Embroidery Made In Poland
“I would like to draw attention to embroidery made in Poland. I think we have something to be proud of” - Joanna Galica - Dorula
Artist at work, Joanna’s archive
Joanna Galica – Dorula lives and works in the highland region of Poland - Podhale. Surrounded by the remarkable beauty of nature, in the heart of polish Tatra mountains, she pours her love and respect to craftsmanship of her generations into embroidered pieces of art.
Within her work she perfectly balances traditional patterns and motifs with new shapes, materials and modernised references. Enthusiastic about challenges, she submitted her work to 2019 edition of Hand & Lock embroidery competition in London. Her beautiful velvet cape realised with upcycled materials got critically acclaimed and got her 3rd place.
Joanna’s professionally involved in embroidery for 10 years, though she completed her first traditional vest already at the age of 14. Currently she’s running her own company Manus Atelier. Working primarily on orders for private clients, her calendar is now booked as far as 2 years ahead.
Such a demand for her exquisite needlework is not a surprise, knowing the historical background of the craft and how enrooted it is in local culture since generations.
Goral (traditional highlander) culture encompasses handcraft, art, music, dance and all those practices are of the essence of Gorals’ every day lives. Traditional Podhale dress is an essential element of their folklore. Its first descriptions are dated back to the XVIII century. It was particularly intriguing for travellers and researchers due to its pure, distinctive character for long untouched by foreign influences. Podhale dress was a reflection of the local lifestyle. People there lived in harmony with nature and worn garments crafted with all natural, handmade fabrics.
With time, the dress was gradually evolving and influences from other regions were often borrowed. Nowadays, though it came out of everyday wardrobe, it clearly is not a relict of the past. The purpose, from primarily having to fit harsh weather conditions changed into a status symbol and important social communication tool between generations. Most of the Joanna’s atelier customers are young ladies. It is local tradition that newlyweds are to wear regional outfit for the wedding. The making process takes time as Joanna says every design is unique and personalised to bride’s ideas as well as current season. Closeness of nature provides her with constant flow of inspiration.
“ inspiration can come from wherever, garden or wild flowers, the view of beautiful peaks of the Tatra mountains..” says the artist
traditional shirt featuring whitework embroidery and flower embroidered vest in red, artist’s archive
stone embroidery detail on black velvet vest, artist’s archive
Embroidered vest takes about 2-3 weeks of hand work, full outfit 1-2 months… It requires tremendous patience. Joanna admits she learnt a lot of it during high school years studying violin making at the A. Kenar Fine Art High School in Zakopane. The place has a 70 year history educating skilled polish artists from this special field.
“(…) well that was actually going pretty bad, but taught me a lot of patience.(…) violin I made have very mournful sound… a difficult “work up-the-hill” is a sound of this instrument…” she jokes.
Joanna with mother and sister, artist’s archive
The family bond is surely the essence of the Goral culture.
“ In my family home, Goral traditions were being nurtured and celebrated ever since. Grandma was weaving beautiful kilims in a loom, mum is an embroidery autodidact and my mentor and master currently specialising in making “cuchs” – a type of a cape in traditional local men’s dress (…) sister’s daughter,only 5 years old is already involved in embroidery too”
Seeing a growing interest and involvement in the craft among all family members, Joanna’s father Waldemar supports their handcraft with essential woodwork. He patented a special embroidery hoop inspired by the ones used back in the old days made of oak and ash wood. Unlike the modern ones, it does not have a screw and it is just two hoops overlapping one another. Joanna says that work using this traditional design makes significant difference in her everyday practice.
Apart from garment embroidery, Joanna adds also her very own skill to the family – acupictura, what could be compared to painting with needle and thread. Such “thread - painted” masterpiece can take even 2 years to complete. What started as a hobby and side practice is now seeing growing interest and more private orders. Moreover, her work has been already appreciated with first prize at the competition organised by Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź.
St Michael, acupictura, artist’s archive
“I feel a constant drive to continue developing and improving my skills. I consider the third place in this prestigious competition a great success and drawing attention to Polish handcraft. “ Joanna on participation in Hand & Lock competition in London 2019
Joanna approached the sustainability issue from the Hand & Lock competition brief making a velvet cape in stunning green, incorporating upcycling materials which could seem no longer useful. On the back of the garment is a panel featuring a knight embroidered with acupictura technique. This piece of work apart from exquisite finishing also contains a message Joanna wanted to convey. The green is to symbolise money and consumerism, from which the brave knight must defend the earth.
“I used beer caps and wooden heels, old tights, aluminum foil, washers for screws, a plastic bottle from which I cut out sequins. I combined it all with embroidery using the shaded painting stitch technique.(…)
Joanna’s competition work is an evidence of an exciting combination of old techniques and forward thinking solutions. It presents endless possibilities of the traditional handcraft and where it might go next.
Joanna’s Hand & Lock competition work, handembroidery.com
Joanna’s Hand&Lock competition work details, artist’s archive
Joanna receiving the award from H&L chairman Alastair Macleod handembroidery.com
black velvet stone embroidered blazer, artist’s archive
Podhale traditional dress is very much live, celebrated and evolving hence it will never turn into just an archaic costume. Modern, skilled artists such as Joanna who passionately dedicate themselves to carry forward the ancestral practice, become shapers of this evolution and it is exciting to see how it will continue to develop.
If you wish to see more of her flourishing work - follow her instagram page: @manusatelier_embroidery_artist