This is my new project: The Personalities - using old CD's, acrylics, seeds and other weird stuff. At the moment it is just a concept, I have lots of ideas and some of them will be soon more then only ideas .:-)) I have painted more then 100 CD's till now. Some of them incredible nice, unusual, dark, funny, ugly, beautiful, colourful, sunny, green, blue, white, yellow, red, orange, angry, happy, cheerful, thoughtful - our characters, our personalities.

I am happy to work with old CD's, I think we should try to use more and more rubbish to help our planet. A kind of recycling I guess.

The Personalities - installation, project, concept

The Sensation of Walking

I learned to walk and I have walked
And I still walk…
Do I actually understand
How fortunate I am?
I can walk!
I can walk without help
And I walk using my own two legs
No prostheses, no walking stick
No artificial supports at all
Just my intention and my legs
My brain and my legs.
Usually I don’t think
About this fact, I don’t feel
This truth in such a way every day.
But it just so happens
That I am thinking about it now.
It seems so natural - walking.
Except in those moments when I see
David with his two prosthetic legs
And when I visit Ela
Her legs haven't moved for 15 years.
Then I feel how lucky I am.
I know I am independent
No diabetes and no MS
No accidents, no wars,
No natural disasters
I walk, I run, I jump, and
I trample on my left foot with my right foot
I move my body without begging for help
I can run away,
I can walk out whenever I wish.
Just a black swan phenomenon and
The unpredictability of luck.
It is the sensation
Of my fortunate perfection.
I am walking.
These are my feet.

by Kasia B. Turajczyk

Dunchideock, January 2010

Preparation for my solo exhibtion at Galeria Forum, Lodz, Poland - September/ October - 2009
The name of my exhibition is "From Fruit till Fantasy"
In this video you will see my partner, my friends (at home with them), the gallery manager, the technical man of the gallery and pupils from one of the high school of Lodz (they were invited by the gallery manager to see my art).
The video was taken by Jim, the photos by me.

Sometimes it happens that I resume a painting that was supposed to be finished. I try to improve it, change it, overpaint it or add new things to it. After a few sessions the painting changes and sometimes something totally new arises. Most of the time it is a positive change, but it has happened before that I totally ruin my painting. Fortunately it doesn’t happen often!

The painting “when the demons are awakened” from the series My Brain tortured me so intensively that I had to change it. For comparison purposes I am publishing both the old and the new versions. In the new version I worked with more tricky colours and I added more crazy materials. It is more frantic and wilder. I think that the words “frantic” and maybe even "furious” could describe this new painting. What else should you expect when the demons are awakened?

My Brain when the demons are awakened - new

My brain when the demons are awakened - old

The World of vision through painting

by Karolina Jablonska (art curator & historian of art at the Modern Art Museum in Lodz)

Kasia Turajczyk belongs to the group of artists for whom art is a kind of sixth sense.
Apart from the fact that they see, hear, taste, smell and are sensitive to touch, they also create. Art for them is not only a cognitive instrument but also a kind of warehouse, inside which they collect experiences; first of all their own experiences, but they also gather the experiences of those near and dear, friends, neighbours and sometimes even enemies. Art also supports their mind; it is a kind of enclosure, within which it is possible to explain that which is impossible. Owing to such a comprehension of art, the creations of Kasia Turajczyk are extremely varied.

One of her forms of creation is painting, and a part of this work could be defined as realistic. In the case of these works of the artist it is not only the realism, but especially the atmosphere – in all of the paintings one can feel a kind of warmth. Not only because of the connection with the sun of southern Europe (visible in some of the landscapes); but also because of the connections with the emotions of the portrayed persons. Landscape paintings are for the artist a kind of specific notebook (diary) of voyages, records of the memories associated with a certain place – a country, a city or a street; it is a challenge for the artist to show the impressions, the atmosphere, of the places they were in. In these realistic works, the artist often uses bright colours, softly overlapping each other. There are some exceptions. One of these is a painting that came into being after a visit to the USA; ‘California Dream’. Although this painting is almost hyper-realistic, the street of San Francisco depicted therein seems entirely unrealistic. It is painted with a firm, courageously arranged colour scheme. An integral part is a red frame, designed by the artist herself. On the inside of the frame are inscriptions : California is a fine place to live if you happen to be an orange (Woody Allen). There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California (Edward Abbey). The inscriptions are an indication that among Kasia's interests you will not only find painting, but also literature.

The artist is currently writing a book. Its leading heroes are two creatures: Betelgeuse and Mintaka (kind of dragons), born in the nebula of the constellation of Orion. This literary-fantasy tale (as the artist herself calls it) is illustrated by Kasia herself, and contains a multitude of cultural and civilizing forces - well known themes and plots, real as well as imaginary, all mixed together; everything is possible, and this makes the story more interesting.

