@Bank of Books Ventura - Gosta Iwasiuk "Muses and Inspirations"

About the Book

Creating art is something very personal and unique to every artist. It is also a gift that is not explainable. How is it that some people can make something out of stone or clay, or put oil pigment on a piece of linen to look like a tree or flower or a person, and another individual can’t draw a straight line? One can learn how to do it up to a point, beyond which it is left to the mysteries of DNA that takes over to create the masterpiece. Humans have dabbled with creativity for 60,000 years, decorating cave walls and their own skins. There is an inexplicable drive to adorn oneself and one’s surroundings. Both my father and I have this drive. He has the greater talent in the two dimensions, while I have the need to express myself in all three dimensions. However, we both can do both. This book has a collection of some of our works spanning nearly a century. Some works are esthetic, some are thought-provoking, while some record a historical event or person. The purpose of art is to delight, amaze, and at times inform. Personally, it has also helped me deal with the horrors of Putin’s War. Looking at art lifts my spirit and gives me hope that we are still a civilized society. Two Ukrainian artists want to share these gifts with you and hope they also give you hope!

About the Author

Gősta W. Iwasiuk MD, FACS was born in Linz, Austria.  He grew up in Peoria, Illinois, where he graduated from High School as Valedictorian. Pre-med education was at Bradley University, Medical School at the University of Illinois, but finished at UCLA, graduating with honors and being inducted into AOA, the honorary medical fraternity. Internship was at LA County USC Medical Center. He trained as a General Practitioner but then took a Surgery Residency. He served two years in the Air Force during the Vietnam era, attaining Major's rank. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons and served as a Southern California Chapter board member. He also served as President of the Ventura County Medical Society and Chief of Staff of Santa Paula Memorial Hospital and Ventura County Medical Center. He founded a Surgery Residency and served as Professor and Program Director. His professional interests are the gamut of General Surgery with special interests in Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgery. His hobbies include skiing, biking, sculpting, and writing non-fiction. This is his 11th book.   He and his wife reside in Southern California on his Citrus and Avocado ranch. He has written 11 books: Tales of a Country Surgeon, autobiographical; Vladimir’s Visions, a collection of artworks; The Jesus Gene, a critique of religion; What I still want to Say, a collection of essays; Tales of My Home Town, a unique view into World War II; Race is it Real, a monograph on race and racism by a scientist; We Stand on the Shoulders of Giants, a brief history of Surgery; What I Forgot to Say, more essays; What I Still Want to Say, yet still more essays; Covid 19, the perspective of a pandemic of a physician; Muses and Inspirations, the artwork of two Ukrainians – father and son. He has one daughter, a son-in-law, and two grandchildren who all help him on his ranch growing lemons and avocados.