"When I was four years old, I was taken to heaven, and from then on I started having visions and I felt inspired to draw," says Akiane Kramarik, who is now thirteen. She began painting at six and writing poetry at seven.
Akiane's painting, "Hope," donated to The Listen Campaign for children in 2007, fetched a promise of $200,000. Listen invited twenty of the world's most prominent artists to contribute to an auction with proceeds going to organizations to help children affected by hunger, poverty, abuse and AIDS.
Akiane wants us to not focus on the price her art commands, but on the messages they deliver from God. Seeing the paintings, as on www.akianeart.com, one cannot help but be moved and amazed.
Inspiration and technique have come to Akiane through conversations with Spirit. The paintings' maturity and range of subjects: Christ, Mary and baby Jesus; abandoned children of the world; African women; horses in the midst of butterflies of love; a lion of strength, leave us little choice but to believe Akiane's teacher is indeed mystical.
Akiane painted "Hope" when she was nine. The model is a tiny abandoned Asian girl. Akiane writes, "After her long communion with God in the mute field she was drawn to the hill of the blossoms where now she rests in a golden dress and smells each fragrant branch. Behind her are foggy lakes, gray sky, gray mountains and sad memories which she´s left behind. But on the top of the hill there´s a spirit of hope and love."
Early on, Akiane wanted to paint multi-ethnic people but there were few models in their small town in Idaho. "After a lot of prayer, I met two black children whose story was so amazing that I wanted to paint it right away. There was a taboo in their small Madagascar tribe against saving the orphans. So after their parents died, the two-year-old brother was taking care of his three-month-old sister for over two months. When they were found, they were barely alive. I painted them older and healthier to create what their vision might have been during the three-month survival. The baby girl has noticed the help approaching and is gently caressing her exhausted brother to lift his head up."
First sight of the portrait by the adoptive parents brought tears. Though Akiane had painted five different backgrounds complete with deserts, animals, birds and prairies, in the end she decided to paint waterfalls. "Everybody including me was surprised at the painted waterfalls in the background, because I had not known that the orphans had been found in the only waterfall jungle in the Madagascar …"
A painting of Christ, which Akiane painted when she was nine, seems to reflect lifetimes of love, suffering, forgiveness and serenity in his green eyes.
Jurij Sizenov Nikolaevich, from Russian television and radio network, Shabolovka, reported another inexplicable synchronicity. "We are all in total awe here, at this Russian television station! We compared Akiane´s extraordinary painting "Prince of Peace" with the computerized image taken from the Shroud Of Turin that was hanging in my office. To our complete shock and marvel we found virtually an exact match! It is a miracle and it must come from God!"
Akiane's journey began even before her atheist parents, Forelli and Marcus, knew. "When I was four I started sharing with my family my visions of heaven. Through my conversations, through my art and later poetry, I brought my family to God."
Akiane tells stories of her spiritual visits in her books, "Akiane: Her Art, Her Poetry, Her Life" and "My Dream is Bigger than I."
For the curious, the dubious and the cynic, a few paintings and drawings have been videotaped from beginning to end to show the progression. "When the television crews come, I end up painting in front of the cameras for a long, long time. I am most inspired, though, when I am by myself."
In one interview, Akiane's mother looks pained as she tells us her daughter struggles with the paintings. She draws several sketches to get everything proportional and just right. Like most artists, Akiane suffers frustration and anguish.
Though "The Planted Eyes" took Akiane only 15 hours, she says, "It was my first and quickest oil portrait. 'Jesus...the missing years' took 200 hours and 'The Dreams' 300 hours."
Poetry comes to Akiane effortlessly. "I do not write what I know, but from what Spirit shows me. Before I pray, I am empty and have absolutely nothing to write about. But, then I know, if I am silent, I start seeing pictures and words."
Akiane feels that poetry is a puzzle, and everyone needs to solve the puzzle by themselves. "And if I shared my own interpretation, others would be prevented from imagination."
