Joanna Ciampa is One of Winthrop’s Artistic Treasures

By Sue Ellen Woodcock

Joanna Ciampa can’t explain how she does what she does, but the outcomes are more than spectacular.

“I have always done art. When I was in school I used to daydream and draw,” Ciampa said from her home overlooking Yirrell Beach. “Mrs. Bloom, my art teacher, even accused me of tracing.”

Ciampa smiles, there is absolutely no tracing. Her ideas and art flow, she makes a sketch of work to be done, freehands the idea without a grid or measurements to a wall or floor. She literally just has “an eye” and transforms her work into jaw-dropping detail.

She has done design work in a Newport mansion, nightclubs in Puerto Rico, businesses in Winthrop, restaurants in Boston, Salem, Waltham and more. Her custom work reflects the personality of the space she is working with. Her artwork and her interior design work comes naturally. She works with carpenters and electricians and knows that sometimes invention is the best creation to make it work.

“I was tearing off my mother’s wallpaper when I was 10,” Ciampa said, a Winthrop native. “I tiled my bedroom dresser when I was 12.”

In Winthrop her work can be seen at Adriana’s, J.W.’s (where she did interior design work) Black Strap BBQ and an 18-foot custom mural done freehand at the Yoga Lounge of Winthrop. In Salem, at Ostra a mural with sea theme covers the wall. In Boston, Mistral has Ciampa’s touch. Her work can also be found at Dale’s European Skin Care, Prezza in the North End, and Flank in Waltham.

Ciampa’s work also includes work in California at Serenity West Recording Studio, custom design art for Alex and Ani, and the Music Conservatory in California.

Painting and drawing aren’t her only mediums. She creates incredible mosaics, painstakingly planned with each piece being hand-snipped to fit the perfect spot.

“I do it the old fashioned way,” Ciampa said. “I like to put the quality back.”

She also can work with just about any material. The mosaic done at Adriana’s in Winthrop was made entirely of coffee beans.

Ciampa fancies herself as a person with positive energy, a healing artist who doesn’t do dark work.

“I’ve done murals in kid’s rooms, stand alone artwork I sell,” Ciampa said, adding that she also does sculpture, welding and bronze casting.