I originally come from Poland, the country which suffered so much during the WWII. My family survived but experienced difficult times after the post-war era.
I began drawing very early in my life but did not receive any formal art education. My career was in teaching English. I married, had my family, and it was hard to find time for painting.
My art journey began later in life when I came to the States and had an opportunity to start my art education, first in Upper Arlington Senior Center, then in Columbus College of Art & Design and Cultural Arts Center.
I tried different media, but at present I am mainly working in acrylics. Recently I have started using a limited color palette, which I feel, suits me best, but my favorite is black and white..
Two studio meetings a week in Cultural Arts Center and one in McConnell Arts Center are helping me a lot, especially life-drawing, with models, as I am interested in painting people.
Generally, I choose subjects that are a little bit mysterious, that invoke curiosity, or give peace and serenity. There is so much beauty around us in almost anything - in a little wild flower, in old trees, or in a lake’s reflection in light, all waiting to be delineated. But there is also a lot of suffering caused by humans to humans in different parts of our planet that I want to address in my paintings. My focus is on their emotional side.
I participate in group and individual shows organized by McConnell Arts Center, Worthington Area Art League, Clintonville Arts Guild, Northwood ART Space, and Martin Janis 50+ Center.
In 2015 (May/June) I had an individual show in Northwood ART Space.
My artwork (22 pieces) was on display in the West mezzanine at North Market in 2016 (May/June).
Also at North Market, in Hubert’s Polish Kitchen, our family business, there is a small constant exhibition of my art.
In 2017 (September/November), Northwood ART Space presented my individual show entitled “Where are You from? Portraits of Immigrants”.
In 2018 (March/April), the First Unitarian Universalist Church presented my individual show entitled “Human Destiny: Our Earth Walk”, 39 paintings depicting immigrants from Ellis Island to today’s headlines.
Some of the show were presentations of two kinds of immigrants and refugees: those who came to the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and those fleeing war and persecution right now.
This is then when I began thinking about our human destiny as a subject of my next series of paintings comprising life in general. In different cultures, in peace and war, a new-born child can be fruit of love, fruit of war, or fruit of politics. I want people to think about it, and do something. Everything starts with thinking.
I had two art talks in Conversations & Coffee, a free weekly program organized by Cultural Arts Center, in February 18, 2016 and in March 15, 2018.
The last talk, “Human Destiny - Our Earth Walk to Freedom”, was based on my poem, the first one in English, about different chapters in our lives, the meaning of each step, everyday problems - walking of the souls learning to love one another, thus creating our destiny.
I was not born in the United States of America, but it is here that I have my home and family. And it is here where I can do what I have always loved - start my art education, perform art, and fulfill my life dreams.
