"If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"
— J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan)
The painting “For Lesiu Orzesiu” is atypical for me at this moment. I used to paint in this way when I was 14 -16 years old. It was in the era when I first discovered oil paints and canvasses. My first oil painting, which I still have, presents Pinocchio, a toy made in Russia. I got it from Christopher, when I was 15 years old. I still have my Russian Pinocchio, unfortunately, he is missing his nose. The nose became detached somewhere, somehow, at some point during our joint trips. Pinocchio is made from plastic (such a very hard plastic) and is wearing knit wear made by me. I took him everywhere with me; we travelled together through almost the whole of Europe and some other parts of the world.
Heaven and hell have first of all a symbolic meaning for me. I was born into a family with Catholic traditions (with the exception of a few atheists and one Buddhist). I was born in a country where for many being Catholic is the status quo. For various individuals in Poland being a part of the Roman Catholic family is a criterion of being Polish too. If I was born in India in a Buddhist family hell and heaven would be for me just abstract, meaningless words.
The story of mouse, thatched cottage and Dunchideock by Kasia Turajczyk
A mouse (plural mice) is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse is of course the common house mouse. But in a case of Lyalls Cottage, the common species are the field mice. They have stood with us in the autumn and winter time and they are visiting us on regular bases every day in the spring, at the moment. Our mice are very keen on expensive chocolate. They also like very much my paintings, especially the ones which contain seeds. Often they are very timid face to face, but not always.
Since mice could be a perfect companion pets I don’t understand why some are so afraid for them. They can be playful, loving and can grow used to being handled. But I admit I didn’t try it with our field mice, no time for it.
From the Personalities series are the two new installations “Who is Who?” and “Broken Curriculum”.
It is really fun to use old CDs, seeds, some recycled materials and combine them with acrylics. The limited space on the old CD’s and the same form all the time forces me to be very creative with the colours and to think in a different way than usual when I am using canvas.
A new version of the collage "The Family". This work is a part of a big installation entitled Personalities. It is created from CD's, acrylics and recycled material. A weird stuff. It is a great pleasure to create/ paint/ make this project real and alive.
My perception about the subject “mice and high culture” changed dramatically after the most recent event in my studio. I didn’t expect that a rodent would appreciate art! You see…..I was wrong. They do.
One of the agreements from the Four Agreements by Jose Ruiz says ‘do not make assumptions”. How true. I did not expect that mice would love art; my paintings particularly. Perhaps I shouldn’t have used so many tasty seeds? This painting (see the image) has been eaten by mice (I assume so, I hope that we have only mice here and no rats!). I assume that they were mice, I don’t expect bats or spiders would eat my painting, maybe I am wrong?
This is my new painting from the series 'The Personalities'. The title is ‘The Family’. Maybe I will bring some changes into it the next few days……I am not sure of it is ready or not.
It hurts me when I think about Haiti.
Every time when I think about the past of Haiti I get very angry .
Tragedy, love, blood, voodoo, anger, bloody history, freedom, colonialism, slavery, plunder, natural disaster and hope.
Lots of weird stuff in my painting.
I hope for better future for Haiti.
A radical shift in awareness, values,
and behaviour is required to meet the bright future.
The painting is 3D, it is acrylic + lots of impossible things; 114 h. cm x 74 b. cm
The money I will raise will go to Haiti.
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 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.
