Born in 1937 in Bełżec. Studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław (class of Professor Julia Kotarbińska). Artistic director and designer-in-residence at the Co-operative of Art Ceramics “Ceramika Artystyczna” in Bolesławiec.
His works have been presented at 16 individual exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions in Poland and abroad. He has participated in workshops and symposia in Boleslawiec, La Borne, Duchcov, Karlove Vary, Wałbrzych and Vilnius, winning prizes at many national and International competitions:
* International Ceramic Triennale, Sopot,
1970 – Honorable Mention,
1991 – Grand Prix,
* National Ceramic Biennale, Walbrzych:
Honorable Mention 1979,
2nd Prize 1983,
3rd Prize 1985,
1st Prize 1987
* Contemporary Polish Ceramics, Industrial Design Institute, Warsaw: 1st Prize 1990
* Award of Lower Silesian Press 1984
* “Design-of-the-Year” Award of the Minister of Industry and Trade 1996
* Ambiente International Fair, Frankfurt, 1st Prize for a wedding table arrangement 1999.
* Honourable at the 3-rd International Biennal Exhibition of the Contemporare Mosaic – Contemporary Ceramic Museum, Buenos Aires, Argentina 2007
His works are in the National Museums in Warsaw, Wroclaw, Szczecin, Poznań, Gdansk and Bielsko-Biala, Ceramics Museum in Boleslawiec, Museum of Upper Silesia in Bytom, Museum in Gliwice, District Museum in Jelenia Gora, Museum of Copper in Legnica, Everson Museum in Syracuse (USA).
Mariusz Ochocki – Designer of Forms
Born in 1962 in Bolesławiec. Graduated from Academy of Arts in Wrocław in prof. Feliks Kocianowski’s studio. He has been connected with the Artistic handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1991.
“I have been always accompanied by ceramic. Since my father used to work as ceramic technician and he had worked at the ceramic for 33 years I got in touch with ceramic products when I was a child. I have had many opportunities to watch how different assortments are made from being formed till being burnt. I was mostly impressed by annual Sculpture Ceramic Meetings. They were the source of inspiration possibility to meet many artists and the way to get to know different plastic technics. It made me sure to study at the Academy of Arts in Wrocław. After graduating I returned to Bolesławiec and I took a job at Ceramika Artystyczna as a designer of forms. The necessity to wide patterns made me search for new shapes and their usefulness. I’m trying to give my patterns individual character and to make them recognizable through common features. My desire is constant enrichment and giving variety to patterns of the Cooperative, therefore I have been satisfied with all my results so far.”
Anna Pasierbiewicz
“My first attempts at creating decorative patterns involved color deposit glazings. Then I started making stamped patterns cut from a sponge. In 1988 I obtained a diploma of “Handicrafter Artist” awarded by the Commission of Artistic Opinions (Komisja Ocen Artystycznych) in Warsaw. The poor market offer and ideas hidden in me made me initiate in 1992 an auteur workshop of unique items. I was inspired not only by the need to create new patterns but also enrich the pattern-designing with stamp and painting combinations. Owing to this enterprise the Cooperative has recruited a number of lovers of unique decorations.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1970. Since 1992 she has been a pattern designer.
Barbara Fidelus
“ I am receptive to the beauty of forms, scents and colors. I receive the richness of the world by means of senses, and transfer it to my patterns. I like everything that breaks the monotony of existence. I try to live in agreement with nature and this is why it often inspires me. There is a kind of softness in nature, which is not alien to me. l am a supporter of combining floral motives with geometric ones.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1988. Since 1994 she has been a pattern designer.
Jacek Chyła
“There are plenty of possibilities. They are practically unlimited – they are within us and beyond us.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1986. Since 1994 he has been a pattern designer.
Maria Ciszewska
“ Two elements have become inspiration for me: a circle and a dot. These are the oldest symbols in human’s culture. It is the invention of the wheel that caused such a rapid drive to improve human life. On the other hand, a dot is not only a single mark or its thickness; it is the greatness in the wholeness and the wholeness in the greatness. The combination of two elements: the circle and the dot, gives plenty possibilities when creating different patterns. Dots which permeate one another from the smallest to the largest – or dots of the same size make an interesting decorative element. On the other hand, circles of the same size framed with a narrow or wide cobalt strip allow it to underline the clearness and beauty of the form. I have not used up this arrangement yet. Artistic possibilities incessantly inspire me to show new relations and combinations.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1981. Since 1994 she has been a pattern designer.
Teresa Liana
“I start the process of decoration with drawing and cutting fine stamps. Decorating with stamps combined with applying a wide range of paints allows it to create extremely interesting ornaments and give ordinary vessels decorative qualities. Most willingly I reach for plant motives that can be arranged in colorful decorations again and again. Baking, which is a many-hour process, is impatient waiting for the final result, but also it is time for reviewing the current achievements.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1983. A pattern designer since 1992.
