Abby Gergasko

Work Life: Abigail A. Elliott Gergasko grew up in northern New Jersey in the New York City metropolitan area. After High School, she attended Ridgewood School of Art and then transferred to Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, PA.

Abby worked in photo labs until her interest switched to picture framing, learning on the job from some master framers. In 1995, Abby and business partner, Michelle Mendez, opened their own shop, Wallflowers, in Bernardsville, NJ. During the ten years Abby owned Wallflowers, she attended many framing classes and seminars at industry shows in New York City. In 2005, Abby sold her half of the business and moved to Santa Fe, NM.

In Santa Fe, Abby worked for Munson Graphics/Posters of Santa Fe/Consolidated Art Source where she ran the framing department for the company. She then went to manage Fine Art Framers, a shop that catered to many of the local artists and galleries. Being the third largest art market in the United States, Santa Fe offers a wonderfully diverse art scene. Abby enjoyed her time there, but was ready to be closer to her family. She moved to Missoula in 2013 and was with Art Attic Framing & Design until her retirement in 2020.

Art Life: The collages I create are useful tools for expressing my thoughts and emotions. I'm inspired by nature, current events, books, and life experiences. Many pieces explore intimate landscapes, using symbols to weave a dialog. My concern for the environment is frequently on my mind. My photographs, a variety of antique print images, specialty papers, stencils, stamps, acrylic paints and mediums are the basis of many of my collages. Techniques I enjoy using are gel transfers, freezer paper transfers and printing on silk tissue paper.  Lately, my process has been to begin with a photograph that inspires me and then I develop the piece from there. a. elliott attended Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, Pa.  Originally from New Jersey, she has settled in Missoula after living in Santa Fe, New Mexico for eight years.