Krysia and Nona's Gabriel grew up together. The world took them in different directions geographically but they always remained connected by what inspired them. Both trained in the therapeutic arts which led them to create the business Circle Retreats together (from 2016-2021) which focused on using the creative arts alongside other healing practices such as yoga and mindfulness meditation to heal and restore physical, emotional and energetic balance. Since then Krysia has been focusing full time on her creative practice as a weaver and multi disciplinary artist. "I am interested in the healing potential of the arts to bring about change in both the understanding of ourselves and the world around us and how it can serve as a breath of vibrancy into the geographies of loss and trauma and peripheral spaces".
Krysia has spent the last few years growing her knowledge and practice of natural dyeing which she then applies to her own yarn using different raw materials, most recently cochineal which develops on the prickly pear that grows native on the Island of Ibiza. This beautiful coloured yarn then gets used alongside many other majestically dyed wools and cottons to create Krysia's rugs and tapestries.
Krysia has co-created a creatives co-operative in Spain called Bekoop which focuses on the celebration of the artisan and celebrates creating pieces using waste that would otherwise end up in landfill. Each member has their own creative specialism and Krysia completely relies on the wool that the co-operative source from the Basque country, supporting age old processes that slowly and consciously produce the sheep wool that would otherwise go to waste.
We had the pleasure of visiting Krysia in her workshop in Ibiza and seeing her work in process as well as asking her some questions:
NONA: How did weaving come in to your life?
KRYSIA: My grandmother was weaver so I grew up surrounded by her beautiful textiles that she both made herself and collected on her extensive travels of the world. I was hugely inspired the colour and textures of those pieces and I think the love for them was always there it just took me until my 30s to begin my own process and find my own voice with those same processes.
NONA: What inspires you? KRYSIA: At the moment I am working with a lot of colour. I lived for a number of years in Mexico and find myself deeply missing the colours of that country so find myself always seeking colour in my current environment which is then expressed through my work, whether the colour of the sea, the flora, the earth. When we give ourselves the time to look we can see these perfect colour relationships in nature that we are so lucky to witness.
I studied sustainable development, and I was especially interested in natural resources and minimising waste so my creative practice has always leaned on that and looked at the effect of humanity on the environment and my art work is an extension of this curiosity and the production and materials is reflected in this also.
NONA: What would you like for your creative future?
KRYSIA: I would like to have the space to be able offer workshops and residentials to give people an immersive experience using natural dyeing and weaving techniques allowing them to connect their process with their environment.
To see more of Krysia's work please visit her website https://www.krysiahoward.art/