What kind of art do you do?


Crystal Jean Baranyk
Accomplishments: 
  • At a young age exhibited at the Milwaukee Public Art Museum twice.
  • Had artwork published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal Art Calendar (1 of the 14 people chosen out of 900 entries)
  • Graduated from UCSD with honors in Fine Art Studio
  • Was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Award for photography during college.
  • Artwork shown in the East Maui Watershed competition in 2005, and 2009.
  • Exhibited artwork with Maui Hands, Lahaina Art Society, The Kaukini Gallery, and Viewpoints Gallery (for the East Maui Watershed event)
  • Exhibited at Art Maui 2010 - piece nominated for purchase by State of Hawaii
  • Currently showing at Lahaina Arts Society
Site Contents (Artwork, oldest first):



"What kind of artwork do you do?" - is probably the question I am asked most.  And, it is the question that terrifies me the most.  The best answer that I can give is that I make artwork so that I don't have to talk.

Most people are very good at articulating what they are thinking and feeling, but I learned that at a very young age both talking and writing would be a challenge for me.

As a five year old, I remember peering at a woman and her baby and stating,  "Your little critter's got yellow teeth..."

I didn't, at the time, see this as an insult - my five year old brain took "critter" to be a term of endearment, and the yellow teeth bit was just an observation.  None the less, I managed to enrage the mother and I was shocked into a silence that lasted a very long time.

Being dyslexic, I learned to read and write much later than other children.  But I had this talent for making artwork. And my love of communicating through pictures never left.

The artwork that I create provides me with a platform to tell stories.

Art also helps me to reach others on a deeper psychological and non-verbal level.  The language of semiotics tells us that visual images act as symbols.

I'd like to walk you through the progression of my artwork over time, and explain what I was thinking and feeling when I made each piece.  

There are several re-occuring concepts that pop up in my art over the course of my life.

One of these concepts concerns framing, not only the literal elevation of art away from the wall, but the physical juxtapotitioning of the main subject and the ideas/concpts and feelings expressed by this.  In other words;

How do we look at artwork and why do we see it the way we do?  You'd think that this could be pretty personal, but it turns out, there are some answers to this question that are fairly universal.

I am also interested in how the medium, (the physical backbone of the art) - relates to the media (what is being portrayed).  This touches on how we experience art.

Finally, I draw much of my inspiration from nature, and in my portrayal and love for all life, I hope to foster the same in other people.




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