Ewa Tubaj
“In my designs I reach for current trends in decorating interiors. My aim is to create decoration that is simple, but I do not refrain from using quite complicated patterns. My work is largely based on a paradox: on the one hand I try not to forget about the old tradition of Bolesławiec pottery, but on the other hand I do not abstain from innovative ideas. In my patterns I use plant and floral motives, and I use my imagination to create unique elements that blend into a uniform composition. Creating new decorations makes me feel great joy; I love playing with stamps and patterns, and looking at my decoration when it is finished. I feel even more happy when my customers are satisfied and buy products decorated by me.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1990. Since 1995 she has been a pattern designer.
Maria Iwicka
“I was raised in the love of Polish literature and history of art. In such an atmosphere there develops the sensitivity to beauty and curiosity about the world. Dear to me are both Impressionism with its ephemerality of feelings and Art Nouveau with its anxiety and asymmetry. I think that designing and searching for new, universal decorations for different works of pottery is a commercial form of taking from the heritage of Young Poland, a trend in the Polish literature of the turn of the 20th century in which the border between art and craft was obliterated. What I find inspiring is the ability to operate with the color and the richness of decoration techniques to give daily-use pottery vessels beautiful and unique motives that refer to the tradition and original designing ideas.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1981. A pattern designer since 1993.
Jolanta Okraska
“My patterns are inspired by plant and Christmas motives, framed with squares, zigzags, circles and dots.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” slice 1983. Since 1995 she has been a pattern designer.
Zofia Spychalska
“When designing new ornaments I use elements from my everyday life and passions. I am a mother of small children and am fascinated by their wonderfully naive and fabulous world. I also feel great in such a setting, so I am inspired by children’s literature as well as drawings and situations observed when we play together or go for a walk. Traveling also gives me a number of stimuli for being creative. When I travel I admire the architecture and watch different residential interiors, knowing that vessels decorated by me will eventually land in them.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1989. Since 1997 she has been a pattern designer.
Weronika Buldańczyk
“In my work as a pattern designer I find most inspiration in the incessant combination of the tradition and the novelty. After all stoneware is a material of strictly defined decoration canons. However, what I find interesting is enriching traditional patterns with modern motives for this may result in a truly original and unique decoration.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1993, whereas since 1997 she has been a pat-tern designer.
Ewa Karbownik
“Artistic inspirations originate from the imagination. It is an enormous force that people have hidden in them. Owing to imagination people can develop their sensitivity and ability to see beauty in the world. Ali you need to do is yield and the artistic process be-gins automatically. Another key moment is transferring your imagined world to a given material. Skills and experience are indispensable then. Both the imagination and the technique require incessant self-development.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1980, whereas since 1994 she has been a pat-tern designer.
Janina Pałka
“The most beautiful season is spring that wakens all plants back to life and dresses nature in colors. It is the source of my inspiration.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1989, whereas since 1994 she has been a pattern designer.
Krystyna Deptuła
“My ideas are often born outside my work, i.e. in different places where normal life is going on. Very helpful are my manual skills, sense of humor and the neverending desire to learn something new. At times I watch nature on a beautiful day, add some imagination, and my mind triggers combining a flower with a flower, a bud or a leaf. This is the beginning. Then the idea has to be transferred to pottery and stamps must be added to complete the picture this is how a pattern is born. And while working on a pattern, I already see what I can add or take away in the next one. I like designing patterns for individual people, and the fact that I know my works appeal to people in the world lends wings to me.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1991. Since 1997 she has been a pattern designer.
Irena Mączka
“I have authored a number of unique and traditional decorations. Nevertheless, my work is an incessant exploration for new, increasingly better and more innovative patterns. I master old ideas as well. Decorative motives are usually composed of elements prompted by my surrounding. Thus, they are geometrical figures, fanciful arrangements or invented ornaments. Obviously, the main motive is stylized flowers arranged in different types of garlands. The work gives me a lot of pleasure and satisfaction, and slice I am aware of the fact that products manufactured in Bolesławiec are sold all over the world I am even more willing to struggle with the craft of pottery and ceramics.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1990, whereas since 1997 she has been a pattern designer.
Maria Starzyk
“My first patterns were often random combinations of geometric and floral motives. In time, however, and as I became more experienced, they have become elaborately stylized. The chief and recurring motive in my works is a floral border. Colors are prompted by my imagination, and the rest is inspired by the beauty of nature.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1995, whereas since 1997 she has been a pattern designer.
Barbara Makieła
“I’ve lived surrounded by woods, gardens, meadows and fields since my childhood. I watch the nature awaking back to life in summer, its blooming in spring, its picturesque colorfulness in fall, and its characteristic white dress in winter. I’ve always liked watching and picking flowers as well as other nature-made decorative objects to use them for bouquets and colorful compositions. Nature enchants me with its beauty and diversity, whereas the richness of its forms and hues inspires me to create patterns with plant motives.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1989. A pattern designer since 2002.
Lucyna Lenkiewicz
“It is my desire that the entire process of creating decorations should be an incessant joy of self-development, i.e. self-expression in designing patterns, motives and seal arrangements. I love experiments that lead me to new experiences every now and again. What I do is watching the world around me and trying to immortalize its fragments on pottery surfaces.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1998. Since 2002 she has been a pattern designer.