In other questions on her website, Akiane is asked, "But what about such deep thoughts and wisdom that only an adult could have experienced?"
"I was blessed with sensitivity, and I do feel people. When it is silent and I pray, I feel everything so much that many poems are written as if I myself have experienced certain events."
Akiane's most inspirational moments in her travels came during a museum exhibit where hundreds of people were standing in line for three days just to shake her hand and see her paintings. "One old lady stood up from her wheel chair for the first time in many years just to give me a hug. And one boy brought his whole family two days in a row. No one knew he had a brain tumor and a few days before he died he talked about God in my art and asked to draw."
Akiane calls upon God to help her with her life. Her self portrait, "My sight cannot wait for me" took her through some of the most difficult weeks. She shared the story on the Oprah Show. The family couldn't afford a big mirror, so she held a palm-sized mirror to accurately portray the proportions and hues. She arranged colors, forms and background from her own imagination.
She told Oprah that once while painting herself, she couldn't find the right flesh tint, so she simply dabbed the mixed color right onto her nose to make sure it matched her own skin tone.
In addition to her art and poetry, Akiane has recently begun composing on the piano. She also enjoys playing chess, jumping on the trampoline, learning four languages (English, Russian, Lithuanian and Sign Language), and playing with her brothers and pets: parakeets, Adam and Eve; golden retriever, Simba; and a three-pound teacup poodle named Koko.
The gallery and business of selling Akiane's work is a full family affair. Her brothers, Delfini,16, and Jeanlu,14, opened the "Akiane Gallery." The youngest, Ilia, 6, has declared he runs the gallery. Akiane's father, Marcus works long hours in the gallery, returning calls, preparing orders and other business.
The family's response to the shocking miracle of Akiane's visits and inspiration may be the answer to why Akiane, why this family. The family united and rallied in belief, aid, joy and trust. Not every family would step up to such a challenge.
Diana deRegnier writes from the San Francisco Bay Area. Her articles appear in Web sites, wires and print publications around the world. Reach Diana at spiritlinks@comcast.net . © copyright 2008 by Diana deRegnier
Akiane's painting, "Hope," donated to The Listen Campaign for children in 2007, fetched a promise of $200,000. Listen invited twenty of the world's most prominent artists to contribute to an auction with proceeds going to organizations to help children affected by hunger, poverty, abuse and AIDS.
Akiane wants us to not focus on the price her art commands, but on the messages they deliver from God. Seeing the paintings, as on www.akianeart.com, one cannot help but be moved and amazed.
Inspiration and technique have come to Akiane through conversations with Spirit. The paintings' maturity and range of subjects: Christ, Mary and baby Jesus; abandoned children of the world; African women; horses in the midst of butterflies of love; a lion of strength, leave us little choice but to believe Akiane's teacher is indeed mystical.
Akiane painted "Hope" when she was nine. The model is a tiny abandoned Asian girl. Akiane writes, "After her long communion with God in the mute field she was drawn to the hill of the blossoms where now she rests in a golden dress and smells each fragrant branch. Behind her are foggy lakes, gray sky, gray mountains and sad memories which she´s left behind. But on the top of the hill there´s a spirit of hope and love."
Early on, Akiane wanted to paint multi-ethnic people but there were few models in their small town in Idaho. "After a lot of prayer, I met two black children whose story was so amazing that I wanted to paint it right away. There was a taboo in their small Madagascar tribe against saving the orphans. So after their parents died, the two-year-old brother was taking care of his three-month-old sister for over two months. When they were found, they were barely alive. I painted them older and healthier to create what their vision might have been during the three-month survival. The baby girl has noticed the help approaching and is gently caressing her exhausted brother to lift his head up."
First sight of the portrait by the adoptive parents brought tears. Though Akiane had painted five different backgrounds complete with deserts, animals, birds and prairies, in the end she decided to paint waterfalls. "Everybody including me was surprised at the painted waterfalls in the background, because I had not known that the orphans had been found in the only waterfall jungle in the Madagascar …"
A painting of Christ, which Akiane painted when she was nine, seems to reflect lifetimes of love, suffering, forgiveness and serenity in his green eyes.
