Kilims
are the type of textile exisiting in every culture in the world. They
decorated walls and floors of the reach and of the poor people. You can
compare their role to the role of arrases in the 16th century in France.
In each culture they have different style and design. In the 17th century
the influence of the oriental design was very popular (particularly in
Poland) that is why your association was with typical Turkish kilims.
In the beginning of 20th century kilims were very popular and on fashion
in Poland. The group of artists who designed and weaved kilims was quite
numbered. Some of them established the Artist Cooperative "Ład",
some in "Cracow Workshops". In 1925 Polish kilims achieved an
important success during the International Exibition of Decorative Arts
in Paris.
The interest for kilims has fallen down with the time. At the present
only very few people can see the difference between a kilim and a tapestry.
Reed kilims are bilateral textile (identical at both sides - revers and
avers). They are woven on the traditional, wooden horizontally fixed looms.
On the kilims surface spindle like convexities arise where they tread
of the weft goes above the thread of the warp and alternates with concavities
where the thread of the weft goes under the thread of the warp. The texture
of the fabric is uneven, grainy. The skill of omitting the limitations
of the technique gave artists some freedom in their choice of motifs and
compositions. Motifs are in many cases geometrical figures, plants, and
other simple ones.
The kilims that I design
and weave are the traditional reed Polish kilims on flax warp and on woollen
weft. My designs link the traditional and contemporary patterns.
The wool for kilims is hand dyed with dyes of natural origin and with
the acid dyes.
Only few of my kilims are woven with hand-spun wool.
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Poland
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