ABOUT MANCHESTER ARTS STUDIO & GALLERY
MISSION
Manchester Arts Studio and Gallery's mission is to provide a nurturing environment for artistic exploration, creativity and development through education, events, use of its space and equipment and to create a greater sense of community through collaborative activities among individuals and other local businesses. By doing so, it hopes to make the artistic process fun for people of all ages.
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Making art, working with your hands, and being involved in the creative process can be a transformative process. It can teach people to be better problem solvers, to develop life long leisure time hobbies, to better see and appreciate art and the beauty around us and to develop confidence, patience, fine motor skills and flexibility.
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PROGRAMS
Manchester Arts offers a wide variety of art mediums and programs, including:
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Private lessons, weekly classes & mini workshops for children and adults
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Vacation and summer camp programs for children
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"Create 'n Sip" painting parties for adults
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Private parties for different events - Birthday, Bachelorette, Corporate Team Building Activites
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Open studio hours to work on your own project or one of ours
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Full ceramics studio with pottery wheels, kiln and tools. (including Paint your own Pottery pieces)
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Full sewing studio with sewing machines, sergers, pressing station, cutting table, and tools
STAFF & INSTRUCTORS
Stacy Gates is the owner of Manchester Arts Studio and Gallery. Stacy has a BA in Psychology and Business from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX and an MBA in Finance from Columbia University. In addition to her formal education, Stacy studied sewing and fashion in NYC and has taken many classes and workshops in numerous art and craft related fields.
As an artist, Stacy works in a variety of mediums as she is fascinated by color, texture and pattern. Stacy is most passionate though about helping others find or rekindle their creativity through both art and working with their hands.
In addition to her own programming, Stacy has taught classes and camp programs for more than 20 years with other local organizations; including Hildene, SVAC, MEMS, Long Trail School, The Downtown School and Maple Street School. She also worked at SVAC for 5 years as their Children's Education and Outreach Coordinator, was the tennis coach at Long Trail School for 6 years, and supervised exchange students in Southern VT for a number of years. She especially loves working with children of all ages and has affectionately been called "the kid whisperer."
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Stacy lives in Manchester Center with her husband, David, and their dog and cat. They have two children, Kinsey and Jamie who live in Philadelphia and Northhampton, MA. Stacy and David moved to Vermont from NYC in 1991. Stacy's favorite hobbies are art related and she loves working with needle and thread. In addition, she plays tennis, paddle tennis, enjoys jogging and walking, yoga and a bit of golf.
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Opening up Manchester Arts is a dream come true for Stacy.
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Stacy Gates
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