NAA Outstanding Volunteer

NAA Gift Shop Volunteers

Connie Rossetti, Lisa Victoria, Pat Bashford, Judith Bly, and Susan Kneeland have transformed the gift Shop! This dedicated group of volunteer members review all artwork submitted and select items that that represent a wide variety of media and price points that appeal to all our visitors. Our sales reflect their hard work- up 45%!

The Gift Shop job is a time consuming task. These volunteers meet on a regular basis to go through all items submitted for review. They keep accurate inventory- record sales, log in and label new work, and rotate out old work- to keep the look fresh and seasonal. Finally, they display the art so it is visually intriguing. These volunteers are invaluable to the organization and we appreciate their constant support.

Connie Rossetti, "Crooked Deal"
Connie Rossetti is an award winning ceramic artist with over 20 years of experience. She studied art at Umass Boston, the Museum of Fine Arts Art School and several local ceramic studios, however, for the most part she considers herself self taught. She works daily in her home studio.

Susan Kneeland, "Cat Baths"
Accomplished and recognized, Susan Kneeland has certainly made her mark on the art world. Years of group and solo exhibits have helped to make Susan's work popular. A long list of collectors and hundreds of paintings and commissions have provided Susan with a way of living she feels privileged to enjoy. By instructing Susan has helped many others to attain art as a career choice, and she continues to teach private lessons in her studio in Plaistow, NH. Group pastel lessons at six nursing homes and adult day care centers in the Merrimack Valley area are recipients of an art therapy program Susan conceived. An advocate for the arts, Susan donates hours of her time and artwork to help organizations that empower the arts.

Patricia Bashford, "Flag- Kennedy Library"
A retired professor of photography, film and communications studies, Patricia Bashford is active with the NAA and has had several solo exhibits there and elsewhere. A world traveler and an imagination traveler, her award winning works are recognized in Women in the Arts. She works in both traditional and digital media and sells her work to collectors and galleries.

Judith Bly, "Earring & Necklace set"
Judith received a BFA in theatre from Ithaca College, N.Y., and an MA in social work from the University of Chicago, and persued a long career in social work/Psychotherapy. After years of painting in watercolors, Judith began designing beaded jewelry pieces in NYC and later moved her studio to Rockport in 1998. She participated in many shows and street fairs. Judith discovered bead design as a new way of realizing her artistic needs..."Beads are a fascinating, individual world of their own.

Lisa Victoria, "Her Grapeness"
To Coil, Pinch, paddle and fire, unearths the organic form and celebrates creative expression. There's unquantifiable joy in the ancient and soulful techniques of hand-building clay sculpture. The kiln firing strengthens the medium, infusing long life into the fruits of our labor. Ms. Victoria is an emerging artist living and working in Merrimac, MA. She attended the Maine College of Art, studied with Silvia Fosatti in Italy, and has experienced several workshops, including Haystack School of Crafts. Her studio is Red Cloud Studios, inspired by Chief Jack Red Cloud of the Lakota Sioux.