Among Kasia’s paintings are some which one would not immediately connect with fantasy. However because the composition of some elements cannot be found in the real world, these paintings bring to mind thoughts about surrealism. An example of such a work is Panta Rhei – fairly economical in form, it depicts a seaside landscape with a flying Pelican, projecting a shadow on the sand and there are also wide open doors hanging over the beach. Such paintings show restlessness and tension very clearly; which could be caused by the diversity and variety of the possibile associations which every observer can find inside oneself, dependent upon ones own experience and sensitivity.

Nature is a very important part of the artist’s creation. Nature is not only very important in Kasia’s life and in Kasia’s world as a source of beauty and inspiration but also as a source of painting material. Kasia uses in her work leaves, petals, filaments, fruits, small stems from trees, bushes, flowers, weeds, feathers of birds. In some of her abstract paintings she also uses couscous, rice, diverse seeds, grasses and bay leaves. Because of that, she has achieved some very interesting structural effects. But more important than this is the fact that because of using these natural materials she builds a bridge between the so often hermetic world of art (for example the limitation of frames ), and the reality that surrounds us. Again the art helps her ‘to manage’ her fascination with the world. Being surrounded by nature Kasia wants to know it, touch it, analyse it, see how it changes in time, and because she thinks visually, she also uses it in her art.

Kasia Turajczyk is an attentive observer of the world and people, and she demands the same from her audience. Her work “Freedom of thinking, freedom of choice” is a installation consisting of 6 small canvasses. The owner of the installation (the 6 panels) has the freedom to make a choice not only about where to hang the installation, but also how to hang it by composing the 6 small paintings according to their own feelings, character and their own discretion. Maybe the artist will in the near future develop this way of thinking about the process of creating art and will attempt such a work at an exhibition in order to make it possible for the recipients to work with the artist together during the process of seeing/visualising? The likelihood of this happening appears to be good considering that during her exhibition at the Gallery Forum in Lodz Kasia prepared stickers in three colours each indicating: the favourite painting, the second best painting and the third most liked painting and then she asked the guests to mark the paintings according to their own criteria. Due to such an artistic concept the artist showed that art for her is another way of communicating with the world and with people. Art for her is an additional sense, exceptional because it reacts to very different stimuli, and that makes her art so varied and rich, yet always honest.

From Fruit till Fantasy - Art Exhibition

Winter in Dunchideock by Kasia Turajczyk, acrylic on board - 2010

Autumn in Dunchideock by Kasia B. Turajczyk

I present my new fantasy abstract paintings from the series Four Seasons. (N.B. it has nothing to do with The Four Seasons of Vivaldi; however I love his four violin concertos, especially when listening to them in Venice - the perfect place, with an exciting past and a unique atmosphere)

I painted "Autumn in Dunchideock” first, without the intention of it being a part of a series. But yesterday I painted “Winter in Dunchideock” and now I am sure that Spring and Summer will follow.
In both paintings I used acrylics plus lots of weird materials. It is a real pleasure to experiment with seeds, plants, flowers and wax mixed with acrylics.

The autumn was the most colourful time, maybe still dominated by green (it is always green here) but also full of warm nuances of red, brown, yellow, blue and purple colures.

The winter is greenish- brownish-dark, somehow cool, and from time to time snow-white or frost-white.

I am wondering what will happen with the magnolia trees. At one point in December the Magnolias were in full bud. I hope they will survive the cold days and the frost at night. I love to watch them when they are in bloom. They look like Russian princesses from the Russian folk fairy tales. That just gave me an idea for a new fantastic painting: homage to the Great Russian painter Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vrubel + Magnolia tree + Snow Queen.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

I love this time of the year. I know lots of people think it is nonsense and commercial and only about money, food, drink, and presents and this kind of stuff.

For me Christmas means hope for us. I always become very hopeful for our species (normally I am not), more positive, more optimistic in this time of the year. It is just for a very short time but it keeps me going for the next year.

And I love decorating the Christmas Tree (a very old pagan tradition), probably it is very silly, but I just find it irresistible.
Again, Merry Christmas and a really peaceful 2010 (no war!) for this planet.

Here is a special message from Mintaka with a really funny mixed media art work.

My name is Mintaka. I am stranger here; I was born in the Nebula of Orion.

Your species is dominant, but weird. The only time in the long calendar of the year when you are kind, forgiving, charitable and pleasant for each other is the Christmas time. It is the only time when “men and women open their shut-up hearts freely”. (One of your famous writers pointed this out a long time ago).

I am not sure I understand that. Why don’t you behave in such a way on all the other days of the year? I am watching you and waiting to see you brave and beautiful. Maybe one day….

Mintaka Meditating on the Meaning of Christmas

I have always been fascinated by the phenomenon of the human BRAIN, including my own brain…… to see the whole article please, visit "My brain - part I"

My brain, my chaotic brain inspired me to make these, I think really good, paintings. The series is called "My Brain" of course.

