Art in the Family

My dad just launched his website touting his artwork if you'd like to go see it:
http://www.simplifiedinternetdesign.com/shafranskiart/
Here's a sample of what you'll find:



















For the past several years my dad has been finding his artistic self again, mainly doing pen and ink illustrations of Native American culture. (No, he's no Indian - he's as Polish-American as they come.) He's finally making a go of actually selling his work, which is very cool.

He and my mom met at art college, so they're both artistic. My mom taught art for years at the college level and still does a lot of painting, although for many years after retiring she didn't do much art at all. I think she was a little burned out, a little disillusioned. She's been picking up the paint brush a lot more in the past few years, and she too is beginning to sell her work more.

It excites me to see both of them getting back into their art and putting themselves out there - especially at their age. It encourages me and lights a little fire in me to do the same. My brother and I both inherited a lot of artistic talent from our parents. I can draw better than most folk and Marc (my brother) - well he's just plain talented. He too works in pen and ink - a really unforgiving medium - and he does some really intricate stuff, mainly focusing on "fantasy art". You should see some of his "other-worldly" landscapes. Maybe I'll scan and post a sample of it for you sometime.

My dad turned me on to photography when I was a wee lass and that has been my main artistic medium for years, although I've always wanted to pursue painting more. It's just hard to do when you have a toddler around. Right now my focus in life is on Gwennan and on Future Baby #2 that we hope to have next year. But what my heart wants is to open my own art gallery one day, focusing on photography, but also exhibiting other media.

I love art so much. To me, being creative is the heart of all human beings. So many people have that part of them quashed when young, when they're forced to focus on more "practical" things, but I believe it's still there in them. I believe we were all "made in the image of God", and who is more creative than the Creator? And if we're like him, then we too are creators of a sort.

I look forward to heaven, when that part of us that is like God will be expressed fully, without the hindrances of this world. Think how creative we all will be then!