Christine Jaksy has been an artist all of her life. Her imperative to creatively express is essential, a readily evident constant in all that she does. Before the camera as a model and actress, in competition as an elite athlete, in the digital realm of web/graphic design, Photography or on canvas as a painter she is always first the artist. The rushing current of her talent has been rerouted by illness. But the tributary that it cut flows with more force than the river from which it branched. Her talent now pools in the reservoir that is her photography, art and design. Although her work covers a span of thirty plus years there were interruptions where her talent was turned to other creative outlets. Outlets in which she became so accomplished that they also served as her sole means of support. Christine was a highly recruited scholarship basketball player at DePaul University in the late 70’s scoring more than one thousand points in her college career. In the 80’s she embarked on a modeling and acting career where she achieved success in London, Paris, New York, Chicago, and, by the mid 80’s Los Angeles for 20 years. Through it all she was a devoted and driven triathlete with a religious daily regimen of running, swimming, and biking in preparation for the several events in which she competed. In 1991Christine was cruelly, abruptly and rudely stripped of her health by Lupus. An insidious, cunning, auto-immune disease that brought with it the maladies that sometimes follow in its wake; Rheumatoid Arthritis, Raynaud’s Phenomenon, Fybromyalgia and Mixed Connective Tissue Disease. Painful lesions covered her from head to toe. Her joints stiffened and swelled to immobility, she lost blood flow in her digital arteries, punishing migraines emerged, and her lungs inflamed. The symptoms piled up on her with increasing momentum. The once kinetic actress, model, and athlete was incapacitated. Both her means of support and the vehicles through which she expressed her artistic vision had been taken from her. There is no cure for Lupus. Harsh, toxic medications are all that is available to treat its symptoms and help tolerate the debilitating pain, relentless fatigue, and occasional life-threatening bouts. As drastically as Lupus has impacted her life, it is not Christine Jaksy or the Christine Jaksy story. She functions at a higher level than the average person who doesn't battle physical maladies. Creative expression is still at the core of her being, just as it always has been. Christine Jaksy is an artist that has been forced to accept an illness as part of her daily life. The Christine Jaksy story is one of creative gifts that could not be silenced. A story of talent that could not be dimmed. Illness dictated that her creative energy be diverted. Now what she once would say behind a camera or in the power and grace of her athleticism she now says with shapes, colors, and images. A biography of Christine Jaksy would be woefully misleading and incomplete without mention of the sense of humor and irony she has maintained and indeed at times survived on. No dour soul is she. Her laugh is so infectious as to be very nearly viral. It is only rivaled by her kindness. Today she has a successful photography, web/graphic design business and works on her art from her home. Remarkably, she has also resumed her modeling and acting careers as well. It is through the insistence of those who have taken pleasure and found meaning in her work that she now shares it with a greater audience. Her illness never diminished her gifts, gifts for which she has been steadfastly and immeasurably grateful. Christine invites you to celebrate with her through her work. Don Lindberg, 2003

 

 

Headshot photography, portrait photography, fashion photography, real people photography, animal/dog

photography, nature/flowers/vines, leaves photography, model photography, actor photography, sports

photography, artistic photography, art, web design ,lifestyles photography, nature photography, digital art,

funny dogs, interesting people, artists, writers, musicians, models, actors. Amazing dogs. Dogs do funny

things. Nature is beautiful. Creating beautiful images and art with photography.