LIGHT & SHADOW. To preserve the delicate, and often unshared, moments between my grandfather's life and my own, we initiated an artist sketch-and-photo book. I will send my grandfather photographs, to which he responds with sketches inspired by his surroundings.

My passion for storytelling and visual media isn't solely my own. The urge to write, create, and share has been passed down through generations, from creative individuals like my grandfather, Karl Shapansky.

For decades, he and others in my family have explored their artistic inclinations and shared glimmers of their talents with loved ones. To preserve these delicate — often unshared moments — I initiated an artist book between us both. It would serve as an open-ended space where my grandfather and I could exchange our creative works with one another.

I regularly collect photos of everyday scenes in the Chippewa Valley, with film cameras inherited by both my mother and grandparents alike. As part of our collaborative project, I will send my grandfather photographs, to which he responds with complementary sketches based on his surroundings.

To my surprise (though as an artist, I should have seen this coming) Karl interpreted the casual assignment in his own way. In the year-plus since we have shared this exchange of artforms, I quickly found myself discovering bits and pieces of his own life’s story, embedded into the light and shadow of each sketch or watercolor piece.

My earliest memories of Karl's artistic legacy are rooted in days spent at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) in Minneapolis, Minn. where he worked for 18 years prior to retiring in 2015.

Family doesn't detract from creativity; it can be the very soil in which your motivation takes root and flourishes.

Karl first joined the museum staff as a collection maintenance person in 1997, responsible for condition reports, cleaning, and connecting with art curators on the MIA’s traveling exhibits.

Eight years of continued care and dedication to the museum led him to befriending the lighting director at the time — who was also a pinhole photographer in his own artistic ventures — and a four year apprenticeship followed.

When the MIA’s lighting director left, Karl was offered and accepted the position, a role which he held for ten years until retirement. At the museum, Karl had found a place where kindred spirits in the creative world could unite and value the rich history and diverse interpretations of art across its many mediums.

“The first time being in a work setting where everybody was interested in art, was such a liberating kind of experience,” Karl shared while sitting alongside my grandmother, Mary at their kitchen island. “Everybody was interested in art; the art came first.”

During elementary school field trips, I'd often slip away to visit my grandfather in what I knew as his “office," a space purely dominated by what might be best described as an “organized clutter” of lightbulbs in all shapes and sizes. At the center of this hidden room stood an electric scissor lift that, to my small frame, seemed to stretch to the ceiling.

 "Winter Sunset," at French Park in Plymouth, Minn. by Karl Shapansky. This illustration, pictured above, was made just this year for the art book.

For many years, these instruments mirrored his graphite pencil and paper back in his home studio; he brought existing art to life through his natural eye for how light and shadow played together.

Despite years of mastering this delicate balance in gallery settings, Karl, however, would tell you his own artwork — characterized by detailed still lifes and realistic natural landscapes — was instrumental in developing his keen eye for lighting design.

“I was always concerned, even in my art, with light and shadows and that point where a shadow turns into light,” Karl said. “I always like that aspect of (art) and it just lent itself really well to lighting objects and doing lighting in galleries.”

Our shared artist book reflects these truths, as Karl illustrates vignettes of winter sunsets throughout French Park in their hometown — inspired by light coming through the treetops and dancing along the same trails he and my grandmother walk every week.

Upon receiving the art book at the end of this summer, each page acted as a time-stamp for the everyday occurrences which shape my grandfather’s identity and values in his family.

I was always concerned, even in my art, with light and shadows and that point where a shadow turns into light. -Karl Shapansky, former lighting director at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and grandfather to Evelyn

Above all, that family doesn't detract from creativity; it can be the very soil in which your motivation takes root and flourishes.

“To see my grandkids be involved in creative projects is always really exciting to me,” Karl said. “Your suggestion (to make) this book has really made me think about art in a different way.”

Evelyn Nelson, pictured above, sorts through recent photos on film to include in the art book, which she will send back to Karl for him to enjoy.

As Karl celebrates 10 years of retirement, his relationship to the museum and other creatives from his undergraduate career at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) are ever present in his life.

He continues to illustrate life’s hidden moments and share new works with close viewers within his creative network. “The ability to keep doing (art) is of interest to me. I don't think those feelings (to create) go away, you just need different reasons that spur you on,” he added.

I have no doubt Karl’s artistic legacy and network of creatives will continue to flourish — now through the eyes of our family — as we carry forward the tradition of our shared sketch and photo book.

As I prepare to return “the book,” back to my grandfather, I am filled with infinite gratitude. It is a privilege to document our lives with each new page and — like how light and shadow flow alongside one another — discover how our journeys will unfold, side-by-side.

This story is an extension of a previous Staff Note, published on May 29 by Volume One Magazine in issue no. 527. Read more from this year's “Journey Ahead” guide by visiting the webpage online.