Michael   Andryc  

MY EARLIEST INFLUENCE was my father, Joseph Andryc, who was a florist by trade and an avid fisherman and storyteller. He shared with me his deep appreciation of artists, writers, and Native American history. My first introduction to art was in the Catholic church where, as a child, I was awe-stricken with its iconography and rituals.

  I often refer to my Polish ancestry in my artwork. One of my longest running series, “Selling My Own Grandmother,” features one of my Polish grandmothers, Anna Andryc. She serves as an archetype, the Baba Yaga in world cultures, a symbol of the strength, inherent power, and imagination of the Immigrant–American experience. I was fortunate to have a solo exhibition by that title at the American Center for Polish Culture in Washington, DC, in 1997. Her adventures – and misadventures – continue to touch upon the best and worst in the human condition. I am hopeful that her antics will bring joy and healing to a world seemingly gone awry.   -Michael Andryc