They are 7 paintings all together (until today at least). I am very proud to present them here. I have divided them into two posts. (My Brain part I and My Brain part II).

Six of them are highly abstract; only one of them is highly illustrative, although with some accents of weirdness. To make the collages I have used lots of stuff. The basis for te six abstract paintings are juices from beetroot, blueberry and a few mixed-leaves and beyond that in some of the paintings there are also acrylics.

In the painting ‘My Brain the Day After’ you can even find a piece of a real beetroot. In the painting “I Am Just OK” and "When the noises have gone away" I only used beetroot juice (first cooked together with some vinegar).“After the Third Glass of Champagne” has been made using blueberry juice (based on vinegar) and beetroot juice and some red vinegar.

The portrait of “Jim emptying his glass of wine and then making the world bleed” is painted with oil paints and finished with beetroot juice and nuggets of coco flakes.

When I am thinking about nice things - 51cm x 60cm

My brain when I see you suffering - 60cm x 51cm

My brain when I am just OK - 71cm x 61cm

My brain when the demons are awaken - 51cm x 76cm

mI have always been fascinated by the phenomenon of the human BRAIN, including my own brain.
The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. It produces our every thought, action, memory, feeling and experience of the world. This jelly-like mass of tissue, weighing in at around 1.4 kilograms, contains a staggering one hundred billion nerve cells, or neurons.

The complexity of the connectivity between these cells is mind-boggling. Each neuron can make contact with thousands or even tens of thousands of others, via tiny structures called synapses. Our brains form a million new connections every second of our lives. The pattern and strength of the connections is constantly changing and no two brains are alike. And if you thought that your brain is highly organised, ordered, logical and it has everything under control you are wrong. You are wrong! In reality, your brain operates on the edge of chaos, very often.

(From New Scientist)

At least my brain does. I am a great example of it, par excellence! I was really glad when one day I found this article in New Scientist (01 April 2009) with the title “Our complex brains thrive on the edge of chaos”. My whole life I have had a chaotic mind: with millions of ideas, inconsistencies, weirdities; thousands of times a second; with several things happening simultaneously; never able to relax my brain; never able to stop my brain thinking (not even when asleep). Often I thought I am not normal, my brain is not normal. Until I read this: “CHAOTIC thinking is rarely a recipe for success, but evidence is emerging that operating at the edge of chaos may drive our brain's astonishing capabilities”
And this (from New Scientist too)

HAVE you ever experienced that eerie feeling of a thought popping into your head as if from nowhere, with no clue as to why you had that particular idea at that particular time? You may think that such fleeting thoughts, however random they seem, must be the product of predictable and rational processes. After all, the brain cannot be random, can it? Surely it processes information using ordered, logical operations, like a powerful computer? Actually, no. In reality, your brain operates on the edge of chaos. Though much of the time it runs in an orderly and stable way, every now and again it suddenly and unpredictably lurches into a blizzard of noise. Neuroscientists have long suspected as much. Only recently, however, have they come up with proof that brains work this way. (New Scientist; 29 June 2009 by David Robson)

Once I went to my GP and told her that I am sure that my brain is making noises, noises I can hear. She looked at me and asked if there was a history of mental diseases in my family and told me that I am mad because the brain doesn’t make noises and can’t make noises. She was just as stupid as a mediocre doctor can be, a person without imagination of course. But in the end I was right of course, here is the evidence. Brain 'Noise' increases With age like the wavy lines and snowy static that dance across old TV screens, your brain generates noise (07 July 2008, New Scientist). Isn’t it great, the best machine in the world, maybe only in our world, our small earthly world, is random and needs and makes and generates noises. Great!

My brain, my chaotic brain inspired me to make these, I think really good, paintings.

The series is called "My Brain" of course.

They are 7 paintings all together (until today at least). I am very proud to present them here. I have divided them into two posts. (My Brain part I and My Brain part II).

Six of them are highly abstract; only one of them is highly illustrative, although with some accents of weirdness. To make the collages I have used lots of weird stuff. The basis for the six abstract paintings are juices from beetroot, blueberry and a few mixed-leaves and beyond that in some of the paintings there are also acrylics.

In the painting ‘My Brain the Day After’ you can even find a piece of a real beetroot. In the painting “I Am Just OK” I only used beetroot juice (first cooked together with some vinegar).

“After the Third Glass of Champagne” has been made using blueberry juice (based on vinegar) and beetroot juice and some red vinegar.

The portrait of “Jim emptying his glass of wine and then making the world bleed” is painted with oil paints and finished with beetroot juice and nuggets of coco flakes.

In the night when I can't sleep

When I am wondering about homo imbibens after my 3 glass of champagne

My brain the day after - 90 cm x 90 cm

My brain series part II