The paintings hanging at Homeland depict backyard birds, clients’ pets, and kids. Stamm loves them all – a fuzzy-faced Bichon Frise, one of her former cats, bluebirds, and chickadees.
Stamm works from photos – “Birds don’t sit still for portraits any more than the dogs do,” she noted – sometimes augmented with foraged items. A painting might feature berries, leaves, sunflowers, or an old copper pot that her husband brought home.
“I like the texture of copper,” she said. “It’s so warm and pretty.”
With her foraged items, she uses the technique of “applied composition,” tracing images and working them into a pleasing arrangement.
“You can probably do it on the computer these days, but old-school by hand is still faster for me,” she said.
For 30 years, Stamm has owned and operated Nancy Stamm’s Galleria, on the Carlisle square at 2 N. Hanover Street. The gallery provides display and studio space, with enough room to showcase her own works and glass, pottery, and jewelry from other artists.
She keeps busy with her own paintings and commissions, including pet portraits. Stamm works mostly in oil and acrylics, with some mixed media. Glazes and colors reflect light, adding interest.
“I’m always painting different things for different people, so I’m never bored,” she said.
She enjoys attending Carlisle festivals, watching visitors explore her charming town, and seeing them decide to come back for visits. For the annual Carlisle Ice Art Fest, her husband loves going outside dressed up as Darth Vader.
“He really does look like Darth Vader,” she said with a laugh. “Nobody comes to the shop that day because they’re all around Doug. It really is cute.”
Juggling her artistic inclinations with running a business is not a challenge.
“That was the advantage of going to a commercial art school,” she said. “They taught you all about contracts. It was just assumed that it was manageable.”
She and her husband like to travel. Rehoboth is their favorite beach. They have been to Canada and Paris, but Nancy especially enjoys discovering charming and verdant spots in the U.S. Most often, they stay with friends in Vermont.
“He’s a big skier,” she said. “I used to ski, but I don’t anymore. I go to paint, because it’s quiet there. Very natural. In Vermont, everything is green. It is a green state, for sure.”
Now that her gallery is established, she can spend more time on her lifelong love of art. She was glad to bring her pieces for Homeland residents, staff, and visitors to enjoy.
“Art is always a pick-me-up,” she said. “Pretty colors. Pretty abstracts. Art just does that. It picks up your day because it’s not part of our normal routine. We don’t always see enough of it.”
Homeland Center (www.homelandcenter.org) offers levels of care including personal care, memory care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation. Homeland also provides hospice, home care, home health and palliative care services to serve the diverse and changing needs of families throughout central Pennsylvania. For more information or to arrange a tour, please call 717-221-7900.
