Text Box: A successful Artist and model from a family of Hollywood heavyweights, Inga Ojala has always simply considered herself an artist. Whether its creating one-of-a-kind murals or displaying her skills at faux finishing, Ms. Ojala admits her greatest love is art – and her outlet is the latest in a plethora of ventures, Art by Inga, which she operates out of her home. “Art is my true love,” said Ms. Ojala, a divorced mother of a daughter, Sammantha, and daughter of legendary Hollywood gunslinger Arvo Ojala and actress/model Doris Naga Sevensen. “I’m happiest when I’m painting,” she added. “ And I love working with children. What I want is for people to touch my murals. Children love to touch, that’s how they learn. When I create art, I want it to be there to not only add to the beauty of a room but also offer some happiness to those who see it.” Ms. Ojala was born in Seattle, Wash., and is of Finnish and Norwegian decent. With her parents among the elite of Tinstletown, she was thrust into the business as a toddler, doing commercials with her sister for Wonder Bread as well as having her face on the Northern toilet tissue packages. For those who do not know, Ms. Ojala’s father, Arvo, is a world-renowned gunslinger, working with such luminaries as Paul Newman, James Garner, James Arness, Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, and Mari Blanchard (to name only a few of those he trained in the art of gun slinging). But perhaps he is most famous for his work in front of as well as behind the scenes of one of the greatest television Westerns, Gunsmoke. Mr. Ojala is the man who challenges Marshall Dillon in the opening sequence of each episode. “So many people recognize my father; he is a legend in Hollywood. “Acting was simply a part of life,” she said about her decision to get into “the business.” “It’s just what you did. If it wasn’t films, I was working with my father in his gun holster company helping make holsters.” As part of her role in her father’s company, Ms. Ojala would create her own unique designs on the leather with engraving. But art was not her only skill. Ms. Ojala is also an stuntwoman, using her talents as a motocross rider horseback rider and expert marksman.. She’s also pretty handy with a bullwhip, when she was a stunt gal on ‘No Mans Land.’ In all, Ms. Ojala has been in many films – including parts in The Wild Life, The Man with Two Brains, Protocol, Pretty in Pink, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High – and television programs, such as ‘Love Boat’ and ‘Fantasy Island’ and Art Director and motocross stunts in ‘Punk Vacation.’ But in the midst of this hectic acting career remains her great love of art, which led to create Norfinn Designs, in which she can display her talents in creating murals, faux finishes, scrimshaw, leather engraving, fresco and trompe l’oeil as well as teach art classes to pass on her skills to all ages. Ms. Ojala’s work can be seen in not only commercial establishments but also residential homes, she transformed a 30-foot wall in a child’s room into a scene from the 2000 Subway Series between the New York Yankees and New York Mets. Helen Keller Middle School she is presently working on a 40-foot mural of the history of Connecticut and many more throughout the United States. “I started at the age of 5, putting drawings on my bedroom walls with crayons,” Ms. Ojala recalled. “When I was in school, I was selling my drawings to my classmates for 25 cents each. “Overall, I’ve been creating murals and other fine artwork for many years, whether it’s kid’s rooms, restaurants or schools, it doesn’t matter as long as I am creating,” she added. You can see more of Inga’s art work on her website: wwwIngaOjala.net