Tykie S. Ganz (Artist-in-Residence, 1996)

"Spirit of Isle Royale", 18” x 14” mixed media, 1996

NPS/Tykie Ganz

Isle Royale Reflection

"Isle Royale! My most memorable and enchanting experience. I imagined the pioneers as they surveyed the West. Isle Royale was my wilderness. No human foot had trod my ground. My work was begun by the light of dawn and finished by the twilight of darkness. Then and only then I lay in my cocoon and listened to the sounds of night. The waves lapping the rocks below the cabin, the loon’s call. How soft, compared to the rush of cars, the wail of sirens, the noise of humanity.

I would awake to the white throated sparrow’s familiar song and rush outside. The air was brisk and clean. The master painter had lifted the fog for me to see. From the smallest blade of grass and beautiful wildflowers to the tallest trees; the cliffs weathered by eons of wind and water; the coastal rocks glistening with the splash of waves; a pair of Canada geese at rest on the shore. What I looked for most at Isle Royale—the wolves—I did not see. But their spirit, hidden in my wilderness, was there. My paintings could only try to capture my friends—and try I did. And as I left for Isle Royale, I left a part of my spirit with them."

-Tykie Ganz*

 

About the Artist*

Tykie Ganz was an Isle Royale Artist-in-Residence from July 23rd to August 7th, 1996. Her nature paintings have been selected for inclusion in the Arts for the Parks National Competition in 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1996, for work ranging from an Alaskan wolf to birds of Everglades National Park. A painting of a Florida panther was commissioned and published by Lloyd Ellison Graphics, Jupiter, Florida, with all proceeds benefiting the Dreher Park Zoo of West Palm Beach.

Tykie is a resident of Florida, but was born in Long Island, New York. She attended Cortland State University. She has been painting professionally since 1970. An avid wood carver, she has been a founding signature member of Miniature Artists of America since 1985 and is also a member of both the Miniature Art Society of Florida and the Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Carvers Society of Washington, D.C. One of her miniatures is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.

Tykie is included in Who’s Who of American Women and Who’s Who in American Art.

*[Source for all Tykie's page content: Root, Robert and Jill Burkland, editors. (2000). The Island Within Us. Houghton, MI: Isle Royale Natural History Association. p 90. Print.]

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