From tomorrow until Sunday, Bolesławiec Market Square will host the “Ceramic Craze” fair. Local ceramic artists and makers from all over Poland will be based in wooden, hand-painted houses.
The nearly fifty houses standing in the Market Square feature a variety of designs and ideas. The houses were made by the Mariusz Smyk Commercial and Service Company from Bolesławiec. The drawings for the houses were designed and created by Waldemar Cieślak and Tomasz Kaluzka (the authors of the paintings at the “Colourful School in Tomaszów”).
“The idea for creating the painted houses came from Tomek Kaluzka,” says Waldemar Cieślak, co-author. “Six of them were commissioned by the Bolesławiec Cultural Centre—International Ceramics Centre and were painted with traditional Bolesławiec ceramic patterns (stamps). Tomek and I thought for a long time about how to paint the remaining houses. We wanted to create a small, colourful town with character. We decided that the houses would feature elements of traditional architecture found in Lower Silesia: brick, half-timbering, stone, sandstone and wooden beams.
The houses in cheerful colours catch the eye. They create a new space. They surprise with details worth noticing. There are flowers and wild grapevines climbing up the walls, painted clay pots, and small glazed windows, closed with wooden shutters or opened wide.
“The windows are an addition intended to create the impression of a cosy house rather than a booth,” explains Waldemar Cieślak. “It was difficult to create the illusion of a real window, but we managed it by using shadows.
Work on the houses continued during the hottest days of this summer. The scale of the work was daunting, but the satisfaction of completing it is immense. While working, Waldemar Cieślak asked his teenage son Tomek for help. “I would like to mention him, because he did a great deal of good work alongside me. In the heat, in a hall where it must have been around 40 degrees, he worked hand in hand with me. These houses have exceptional value for me, and I hope they will appeal to the residents of Bolesławiec and everyone visiting the town during the Ceramic Festival.
(information: Grażyna Hanaf)
