Our interview starts with Ryan proclaiming, “I love not normal!” And that is how his career as a lamp maker began. He was renovating a bedroom and absolutely could not find a lamp that wasn’t gray and/or white, and completely conventional in form and function. On a whim he decided to make his own, so he contacted an electrician friend and a seamstress friend for advice and he created his first lamp, naming her Elanor. Today she resides in splendour in the gorgeous home he shares with his husband Alain Bouchard.
Ten years later and more than 140 lamps created, Ryan is now the happy proprietor of an intriguing art gallery titled Kwiat Designs Artistic Lighting & Art House. Located at 7 Drummond Street at the centre of the charming village of Newboro, his shop is adjacent to the couple’s historically significant slate-roofed home. Their former “Gallagher House” is the reputed winner of an 1886 contest between J. T. Gallagher and John Poole Tett to see who could build the tallest house in Newboro.
But first, his lamps. Each one is a unique and absolutely unconventional creation, complete with a name and a poem. Even he has no idea where the inspirations come from. Ryan creates at night, usually working from 10pm to 3 or 4am, and up again by 7 or 8. His workshop at the back of the gallery is neatly organized with bolts of fabric and various lampshade skeletons and a wide selection of potential bases, each eagerly awaiting its turn at emerging as a very abnormal and totally irresistible lamp.
The range of Kwiatkowski’s creative ingenuity is definitely not conventional — playful and original, yes; but not normal. Some are ultra-modern, others are completely new takes on shapes and styles from every period, from Renaissance to Art Nouveau to Art Kwiatkowski. His use of colour is as original as his designs. Turquoise and gold and amber and black, yes. White or gray, no! His muse is capricious; with each lamp a character takes shape and acquires a name accompanied by a card offering a poem — another unusual touch.
Lamps are his calling, but Ryan has always been both an artist and a writer. His gallery is replete with examples of his equally unconventional abstract art, ranging from the exquisite to the macabre. Some have an Indigenous feel to them; some are the byproduct of a disturbing dream. The Art Shop also features the works of several other area artists, both established and emerging, and Ryan looks forward to discovering and showcasing new artistic talent. Current participants are featured at kwiatdesigns.com/arthouse.
Kwiatkowski is fast to credit other members of the Ottawa Valley art scene with his emergence as the Lamp Guy and gallery owner less than a decade after building his first lamp. Artist Jamie Brick and his wife Annette nurtured and encouraged and strengthened his belief in himself. Tellingly, Jamie’s extraordinary art is well represented at the Art House, and Ryan is participating in Jamie’s upcoming Fantasy in the Forest Art Show (see details on the back of Ryan’s Artist Trading Card at the top of this page). And the support and encouragement he received from both the O’Connor Gallery in Gananoque and MonSky Creations in Merrickville played a huge role in his eventual conviction that his lamps are very special and deserve their own showcase.
Survival Became the Medium
At the age of seventeen, Ryan’s fight or flight kicked in. Growing up gay in Arnprior in the late 90’s he was surrounded by closed-minded people and mockery. The final straw was a teacher who made fun of him on the first day of Grade 10. He fled to Montreal and embarked on more than a decade devoted to survival. He did a stint in New Jersey and NYC as a songwriter, as well as doing odd jobs, but eventually life returned him back to Arnprior.
He credits his grandparents with his survival as a person and as an artist. On his website he writes, “I was lucky enough to have some very strong people in my life who encouraged expression and freedom of thought… As a young child, I was taught the techniques to sketch, write, dance, or do anything that allowed my mind to project itself into something physical…” His maternal grandmother taught folk art, and her encouragement of his art sustained him. She also gifted him his favourite piece of artistic advice: “Safety nets are for swimming, not for life — especially not for art!”
His paternal grandmother inspired him and his sister Andrea to cook. As he puts it, “Anything she did at a stove was a culinary adventure.” She taught Ryan and Andrea a valuable lesson in both cooking and in life in general — don’t settle for face value — try it; experiment! Today some of her traditional family recipes as well as new versions are on sale at Ryan’s Art House by the team that makes up 2u 4u from Us — Ryan, Andrea and Alain. Current stock includes items like Vanilla Bean Raspberry Jam and Ass Blastin’ Burger Topper.
Back in Arnprior, Ryan taught himself how to design and build websites and started a freelance business. The turning point in his life was a chance encounter via an online chat when he connected with Alain who was working in Ottawa for the Canada Border Services Agency. A month later they bought a dog together, have been partners for 23 years and married for seventeen. They are in the throes of completely renovating their stunning heritage home, and their landscaping already features 54 varieties of spectacular roses.
It’s probably not surprising that Ryan’s creativity reflects his life — all over the map, unpredictable, incredibly original, optimistic, with a touch of the macabre and occasional nightmarish influences. This artist was well advised by his grandmother: “Safety nets are for swimming, not for life — especially not for art!”
