Dan's Papers - March 14, 2008 - Honoring the Artist: Jan Porinchak

This week's cover by Jan Porinchak, "River of Life," is special, not only because it features a typical Long Island wildlife scene, but because the image has significance for the artist as well.

Mr. Porinchak grew up with similar scenes practically in his backyard. Moreover, as an art teacher involved with his middle school science program, he brings local plants and animals to life for his students. Ironically, the cover's title, "River of Life," suggests that the setting is indeed the artist's own life.

Q: How is the cover important to you personally?

A: I've lived my whole life on Long Island, interacting with the wildlife here. This place still enthralls me. I grew up in Dix Hills, and I would be out the door every day, on my bike, exploring the North Fork, the beaches.

Q: That must have made an impression, since you didn't have to hang out in the malls or watch TV. Are yur kids the same way?

A: We don't watch TV; I've never hooked up the cable although we occasionally watch a DVD. My three children (Erika, Tyra and Nikolas) draw, play with toys, are avid readers, come with me on hikes. Their minds are engaged; they use their imagination.

Q: Your interest in nature has a connection to your art, obviously. First, how did you get into art?

A: I went to Pratt and got a BFA in Fine Art. I come from a long line of artists. My great grandfather came to Pennsylvania to work in the steel mills, but after surviving the Johnstown Flood, he started painting signs. My grandfather started a sign business. Art was our family's salvation. I must have inherited the genes; after college, I worked in a sign shop doing graphics. I was continuing a tradition, but I didn't really realize it.

Q: Second, how did your love of nature impact on your art?

A: Graphics was too "dry" for me so I went back to school to get a teaching certificate. I've been teaching at Jericho Middle School for 11 years now. I got involved in an interdisciplinary program where I use art to teach about science, English.

Q: Give us an example about a project you do for science?

A: When I teach about frogs, I bring in a real one, point out physical features, do some modeling and sculpting of the frog.

Q:I see you like traditional kinds of art processes, but how about media? What part does that play in teaching art?

A: There's a lot of competition with media in school. Of course, at home, I don't use it. That's not my lifestyle. But you have to teach Photoshop, for example. I had to learn digital technology.

Q: How do you find teaching middle school? What do you learn from the students?

A: It's a challenge, but I love when the light bulb goes on, and I see that they are listening and applying what they're taught. I say to myself, "So, they just weren't counting the ceiling tiles." I push them a bit. I hold them to a high standard.

Q: Besides teaching you also continue with projects concerning nature, like leading hikes for the Sierra Club and doing science illustrations.

A: Yes. The cover, in fact, was a commission for the Sweetbriar Nature Center and will be displayed at Sunken Meadows State Park.