We were in another world. This world is the Bancewicz family property at number 63 in Przejęsław. Time flows much more slowly there than in our hectic households. It is created by two extremely kind people: Teresa and Jan Bancewicz. Both are visual artists, and both graduated from the same Visual Arts High School in Wrocław in 1995. Together, they went to work and live in Cieplice, where they spent more than 30 years.
What brought them to the secluded corner of Przejęsław? Mr. Jan explains that it was the search for peace and a coincidence. He was invited to a plein-air painting event in Kliczków and... wanted to live here. He found nothing in Kliczków, but in Przejęsław he managed to buy an old, dilapidated farmstead, and he and his wife decided to renovate it. They moved into it in 1986.
We went inside and were left speechless. Another world! It is beautiful, although surely not everyone would like it; nevertheless, everyone must admit that these interiors make an impression. Almost everything in this house, including the furniture, was made by hand, and this fact—it seems—determined how different it is from what we encounter in our homes. Suffice it to say that the wooden décor was literally carved with a pocketknife by Mr. Jan. “Personally creating one’s own surroundings”—this is the hosts’ motto, and evidence of this approach to life can be found at every turn.
These original interiors display the artistic works of the Bancewicz family—paintings, textiles and sculptures. Mrs. Teresa makes her artistic textiles from scraps of fabric, yarn, etc., using her own technique, invented by the artist herself. They are very large, striking and delicate in their colours, lending the surroundings a soft, feminine warmth.
The small bas-reliefs are equally delicate, deceptively resembling ceramics in their effect. Mr. Jan, for his part, sculpts, paints and draws. Of these techniques, he currently seems to prefer drawing. Kliczków Castle has recently become by far the most frequent subject of the artist’s work. Mr. Jan stresses that it is the greatest attraction of our municipality and wishes both to express his fascination with it creatively and, at the same time, to promote “our” historic monument. It is a pity, by the way, that Kliczków Castle has bad luck with its owners. The complex could be an attraction for the municipality and perhaps a workplace for many local residents, yet it still stands empty and inaccessible—in a word, dead.
One more digression while we are at it. Mr. Bancewicz is the author of a successful 1994 calendar published by the Bolesławiec Friends’ Association. Perhaps this is an idea for our municipality? Let us return, however, to Przejęsław. I must mention one more idea of the Bancewicz family—the House of the Creator. It is to be established, or rather is already taking shape, in an old, collapsing barn they bought along with the house. It is Mrs. Teresa’s pet project. She works on the renovation herself, playing at being a bricklayer—she builds up the walls like a swallow. This time, the reason is prosaic—a lack of money. Who will help her? She wants the works displayed here to include not only their own creations, but above all all forms of folk art from our area. As a result of the post-war resettlement, the people living here represent different regions and different cultures, and it is worth preserving—indeed, saving—the remaining traces of these cultures so that they do not disappear forever.
I have briefly presented what the Bancewicz family are passionate about. Yet there is also the so-called everyday reality—how do they make a living? They live very modestly. Unfortunately, the general crisis in the labour market has also affected the profession of visual artist. It is impossible to support oneself through the occasional sale of works of art. Therefore, Mr. Jan works as a guard at the Military Unit in Kliczków, while Mrs. Teresa is already retired.
It is a great pity that they did not find employment in their profession.