Meet Nick Lucey: Owner, Rhyolite Gallery

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nick Lucey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nick, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
As a landscape photographer based in Castle Rock, I always wanted to have a small gallery to sell my works. I had been a vendor at The Emporium for a couple years, but always wanted the flexibility and freedom of my own space. The opportunity came when this space was for rent in Spring of 2020. Of course, COVID was just starting to hit, so obviously it didn’t seem like the best time to start a business, but I figured I had nowhere to go but up. I originally had planned to just have a gallery for my artwork, but then I thought, why not open it up to other local artists and craftspeople? Why not make it a hub for art in Castle Rock? And that’s how Castle Rock’s only art gallery was born.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started my career as a photojournalist in the Marine Corps in the late 80s and early 90s. From there, I transitioned to the Savannah Morning News in Savannah, but quickly realized I didn’t enjoy working for a newspaper. That’s when I heard about Scuba Diving Magazine, and I spent 15 years traveling the world writing articles about scuba diving experiences, and taking photographs above and below the water. When the magazine folded, I created a travel television show with a friend in the dive industry, and we continued to travel the world exploring the oceans and filming our show. We had a two-season run on domestic and international networks, and I was in front of and behind the camera, as host, writer and producer. I moved to Colorado in the summer of 2014, when the TV show went away. Since then I’ve been doing graphic design, marketing, video and photography and Castle Rock and the greater Denver area.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Castle Rock can be a sleepy town, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to do. There are miles and miles of trails for hiking and biking, a great park in Philip S. Miller park, with a challenge hill, zip lining and a great recreation center. Downtown Castle Rock is small, but packed with small shops, restaurants, bars, and of course, my gallery.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Back in July 2019, I created the Castle Rock Artist Cooperative, as there was no artist organization in Castle Rock since the Greater Castle Rock Art Guild went away three or four years ago. I felt something needed to fill the void, so we created the cooperative, called CRAC for short, as a way for local artists to bring their art to market by leveraging online, social media, and popup art shows. I encourage anybody exhibiting in my gallery to sign up for CRAC before they exhibit in the Rhyolite.

Website: rhyolitegallery.com
Instagram: instagram.com/rhyolite_gallery/
Twitter: twitter.com/rhyolitegallery
Facebook: facebook.com/RhyoliteGallery
Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UCbiTURTcLi1HltSaMt_rQHQ