Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Artist Gedion Nyanhongo works on one of his stone sculptures; Artist Leah Rei pre- pares to apply a piece of gold leaf; "Child of Light", bronze, Laura Lee Stay; "Prickly Pear Garden", 18x64, mixed media, Leah Rei; "Teton Reflections", 48x60, acrylic, Peter Mathios. Right: "Time", 36x48, oil, Pete Tillack
the unconscious and guides you throughout the process.” Because each of her highly detailed paintings takes her quite a while to complete, it’s important to Tatiana that she’s able to tap into that soul connection throughout the duration of the painting. She does that by reducing outside distractions and be - ing mindful of the external inputs she allows in. “It’s something that you hold that helps you make decisions,” she said. “You have this connection to something that’s bringing you the right answer. Even in the very fine details and last glazing, you get connected with the piece and tap into your intuition to achieve it. But you have to stay in your center.” Luckily, when Tatiana taps into that soul guidance, it’s an all-consuming and powerful connection. And that connection is felt by her collectors. “Sometimes it’s like I go
into another place,” she said. “When I get in that state, I’m deeply in it, and I’m so happy and full. It’s amazing when a client connects with the emotion that you were feeling when you were creating that piece. It’s so special.”
connecting through time, place and story “Every piece of art in our house has a sto - ry,” said art collector Deanna Zylstra. “Even now, we’ve been col - lecting for 30 years, I can tell you the story of nearly every piece, even after all these years.” While Deanna and her husband Ken don’t typically seek the artist’s interpreta - tion of the piece, they prefer to understand the feeling or story it evokes for them, many artists do create pieces
based on messages, mean - ings or questions their soul is seeking to answer. For instance, artist Pete Tillack uses his art as a visual journal of sorts to better un - derstand the thoughts, feel - ings and internal stories that
have shaped his perceptions. He communicates those interpretations through recognizable symbols that we all can connect to––sym - bols that in many ways serve as guides to question or explore our own thoughts and feelings. Through that deep ex - ploration of his own soul, he came to realize that his journey did not exist in a vacuum. These deeply personal messages––or so he thought––were actually shared human experiences. His art started to stir some - thing in people’s souls and they often open up and share those stories with Pete. “They were messages from my soul and I didn’t realize that other people had those same feelings,” Pete said. “I had to really dive deep to fig - ure out that what I’ve been hiding was worthy of talking about.” For artist Trevor Swanson, it’s about connecting people to a place and the feeling of
"It's a visual connection first. But when you can get to know someone––get to know why they're doing what they're doing and their love for it, it just adds so much to it." -nancy jackson
Issue 5 | Summer/Fall 2026
Page 9
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