Deacon sketches in a life

The deacon from Our Lady of Grace parish in Ballston Lake is currently exhibiting his work at the Visions Gallery in the Pastoral Center in Albany. Now head of the creative arts department at Siena College in Loudonville, he said his life-long association with the arts began when he was just four.

"My father took me to see a movie called `Gog the Killer,' about a runaway robot," he explained. "It was in Cinemascope and Technicolor. I had never seen anything like that! I wanted to relive it, so I went home, and took out crayons and pencils, and started drawing."

Pencil and paper

"My favorite medium is working with just a simple pencil," he said. "I like the way it works on a nice piece of Bristol paper. I draw with magnifying glasses so I can be up close to the pencil. [It's] that whole miracle, magical kind of thing."

It wasn't until a high-school teacher mentioned it that Deacon Zoltowski realized art could be his life's work.

New calling

When he was discharged, he felt so free that he decided to follow a totally different call: becoming a Franciscan friar. While training to be a brother, he studied painting at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., thinking he might work for Franciscan Communications, a California-based company that produces videos and other media.

In the end, he decided to teach. He found a position at Siena College and stayed there for 22 years, honing his craft. He left the Franciscans in 1989 and later married.

Famous men

Several years ago, he began to draw Siena's "teachers of the year" instead of posting photos of them on a bulletin board; that led to a series of huge drawings of his personal heroes, like John Wayne, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Those drawings are part of the exhibit at the Pastoral Center. So is a drawing of Rev. Mychal Judge, OFM, the New York City fire department chaplain who was killed in the World Trade Center attacks of 9/11. Father Judge had been stationed at Siena.

"I knew Mychal," said Deacon Zoltowski. The drawing "is special in the sense that after 9/11, the whole idea of him being dead seemed so unbelievable to me. You think of people as being around forever. I was reminded of how temporary our life is on this earth -- he's doing what he does as a priest, and he gets killed."

My friend Abe

"People laugh at me for that: `You were Lincoln's friend?'" he remarked. "But these men have played a part in my life in some way. The man I am today came as a result of my interaction with parents, family, teachers, musicians, composers, artists, actors, 'Gog the Killer.' I go in the studio with all of them."

With the life-sized portrait of Lincoln, the artist felt frustrated that his busy schedule kept him from completing the bottom half of the portrait. When he had to attend yet another meeting for work, he recalled telling a co-worker, "I have this former president of the U.S. in my office without pants! I have to finish this drawing!"

On display

But after walking through the exhibit, he noted, "I felt proud. This is what I do best. I felt indifferent to criticism."

Nearly all the works are for sale, and Deacon Zoltowski wants to make sure they end up in the hands of those who'll appreciate them -- to the point where he accepts payments in installments and sometimes even negotiates on prices.

"I'm really trying to make the work accessible," he said. "Don't get me wrong; I like to sell the work and make the money. But I also like to help the average person buy art. Artists don't own art."

(Deacon Zoltowski put in a plug for Siena College's creative arts major, a recent addition to the college's programs. It combines fine arts and performing arts for students who want a degree in the field but don't want to specialize. The teacher pointed out that many jobs are available in the arts, from art and music therapy to grant writing. He invited interested students to call him at 783-2301.)

(12-05-02) [[In-content Ad]]