Artist Nancie Greene, left, stands inside the What Not Shop in Marysville where her current exhibition fills nearly every corner of the eclectic storefront.

MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) - Ever since childhood, local artist Nancie Greene has been collecting things — objects that spark creativity deep within her.

“I have piles of possibility all over the place. Some people see them as burn piles or junk piles, but to me it’s piles of possibility,” said Greene. “It just depends on what I’m feeling for the day — what calls to me and says, ‘this needs to be done now,’ or it’s gonna go to the burn pile.”

She gestures toward a shiny wooden bust displayed on a modest pedestal. The piece’s charred marks and organic curves suggest a human form emerging from nature itself.

“This piece actually came out of the burn pile,” Greene laughed. “It had been in the fire, but then I saw something in it and pulled it back out. It happens like that sometimes. I see things but don’t always know what they are until later.”

A wide view of the What Not Shop shows Greene’s sketches, paintings, and sculptures integrated into the shop’s layered, art-filled environment curated by designer and owner Stuart Gilchrist.

At times, Greene seems to work through a kind of creative clairvoyance. She describes feelings or emotions that get “stuck” in her body until they find release through her art. This process is especially visible in her politically charged works and recent series of abstract oil paintings.

“Sometimes things politically will get to me, or I’ll do things like this and not know what it is until I see it,” explained Greene, gesturing toward bold colors and jarring textures mixed with rippled, bullseye-like effects. “I realized this was the crowd at Charlie Kirk’s shooting, even though I painted it before it happened.”

Greene’s work spans nearly every medium — paint, sculpture, ceramics, collage and more. Her vast artistic journey is currently showcased at The What Not Shop, located at the corner of First and C streets in Marysville. The display was curated by Marysville City Councilmember Stuart Gilchrist, a designer and shop owner known for his eclectic interior design sensibility.

“It’s not just about the pieces themselves—it’s about where they sit and how they relate to the space as a whole,” said Gilchrist. “Some things we chose to hang; others work better leaning against each other or mixed with relatable items. It’s about telling the story and drawing the viewer in to discover new things. What I love about Nancie’s work is that it blends in beautifully with other artists and complements every environment she’s in.”

One of Greene’s abstract oil paintings, completed before she realized its connection to the crowd at the Charlie Kirk shooting, reflects her intuitive creative process and emotional response to political events.

Hosting Greene’s display required a complete overhaul of the already eclectic shop. Gilchrist has hosted several art shows in the past, but this marks the revival of his “pet project” since the COVID-19 pandemic. What was originally meant to fill one room now spans the entire storefront. The exhibit begins with Greene’s early pastel and charcoal sketches of nude models and continues through decades of evolving styles and experiments, including her first commission: a painting of the Sutter Buttes sold for just $10.

“I was in high school, and a gentleman came through my parents’ store,” recalled Greene. “I had some crafty things and paintings showing in my dad’s grocery store in Tierra Buena, and he said to my dad, ‘I got this great picture my wife and I took — can you give her this picture and see if she can do a painting?’”

Though raised in Yuba City, Greene describes herself as an “import,” having been born in Marysville only to be adopted by a local family. Her creative journey led her from fine arts studies to large-scale mural commissions and eventually to an 18-year stint designing sets and props for the Yuba College Theater Program. A sculpted donkey head from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” symbolizes that pivotal chapter.

A sculpted donkey head, a piece that sparked Greene’s 18 year stint with the Yuba College Theater Program, sits among other ceramic and sculptural works featured in her exhibit at the What Not Shop in Marysville.

“(The directors) had come to the ceramics department at Yuba looking for someone who could make a (donkey) head for “Midsummer,’” recalled Greene. “I never left the theater after that.”

Much of Greene’s art is inspired by movement and emotion. Her color choices shift with her mood or that of the subject she’s depicting. For this reason, she prefers working with live models rather than photos.

“A picture won’t have the life that these have. There’s something removed,” Greene said. “When I’m seeing, I’m seeing the energy of the model — the energy that the person carries or has around them emits and changes, and you don’t get that with a photograph.”

The current exhibition represents roughly half of Greene’s entire body of work and marks a turning point in her artistic evolution.

One of Greene’s newest pieces represents a form and feeling she says she’s becoming increasingly drawn to exploring in her future work.

“I have never seen all of it like this before actually,” Greene said. “For me, it’s kind of like a marking point — where this is before, and whatever comes next is going to be new. I don’t know what’s coming next — it’s not going to be any of this, but it’ll be new.”

Greene’s collection will remain on display at The What Not Shop throughout February. Visitors are welcome to browse the exhibit and select pieces will be available for purchase or bid. The What Not Shop is located at 101 C Street in Marysville. Regular business hours are listed online as Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The shop is closed Sunday through Tuesday.

A display at the What Not Shop features a mix of Greene’s sculptures and ceramics arranged alongside other artistic pieces, blending seamlessly into the space’s curated aesthetic.