I fell in love with weaving when I was a young student of architecture faculty at the Warsaw University of Technology. Those were the times of permanent lack of everything. So out of necessity, many women, students of artistic fields of study in particular, were designing their own clothes, purses, sweaters, you name it. Then, they stitched them, knitted, crocheted, laced and weaved. Nothing was wasted back then, each scrap of fabric, each remaining ball of wool was carefully assessed and put away, until it could be used for the next project. Back then, to get hold of wool – old sweaters were unraveled, carded, and dyed. And weaved again.
When my daughters were little, I spent a lot of time at home. That was the time, when I started to weave my first tapestry Reeds of Mazurian Lakes. And that is how I started, without even realizing it, a series NATURE.
I live in a magical forest of the little village of Wilga, in a castle made of twigs. Few years ago I bought a piece of land there and built there a wooden house. I designed it myself and blended it into the gorgeous forest of pine trees. The surrounding nature, which I admire looking through the windows and enjoying during my long walks, inspired me to create other tapestries. Pines look different at dusk and different at dawn, when the sky is pink and the bark is red and brown. Periwinkle, lilies of the valley, rhododendrons, heather, pine and oak trees – they all create unique blends of green and other colors, constantly changing and inspiring.
Architecture is my profession and my passion. As a student I drew castles, churches and other sacral structures, palaces, villas – in a form of a plan, cross-section or a view. I have always been fascinated by architecture, urban planning, designs, buildings and interiors. This fascination inspired the design of another tapestry – history of which goes back twenty five years. As a teenager I admired slideshows my father used to make from pictures my parents took during their six-week trip across Italy. Those pictures influenced then the choice of my of studies – architecture.
Over the years, I took numerous trips back to Italy and lived in Rome for over six months. Inspired by the Italian architecture, I started to weave a tapestry depicting the town of San Gimignano. I stopped that work after completing two thirds of the project…
That was the time of big transformation for Poland, so just as many others, I took up on the challenge of the times and changed my profession. I started a lengthy period of my career as a businesswoman, where I had to be available 24/7. The nature of the work, as well as bringing up my two daughters, business trips to various parts of the world – forced me to quit my hobby.
It took me twenty five years to get back to weaving. 25 years later, I started to weave, unravel and dye the wool again. And planned my weaving work once more. When I took the finished San Gimignano off the loom, I called my daughter – as she didn’t believe I would ever manage to complete that tapestry.
This time, I deliberately began to realize my weaving ideas and visions, which were put on hold, suspended – though, never forgotten. And planned a new series of tapestries inspired by architecture.
ARCHITECTURE AND NATURE
Overcrowded houses reaching for the sky, bird’s eye view of the roofs, little towns built on the hillsides, panoramic views of cities, little streets and back alleys, play of light and shadow, warm and cold colors – are my inspirations. For example – the fascinating colors of the sky, which are so different during various times of the day and night, depending on the season, weather and surroundings…
My tapestries portray how I view the relations between a human and the surrounding structures, similarly as described in the book by Alain de Botton The Architecture of Happiness.
It is the view of the nature that surrounds us and its effect on our life.
It is the reflection what I look at, what amazes and attracts me.
Both – Architecture as well as Nature may be welcoming, soothing, safe and beautiful, and – on the other hand – they can be dangerous, unfriendly and repulsive.
Everyone sees the world differently.
Welcome to my world – the world of my Passion…
Joanna Pasynkiewicz