Sara Gravante
Written and Photographed by Nancy Clover
Behind the vibrant art scene in Melrose are people who quietly make creativity possible. One of the women quietly helping that creativity flourish is artist and educator Sara Gravante.
Sara is the Gallery Coordinator and Artist-in-Residence at Follow Your Art Community Studios, the bright yellow house on Main Street that has become a gathering place for artists, students, and anyone who loves creativity. Through her work there, Sara allows both experienced artists and first-time exhibitors to showcase their work.
Throughout the year, she organizes a variety of gallery exhibitions in the front parlor — juried artist shows, student exhibitions, artist-in-residence showcases, and themed exhibits. These shows create a welcoming space where artists of all ages and abilities can share their work with the community. Her favorite show is “The Art of Words” connecting writers and visual artists.
Sara’s own path to art is unique. She holds a degree in Biology from Cornell University and a Fine Arts degree from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where she helped create the school’s art museum. In her art, she blends those two worlds — drawing inspiration from nature, plant life, shifting seasons, and the way colors merge and change over time. She’s even fascinated by the quiet beauty of shadows on sidewalks. Her works often explore the space between realistic and abstract representations of landscapes.
Like many artists, Sara jokes that the hardest part is simply not having enough time to paint all the images she carries in her head.
For more than a decade, she has been teaching at Follow Your Art, offering classes in watercolor, printmaking, drawing, and acrylic painting. She loves teaching students of all ages — from young children to adults discovering their creative side later in life. She shares techniques and encourages creative exploration.
Sara believes art is joyful. It changes the way we see the world.
Her favorite moments are when a student has that magical “aha!” moment — when they look at what they’ve created and realize they are capable of more than they imagined. Sara encourages her students to experiment across many mediums and loves watching young artists grow in confidence over time.
Her own artwork has been exhibited in galleries and displayed in healthcare spaces, including Children’s Hospital and Mount Auburn Hospital. She is especially proud of that — hoping her paintings offer patients and families a moment of beauty and calm during difficult times.
Sara is deeply involved in the local arts scene and participates in the Melrose Open Studio Tour, where local artists open their studios to the public.
Sara also maintains a studio at Follow Your Art, where artists work side by side, sharing ideas, encouragement, and feedback. Their monthly potluck dinners bring the artists together to share frustrations, celebrate accomplishments, and support one another in the creative process.
Sara is proud that through her work, she can bring art to people and keep creativity accessible to everyone.
Sara Gravante is an Amazing Woman of Melrose because she is both a creative artist and a community arts leader—someone who helps others discover and share their creativity. Through teaching, organizing exhibits, and producing her own work, she helps nurture the creative ecosystem of Melrose.
