By Roger Linnett

Recapturing the spirit of Venice of 40 years ago, the Artisan Venice shop at the corner of Windward and Pacific features art, jewelry, sculpture and clothing all made exclusively by artists and artisans from Venice, and everything on display is for sale.

Virtually every square inch of wall space is covered by paintings, ranging from small oils and drawings to large 6′ x 6′ canvasses and mixed media works. You may recognize some of the pieces as works by artists you see along Ocean Front Walk.

Several cases exhibit hand-made jewelry, necklaces, earrings and pendants, and many days one of the artisans features his wares on a table in front of the store. Several racks of brightly-colored clothing harkens back to the colorful ’60s, as do displays of hand-made knitted caps, hand-painted baseball caps, and a variety of hand-painted patches, which can be custom-ordered. There is also a fairly extensive array of glass appliances for the discerning Venice fumo-therapist.

Opened last month, owner Darren Hall and art director Steve Avila are trying to recreate the laid back Venice of old. In addition to selling all manner of art and artifacts, they have musical events every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 7:30 p.m. til closing, usually around 11.

Thursday is acoustic night, which has featured a very good Brazilian trio in past weeks. Friday is open mic night, and Saturday the house band, with invitied guests, rocks the house.

The Artisan Venice is open Tues, Wed. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 7.p.m. and Thu., Fri. and Sat. from 11 a.m. ’til whenever. They’re closed Mondays.