Roy Kraynyk, retired from Allegheny Land Trust, turns to artistic pursuits
Share this post:
For decades, Roy Kraynyk has worked to protect and conserve green space in Sewickley and beyond. After retiring at the beginning of this year, he’s turned his sights to more personal pursuits.
“I try to prioritize recreation and creation now with my time,” Kraynyk, 67, said.
He served as executive director of the Allegheny Land Trust starting in 2001, and in that time, he was committed to improving and expanding green spaces throughout the region. “While I was there, I think we protected over 850 acres in the 15143 area and we’re still working on those projects and more projects throughout Sewickley and beyond in Allegheny County,” he said.
His work with the Land Trust gained him recognition as the Sewickley Herald’s Man of the Year in 2015.
Kraynyk’s educational and professional background is in landscape architecture.
“(I was) thinking that I could conserve land through the design process as land is being developed, and you can do that, but I found that working for a land trust is much more rewarding. Challenging, but definitely more satisfying,” he said.
Growing up in Moon Township, he gained a deep appreciation for nature and conservation. “I spent a lot of time in the woods as a kid, horseback riding, camping, all that stuff we used to do over in Moon. It was still fairly rural back then. So just having a lot of exposure and understanding of nature and a love for it.”
His desire to see the beauty in the world translated into a lot of creative pursuits, including creative writing, photography, songwriting and carving. After retirement, he has the opportunity to devote more time to making art.
So he applied for — and accepted to — a two-week artist residency at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, N.Y. During his two weeks in residency, he created a sculpture that’s been nearly half his lifetime in the making.
It all started three decades ago with a sketch he couldn’t get out of his head.
“Originally, that sculpture was just a drawing, and the assignment was to design a landscape that represents a poem. So we had to find a poem and design a landscape that represents the meaning of the poem,” he explained.
Instead of a landscape, Kraynyk saw the piece in three dimensions.
“I was fixated on it and kept on going with the sculpture look and ended up getting a D on the assignment. But I was very very happy with the sketch,” he said.
“Coincidentally, when I had to apply to Chautauqua for the residency, I needed a letter of referral, so I went back to the landscape architecture professor for the referral,” he added.
The spindly, fluid figure that Kraynyk finally brought to life is just the first step for this particular project. “I was intending to put it in the front yard to turn it into a fountain. I may still do that eventually, but not with this particular one because of the material I made it out of,” he said. The sculpture is made from a lighter foam material that isn’t well suited to permanent outdoor placement.
“I have a piece of cherry, a log that I want to carve the same thing out of now that I have a better idea of what the three dimensions look like now, and when it was just a two dimensional sketch. … Now that I have this model, I can take that cherry and work with it.”
The experience of the residency was motivating for Kraynyk. He got the chance to meet and be inspired by artists from all around the world.
“It was just really mind-expanding, seeing the quality of work these people were doing and the quantity they were doing.”
The retiree was also refreshed by getting to comingle with a new generation. “It was cool to be hanging out with some younger folks and hear what they were talking about, and how energetic they were and how talented they were. It was like being back in college, really … being removed from the world, hanging out there and just being there to do one thing: create.”
As a resident of the Sewickley area since 1996, Kraynyk loves the area and is thankful he’s gotten to bring more nature into it. “Right now I’m in Bell Acres, it’s pretty rural but in a few minutes I can be in the village or have all the things it has to offer, from the Y to the ice cream store, the library, the theater. It’s great.”