Meet An Artist: Vincent Cianciola of Vincent William Gallery

Saint Petersburg may be rightfully proud of its flourishing status as an arts center, but neighboring St. Pete Beach has some artistic bragging rights of its own. No one is prouder of the growing St. Pete Beach arts scene than artist Vincent Cianciola.

As an artist and gallery owner, Cianciola finds himself in the heart of St. Pete Beach's popular arts center, Corey Avenue. Cianciola is not only a talented glass artist—creating one-of-a-kind lamps, windows and Tiffany reproductions—he is also an ardent supporter of local artists.

"Everything here is original," Cianciola says. "Mostly local, a group of the best local artists."

Since 1993, Cianciola has operated the Vincent William Gallery on Corey Avenue, filled with stunning art in many forms—canvas, ceramic and glass. The highlight of the gallery is in fused and blown glass. Much of what is in Vincent William Gallery are examples of his first love—custom stained glass.

Glassworks are one of the up-and-coming movements in art, demonstrated most recently by the popularity of the Dale Chihuly Museum on the other side of Pinellas County. For Cianciola, his love of glass began in the early seventies, when he began working with commercial glass. As an artist, he found himself to be constantly creating.

"I was always drawing," Cianciola says.

After his introduction to commercial glasswork as a student, he was hooked.

"It was then I fell in love with glass."

In 1989, Cianciola moved to St. Pete Beach from Cleveland. It took him nearly four years to open the gallery.

"I made the big move," he says. "Then it was like 'now what do I do?'"

Once establishing his gallery, Cianciola developed his own custom business. In later years, he maintains a loyal following. It allows him to travel to create original stained glass pieces for his admirers.

"(Lately) I have been going back and forth to Kentucky," he says. "The last couple of years, I love everything that has happened."

As well as Cianciola's own pieces, the Vincent William Gallery highlights local artists such as painter Charla Y. Gaglio and fellow glass artist Duncan McClellan.

The loyalty to local artists draws people worldwide to the Vincent William Gallery. Usually, visitors first come while they are staying at the high-end resorts on Gulf Boulevard. They are delighted when they "happen to walk down Corey" and discover Cianciola's gallery. Many make the visit to the gallery a yearly pilgrimage.

"They come back year after year," he adds. "They know I am supporting local art."

The William Vincent Gallery is on 320 Corey Ave., St. Pete Beach. Hours are Monday through Saturday 10a.m.-5p.m. They can be reached at www.vincentwilliamgallery.com or (727) 363-1334.