Jurij Sizenov Nikolaevich, from Russian television and radio network, Shabolovka, reported another inexplicable synchronicity. "We are all in total awe here, at this Russian television station! We compared Akiane´s extraordinary painting "Prince of Peace" with the computerized image taken from the Shroud Of Turin that was hanging in my office. To our complete shock and marvel we found virtually an exact match! It is a miracle and it must come from God!"
Akiane's journey began even before her atheist parents, Forelli and Marcus, knew. "When I was four I started sharing with my family my visions of heaven. Through my conversations, through my art and later poetry, I brought my family to God."
Akiane tells stories of her spiritual visits in her books, "Akiane: Her Art, Her Poetry, Her Life" and "My Dream is Bigger than I."
For the curious, the dubious and the cynic, a few paintings and drawings have been videotaped from beginning to end to show the progression. "When the television crews come, I end up painting in front of the cameras for a long, long time. I am most inspired, though, when I am by myself."
In one interview, Akiane's mother looks pained as she tells us her daughter struggles with the paintings. She draws several sketches to get everything proportional and just right. Like most artists, Akiane suffers frustration and anguish.
Though "The Planted Eyes" took Akiane only 15 hours, she says, "It was my first and quickest oil portrait. 'Jesus...the missing years' took 200 hours and 'The Dreams' 300 hours."
Poetry comes to Akiane effortlessly. "I do not write what I know, but from what Spirit shows me. Before I pray, I am empty and have absolutely nothing to write about. But, then I know, if I am silent, I start seeing pictures and words."
Akiane feels that poetry is a puzzle, and everyone needs to solve the puzzle by themselves. "And if I shared my own interpretation, others would be prevented from imagination."
In other questions on her website, Akiane is asked, "But what about such deep thoughts and wisdom that only an adult could have experienced?"
"I was blessed with sensitivity, and I do feel people. When it is silent and I pray, I feel everything so much that many poems are written as if I myself have experienced certain events."
Akiane's most inspirational moments in her travels came during a museum exhibit where hundreds of people were standing in line for three days just to shake her hand and see her paintings. "One old lady stood up from her wheel chair for the first time in many years just to give me a hug. And one boy brought his whole family two days in a row. No one knew he had a brain tumor and a few days before he died he talked about God in my art and asked to draw."
Akiane calls upon God to help her with her life. Her self portrait, "My sight cannot wait for me" took her through some of the most difficult weeks. She shared the story on the Oprah Show. The family couldn't afford a big mirror, so she held a palm-sized mirror to accurately portray the proportions and hues. She arranged colors, forms and background from her own imagination.
She told Oprah that once while painting herself, she couldn't find the right flesh tint, so she simply dabbed the mixed color right onto her nose to make sure it matched her own skin tone.
In addition to her art and poetry, Akiane has recently begun composing on the piano. She also enjoys playing chess, jumping on the trampoline, learning four languages (English, Russian, Lithuanian and Sign Language), and playing with her brothers and pets: parakeets, Adam and Eve; golden retriever, Simba; and a three-pound teacup poodle named Koko.
The gallery and business of selling Akiane's work is a full family affair. Her brothers, Delfini,16, and Jeanlu,14, opened the "Akiane Gallery." The youngest, Ilia, 6, has declared he runs the gallery. Akiane's father, Marcus works long hours in the gallery, returning calls, preparing orders and other business.
The family's response to the shocking miracle of Akiane's visits and inspiration may be the answer to why Akiane, why this family. The family united and rallied in belief, aid, joy and trust. Not every family would step up to such a challenge.
Diana deRegnier writes from the San Francisco Bay Area. Her articles appear in Web sites, wires and print publications around the world. Reach Diana at spiritlinks@comcast.net . © copyright 2008 by Diana deRegnier
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