Danuta Knapik
“For me the art of decorating pottery vessels is a chance for moving to the land of my childhood spent in the truly wonderful Polish countryside. This experience has influenced my whole life. I have become receptive to the beauty of nature, and the close communion with nature has provoked me to deal with art.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1997, whereas since 2003 she has been a pattern designer.
Krystyna Dacyszyn
“I create decorations with great passion and involvement. Some of my patterns reflect rural countryside, meadows, flowers, and landscapes mat are extremely dear to me. However, I do not try to imitate the reality verbatim; in-stead I take care to make every detail of my painted decorations filter through myself. Only then I can obtain a result which I find completely satisfactory.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1990. A pattern designer since 2002.
Zofia Supernak
“Patterns I design flow from the nature teeming with life that surrounds me, its beauty and unaffectedness. But the greatest impulse for creating new auteur ideas comes from my grandchildren. Their play in the garden in summer, walking with them in the forest in fall, fairytales I read to them in the long winter evenings all this can inspire me in a very special way to work art and create fanciful compositions.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1990, whereas since 2004 she has been a pattern designer
Honorata Kędzierska
“Pottery from Bolesławiec refers to the long-term local tradition of hand-stamped patterns in the form of peacock’s eyes. While watching old decorations I came to the conclusion that they should be enriched. My patterns result from my interests in nature and the fact that I commune with it. When creating decorations I can fully use my skills and interests and feel full satisfaction from my artistic work.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1987, whereas since 2002 she has been a pattern designer.
Teresa Andrukiewicz
“My artistic inspiration stems mainly from watching nature, whereas my imagination allows me to arrange green twigs and colorful flowers in various forms. Ali projects are born suddenly and unexpectedly. They can be stimulated by practically everything from a decorative plant to a beautiful landscape. Artistic activity requires freedom, but pottery, as the material, has certain limits. A good designer is able to realize their free vision in a clear, specific and concrete manner. This is the ideal I am striving to attain.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1996. Since 2001 she has been a pattern designer.
Kinga Niziałek
“One picture or symbol means more than a thousand words. This is why my patterns are transparent and simple, based on the rule of reflecting reality. Since I serve meals in pottery myself, I hate when a dish becomes pale and weak in an overly painted vessel. The food and the vessel should be complementary. So, it is my surrounding that I use as inspiration for creating new patterns: a leaf on the street, sunflowers in the field, or a cloud drifting through the skies. In a pottery dish or a bowl I attempt to preserve a passing moment or impressions. Nature is an inexhaustible source of inspiration and memorable feelings. Swans floating in water or two lovers in a park are a perfect reference to the works of the largest ceramics and pottery manufacturers. Yet not everybody likes rich patterns or floral motives. So, in order to satisfy those who prefer simplicity, I use geometrical patterns in my works too.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 2001. Since 2003 she has been a pattern designer.
Anna Fryc
“The nature and human’s life have been shown on the pottery. Free collocations of colours and shapes of plant and the harmony between them have been helping me to create decorations. The ability of matching the pattern to the sizes and the shapes of the form is of great importance.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1991. Since 1998 she has been a pattern designer.
Agnieszka Damian
“ ‘Art. Is the supplement of nature’ – Novalis The wealth of nature cannot be measured nor copied. Only tiny fragments of it can we try to transfer on ceramic. In my pieces of work I have been trying to expose nature in many different ways – realistically or through schemes. Never am I sure if they are completed.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1996. Since 2002 she has been a pattern designer.
Teresa Nakonieczna
“I have been interested in art since I was a child. I used to watch the paintings of old masters and modern paintings and also graphic art and sculpture. I have never expected to be working creating it. Both modern useful art and the old traditional one are a big challenge for the creator because it is more and more difficult to find new interesting patterns. I am fond of flowers and because of this fact I am trying to use plant motives in traditional decorations of Bolesławiec ceramic. I am the most creative while staying in my flower garden, the plants blooming there give me inspiration to create new patterns.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 2004. Since 2005 she has been a pattern designer.
Danuta Skiba
“I am fascinated by painting, nature, gentleness and magic in the shapes of plants. Therefore I like using in my decorations floral patterns.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1994. Since 2005 she has been a pattern designer.
Karolina Śliwińska
“I am inspired by the world culture, nature. However most of the patterns I have created is just a fantasy of my own.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 2004. Since 2005 she has been a pattern designer.
Wirginia Cebrowska
“Production and unique decoration designing is an adventure.
It’s absorb more and more. Sometimes one detail is enough and the view on the plate like pumpkins, birds or ladybirds, appears in my mind.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 2001. Since 2010 she has been a pattern designer.
Paweł Jarczyński
“My desire is to create a beautiful and aesthetically appealing decoration using the available palette of colors and my original design stamps.
When I am conceptualizing a new decoration I have one goal in mind; to achieve
a composition that is complementary to both the rustic and modern lifestyle.”
The artist has been connected with the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Artistic Ceramics and Pottery” since 1997. Since 2010 he has been a pattern designer.