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Poland artist finds local inspiration
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In addition to his paintings, Poland artist Tom Antonishak, designs and molds sculptures. He offers painting and sculpting classes each week from his studio located on Hummingbird Hill Drive.
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem.Poland resident Tom Antonishak has contributed his artistic talents in Poland and the surrounding communities for several years. He stands next to the newest addition to the McKinley Elementary Library, a mural that will be placed on one of its four walls sometime this summer.
By SHAIYLA HAKEEM
Museums, national parks and galleries are all locations to find the artwork of Poland resident Tom Antonishak.
Art has always been a part of Antonishak’s life. Appreciation of nature was instilled in him through his Cub Scout experiences as a kid growing up in Pennsylvania.
His artistic resume includes works of graphic art, fine art, nature paintings, sculptures and Web site designing. He has traveled around the world for inspiration from places such as the Rocky Mountains and locations out west, but experience has taught him that any location has potential for inspiration.
“There are just as many beautiful things around here that can inspire you to paint,” he said.
Antonishak has had his work displayed in museum exhibits in California Washington, Alabama and London as well as in national parks across the U.S. In his more recent years, Antonishak says he has chosen to focus more on his hometown and its surrounding area.
Locally, Antonishak has provided artwork and sculptures for locations such as Mill Creek Park, McKinley Elementary and Peterson Park to name a few.
He is currently working on completing a mural for the library at McKinley Elementary. One wall is already completed and he plans to have the other three done by this summer.
Antonishak tries to stay involved with his community as much as possible. Celebrate Poland is an annual summer event that Town One Streetscapes has recently become involved in. Antonishak, who is an active member of Streetscapes, says that him and a fellow Streetscapes member created the chalk walk activity called Chalk It Up for Poland.
The activity is a competition for local artists to showcase their talents right on the sidewalks of Poland Township. This is the third year it has been implemented into the Celebrate Poland festivities and Antonishak says that based on previous years, it should produce a great turnout.
“Last year it doubled from the previous year and so forth. We were overwhelmed by how many people showed up to do that,” he said.
Antonishak offers classes for painting and sculpting every week for amateurs and professionals. It runs in six-week increments and is held at his studio in Poland. For information, call 330-501-0162.
He also services a Web site, Valley Artist Portfolio, which enables local artist to showcase their artistic talents through a creating digital portfolio. The Web site includes painters, writers, weavers and sculptures. For information, visit www.valleyartistportfolio.com.
Antonishak says art is something that is a part of him and retirement, in his profession, is obsolete.
“Even if I retire, I’d still be doing the same thing. I don’t think there is such a thing as retirement,” he said.