My Most Recent Project
A most recent project, of which I loved, involved a trip to India in 2018. I had been invited to showcase my work during the Bengaluru By Design Festival. My idea was to combine my Polish heritage with the incredible richness of Indian culture. I designed a giant
pajaki installation, inspired by the Kurpie tradition and the beautiful flower garlands local people hang at temples and their houses. Hundreds of metres of cotton thread have been threaded with peas and tiny white lilies, which I then decorated with fresh flowers instead of paper ones. Visiting a local flower market, I also chose to incorporate white and pale yellow chrysanthemum and orange marigold with lotus flowers. I acknowledge my installation was only a celebration of craft; but out of respect, I used fresh flowers so to acknowledge the passing time as soon the flowers would lose their colour and shape as they dried out.
I am very passionate about keeping the pajaki tradition alive. I so love teaching people about how to make them, and hosting workshops in my studio. Arguably, there might be more pajaki hanging in London’s houses than in Poland!
Creating beautiful Polish Pajaki Using Natural Materials
I am no longer worried that the pajaki craft will be forgotten. I am simply over the moon my book, Making Mobiles, was published. Never, in my dreams, would I have thought about such an event happening. This book sums up the many challenging years when I was trying to learn and develop pajaki designs, both traditional do-it-yourself (DIY) projects and contemporary ones which I include here.
An important part of the book for me are three stories about the artists Helena, Zofia and Józef, whom I met during my travels to Poland. Meeting artists who still make pajaki is an important part of my practice. Helena lives in my hometown Lublin. Her collection of
handmade paper Christmas decorations is amazing (another obsession of mine apart from pajaki), and she showed me some unusual pajaki shapes. Zofia represents the Kurpie region, and her paper flowers are so perfect. Józef, who lives in the Tatra Mountains and used to help his grandmother make paper decorations, creates very unique white hedgehog pompoms which I share in the book. Through them and their stories, I have learned a great deal about traditional folk art.
I hope my book will revive pajaki craft and introduce Polish folklore to a wider audience. I also hope readers find the book inspiring and try make their own designs. I would love to see them hanging in their new homes all around the world. I created a special #lovemakingmobiles hashtag; so, please share your projects with me.
Above
Fresh Flowers For Pajaki installation.
Opposite Page:
Pajaki Installation,
Bengaluru By Design Festival.
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