Katarzyna Borek
"Experience the Presence of these Gnome Friends and Inhale the air of the enchanted forest."
Katarzyna was born in the mountains of southern Poland and makes clay masks, stone and tile mosaics, and felted fascinators. Forest gnomes guided her as she foraged materials from the woodlands of central Virginia. She harvested tulip poplar bark for roof shingles, hand-felted wool for exterior walls, and collected leaves of deciduous trees for interior walls to make the dwelling gnomes happy to call it home.
Katarzyna’s Full ARtist Statement
Katarzyna Borek was born in the mountains of southern Poland. The mystical beauty of these natural surroundings were the inspiration for her artistic and creative endeavors. Over last few years, Katarzyna’s curiosity has expressed itself in a variety of mediums, such as clay masks, stone and tile mosaics, and felted fascinators. Her newest venture is the quintessence of the imaginary world of her childhood.
Forest gnomes guided her as she foraged materials from the woodlands of central Virginia. Using old time crafts such as harvesting tulip poplar bark for roof shingles, felting wool for exterior walls and collecting leaves of deciduous trees for interior walls make this a dwelling that gnomes are happy to call home.
With the assistance of her talented blacksmith husband, forged oak branches represent the lifelong relationship gnomes have with this particular tree. Whenever a gnome is born, the parents plant an acorn. The age of the gnome is recorded by the growth of this oak tree and their eventual wedding ceremony is held under its protective canopy. Gnomes visit their birthday tree yearly on Midsummer Eve till end of their life.
Through the entire creative process, Katarzyna was immersed in magical flora and fauna and was often aided by gnomes that appeared in the middle of the night willing to help and offer new ideas. Her hopes are that visitors of this childhood dream will experience the presence of these gnome friends and inhale the air of the enchanted forest.