Colourful paper bouquets, a Madonna statue, a small antique
wooden altar beautifully arranged on a table: the items drew
my attention while entering Zofia’s house. This tradition,
now almost forgotten, is called “Święty Kąt” (a “Saint Corner”).
Arranged in a corner of a main room, opposite a tiled stove,
it used to be the most significant part of the traditional, wooden
countryside house in Poland. In that corner, all families would gather to pray and
celebrate important moments. Nowadays, this tradition is dying out. Artist Zofia
still likes to arrange it in her house.
Such an experience is but one instance of the many things that have inspired my
story, which I would now like to share with you, as my adventure with naive and folk art
underpins my search for forgotten crafts and traditions.
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