ABOUT GABRIELLE NASTUCK
PAST
A 2001 Graduate of Saint Vincent College, Gabrielle Kathleen Nastuck (A.K.A. Miss Gabi) , Miss Gabi has over 17 years of experience working with Non-profit organizations. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Studio Arts with a focus in Graphic Design as well as a Minor in Art History. After graduation, she attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh where she majored in Digital Design.
Gabrielle Kathleen Nastuck, spent her first 13 years of her career at the Latrobe Art Center where she was the graphic designer, webmaster, and art instructor of the Latrobe Art Center from 2004 - 2010, and Executive Director of the Latrobe Art Center from 2010 to 2017.
Creative, innovative and always thinking outside of the box, Miss Gabi began as the Latrobe Art Center children's art instructor in 2004, then slowly working her way up to graphic and web designer, she then evolved to Executive Director of Latrobe Art Center in 2010, where she led her creative team and expanded the facility three times, added a thriving full service cafe, and created innovative and unique grant funded programming for the Greater Latrobe Community and children and adults with special needs reaching all 17 school districts throughout Westmoreland County. On a yearly basis, Miss Gabi would interact and touch the lives of over 3,000 children a year with her art educational programming! Miss Gabi resigned from the Latrobe Art Center in October of 2017 to pursue her true passion and purpose in life.
She has been recognized for her commitment to her job, community, and Saint Vincent by receiving the "2012 Recent Alumni Distinction Award,” And in 2014 was awarded the “Trailblazer of the Year” award by the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau and most recent 2017 Non-Profit of the Year Award by the Chamber of Commerce. Her additional awards include South Western Pennsylvania Council of the Arts Annual Regional Juried Art Exhibition – 2010 & 2012, Mr. Fred Rogers Regional Juried Exhibition 2011, and the Westmoreland Biennial in 2010.
To view her personal website go to www.gabriellenastuck.com
PRESENT
As of October of 2017, Miss Gabi started a new chapter in her life. She decided to take her 13 years of experience at Latrobe Art Center and do what most are afraid to do. CREATE YOUR DREAM JOB! Expanding on her mission and vision of helping individuals of all abilities find their voice within, she partnered with East Suburban Citizen Advocacy and created Miss Gabi’s Art is Good Studio. Bound and determined, in April of 2018, Miss Gabi opened her studio doors to the community and beyond. Over the past four years, she has created a safe, happy place for all to come and share in the creative process. The Inclusive Art is Good Studio is a non-competitive art educational studio where we believe in YOU & ART. The studio not only focuses on building confidence and self-esteem but focuses on helping relax the mind, lesson the tension and improve the quality of life. The goal is not always to have a finished product at the end of class, but to understand that coloring, drawing, painting, creating 3D, and letting the creativity flow, without over thinking, helps heal the body mentally and physically.
Currently, along side of running her studio, Miss Gabi is also the art instructor at Clelian Heights School for Exceptional Children and is a professional artist that is now known world wide. She was featured in the 2022 February/March issue of "Guideposts," a national magazine, which highlighted the classes that she teaches to adults in the Clelian Heights Workshop and community work programs.
POST PANDEMIC - Friends across the states!
Due to the pandemic, in March of 2020 Miss Gabi had no other choice but to go virtual. East Suburban Citizen Advocacy and Miss Gabi started offering free drawing classes online through Facebook. Classes swept across the states, capturing individuals from North Carolina, Ohio, Flordia, California, Washington, Massachusetts, and Georgia (just to name a few!) Over 10,000 individuals tuned into her free drawing classes.
Two years later, Miss Gabi is STILL teaching both virtual and in-studio. Her local students have connected and formed friendships with individuals across the U.S.A. Guidepost has led her to artful friends in Dallas, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona. Miss Gabi has come to the realization that ART needs to continue to be available both virtual and in-person. She still works with East Suburban Citizen Advocacy to provide free live zoom classes weekly Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings in addition to running the Studio and teaching Clelian Heights. Her students will finally have their first annual Student Exhibition in April/May of 2022. Over 80 students will be participating in this in-person AND virtual exhibition. This inclusive art exhibit will feature work from students of all ages and all abilities. They will be exhibiting their work not only locally at Brushes and Beans Cafe in Murrysvile, PA, but also across the U.S.A.