HEAVEN'S CANVAS: Art by Akiane

Five o'clock in the morning. As the world around her lies fast asleep, a little girl sits in her art studio, working studiously on a self-portrait with which she’s been having trouble for weeks. Painted across the canvas, which is nearly as tall as the eight-year-old herself, is her own likeness. Its blue eyes gaze into the distance, past the edge of the canvas; wispy blond hair peeks out from beneath a blue veil; an elusive smile dances on the lips. The little girl studies her face in her handheld looking-glass and eyes her work with dissatisfaction. Something is wrong with the colour, she muses, but days of painstakingly mixing paint have failed to produce a tint that matches the hues she sees in her mirror. She closes her eyes for a moment to pray, asking God to help her make the work more realistic; then, the idea hits her. With a paintbrush, the young artist takes some paint and dabs it onto her nose, blending it until she gets the right shade for her skin.

Fast-forward one year, and this self-portrait -- along with several other pieces -- has made its way onto the set of The Oprah Show, where the little girl, whose name is Akiane Kramarik, relates this story to Oprah Winfrey. Laughingly, Oprah replies, “Oh, yes, I do the same!” and follows up with, "It is gorgeous... you're obviously gifted!" Millions of eyes from all around the world watch as the audience cheers and applauds in awe -- a far cry from the quiet hours of diligent work spent in the studio to create the paintings that seem so effortlessly achieved. Although Akiane looks back on that self-portrait, pictured right, as one of the most difficult experiences she has had as a painter, she says she’s gotten used to “working for many days before I see the finished painting. It takes a lot of self-discipline.” It’s a lesson that has taken Akiane a lot of time and patience to learn -- after all, some of her paintings have taken over 300 hours to complete!

At 13 years old, Akiane Kramarik is an internationally recognized child prodigy in both painting and poetry, but the attention doesn’t faze her. “Only God is famous,” she says. “My gift to God is what I do with my talents. I thank him every minute for all the blessings in my life.” But life hadn’t always been like this for Akiane. She was born in a small Illinois home to atheist parents, who named her after the Russian word for “ocean” because of her blue eyes. Life at the Kramarik house was full of simple pleasures; though the family did not have much money, they were closely-knit and Akiane spent countless playing with her brothers in the cornfields and meadows surrounding their home.

One morning, when she was four, Akiane surprised her mother by telling her, “Today I met God.” Though her parents had never even spoken the word ‘God’ to their daughter before, preschool-aged Akiane described him vividly: “God is light -- warm and good. It knows everything and talks with me. It is my parent.” Every day, she shared more and more of this surprising knowledge with her parents, telling them that she went to heaven and met God in visions and dreams. When words did not suffice, Akiane turned to painting as a means of recording her memories and illustrating the lessons that God was teaching her about himself and the world around her. Her parents could hardly believe the skill that they saw in their daughters' art, and when they asked Akiane where she had learned to paint so well, she replied, “Where God takes me, He teaches me to draw.” Hesitantly, Akiane's mother and father started to open up to the possibility of God's existence, and began searching for the faith that their daughter had found. Today, Akiane reflects, “Through my conversations, through my art, and later poetry I brought my family to God.”

Akiane has been writing poetry since she was seven, a process that, she says, is also led and inspired by God: “After a prayer, I wait for an answer from heaven, then I see dozens of snapshots of pictures, words, actions, and events. And a lot of time I feel that God includes me in other people's lives. Through Him I feel other people's suffering and happiness.” As in her art, the main purpose of Akiane’s poetry is to convey the message that God reveals to her. Many of her poems complement her paintings, exploring the spiritual metaphors hidden in her artwork; others echo truths that she finds in her conversations with God. In one work, Akiane writes, “I teach and they run away. I listen and they come. My strength is my silence.”

Surprisingly, people were not always as receptive to Akiane’s work as they are today. Though Akiane entered her drawings and sketches into many art shows as a child, few people even stopped to look at them, and most did not believe that the art was her own work. Akiane did not get discouraged, and told her family, “One day it will change.”

Things did change, and the art which people had ignored started to gain worldwide attention. Three years ago, when she was ten, Akiane held an exhibition at Iowa’s Museum of Religious Art, an experience that her mother describes as “unforgettable.” Thousands of people, from all backgrounds and age groups, showed up at the event. Akiane recalls this day: “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 who brought his whole family two days in a roll. No one knew he had a brain tumour and a few days before he died he talked about God in my art and asked to draw.” The museum now has a permanent exhibit of the teenager’s art and sells reproductions of her work, but money is not a motivator for Akiane, who gives a large portion of her profits to charity. “I don't worry about the business,” she says. “I focus on creating art and my desire to help as many people as I can.”

Having explored the worlds of pencils, pastels, and acrylic paints, Akiane has now completed more than 80 paintings which are published in two books available at her website. She has written over than 400 poems, and recently took up music, learning to play piano and compose songs. She continues to speak about her faith in presentations, on talk shows, and in print interviews. A strong believer in the power of dreams, Akaine has big plans for her future. “I see myself helping poor children around the world. I see myself reading my poetry and showing my art during my international tours. I plan to meet presidents, kings and queens in many countries. Maybe by then I would have 100 more paintings and ten more books published. I would also want to compose songs and to get married.”

Akiane's creativity has drawn people from all over the world closer to God. At the very least, her art is a conversation-starter that sparks curiosity about spiritual matters in people who otherwise might never have touched the topic. Sometimes, they ask Akiane why she talks about God so much. Her response? “Because He listens. Nothing comes from nothing. Love cannot come out of nothing. Love is God's light. I just can't help talking about it.” And, drawn by the power of this love and light, the world is listening.

Article by Oksana K. [Editor]
Image credits: ArtAkiane.com; H-D Stock
Read more about Akiane: Her site; her book: Akiane her life, her art, her poetry.