Join us for First Friday in Littleton, featuring Traci Zajaczkowski
Life in Color
2590 W Main St
011.01.2024, 6-9pm
Meet Traci
Traci’s art focuses on colorful and detailed animal portraits. She loves the animals that roam in the beautiful state of Colorado and strives to bring their personalities out with vibrant colors and stylized details. Animals are magical. Traci wants to bring a little bit of that magic and joy back to the viewer. Her most recent works focus on fusing the beauty of nature within the beauty of the animals themselves, emphasizing the importance of our natural surroundings. Traci works in mixed media, with a combination of colored pencils, markers, watercolor, and acrylic paints. She has an MA in illustration from Syracuse University.
Traci believes that whatever you do in the world, you should find a way to make the world a better place, and you should do it with passion. Traci is passionate about kids, art, animals, and the mountains. She strives to use her art and skills to partner with like minded organizations, to provide leadership and growth opportunities for kids, and to help keep the animals that she loves safe for generations.
Learn more about Traci Zajaczkowski in our Q & A!
How did your business come to exist?
When I was in 9th grade, I made the decision to drop band and take an art class. Within a week of being in that class, I knew I wanted to be an artist. I decided to go to school to be an art teacher and create art on the side, which was a great path for me, as I loved teaching art, and did so for 19 years. While I never stopped creating and growing as an artist all those years, I didn't have the confidence to put myself out in the world as an artist, but I always knew that I would at some point. In 2021, I took the plunge and resigned from teaching, and diving into not only making my art, but making a point to get it out there.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently finishing a piece I started quite a while ago and got stuck on. It is a porcupine whose quills turn into flowers. I am currently working my way through problem solving the background, which stumped me.
What is the best piece of advice that you ever received?
A piece of advice that I have found to be my mantra lately is "be brave, Flora" and it comes from the book "The One memory of Flora Banks", by Emily Barr. It is about a 17 year old who suffers from short term memory loss and goes on an adventure. She "wakes up" every few minutes to find that she has no memory of where she is or how she got there except a tattoo on her hand that says "be brave". Since reading this book, it has become my mantra, reminding me to take risks and intentionally do things that scare me or take me out of my comfort zone. It is part of the reason why I am on this adventure of being solely an artist today.
What is your dream project?
I recently did an artists residency at the children's museum in Denver where I created a small scavenger hunt of my artwork through a section of the museum. I loved not only working with the kids there, but the process of making art for a public space. I want to do more of this! This experience really made me realize that I want to move into doing public art - especially in kid friendly spaces.
Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration in nature. I love to be outdoors, and I love experiences with animals, especially in the wild. I want to translate that experience through my work.
If you had a choice between two superpowers, being invisible or flying, which would you choose??
Defginitely flying. First, the whole point of getting my work out there is NOT to be invisible anymore. Secondly, I used to be a skydiver.I have made 550 jumps. I love the feeling of being in the sky and have always wished that I could fly.
Get in touch with Traci Zajaczkowski
Website: https://tracizart.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracizart/#
If you are a local artist/crafter/maker/indie business owner and would like to be featured on our blog, please fill out this form or contact Ashley at ashley@westandmainhomes.com with questions...we can't wait to learn all about you!
