Wiesław Kuskowski

Wicker rules!

Wiesław Kuskowski is an extremely busy man – but mostly with wickerwork. This creative profession requires few supplies: it’s enough to have a bench, soaked willow, some metal tools and you can start weaving. His workshop is not so traditional; it is located in the basement of an apartment block. When he weaves in the outdoors, during fairs or markets, people praise them for his craftsmanship and true artistry. He is a worthy follower of this ancient craft. For him, basketry is the most important thing, and he has been occupied with it almost all his life. Now, when retired, he devotes to it all his time. He prepares all sorts of baskets, bowls and jugs, in different sizes and capacity. It seems that there’s nothing he can’t weave of wicker. The cross-ribbed technique has no limits for him. And basketry, he says, can also have a therapeutic effect. For years he worked at the nursing home in Ostrołęka and the Municipal Centre for Family Assistance, holding classes in basket weaving and sculpture. He believes that every form of creativity helps in all sorts of therapies – creating the material, you support the spirit. Therefore, it’s worth trying your hand at some crafts. Weaving develops manual skills, calms and brings a material effect in the form of wickerwork.

In his passion, Kuskowski continues the achievements of many generations, passed down from generation to generation in order for the art of weaving, which is important also for cultural reasons and identity, not to disappear. Will Mr. Kuskowski infect others with it, including the next generation? Time will tell. His wife Barbara draws inspiration from nature in making beautiful flowers from tissue paper, for example the jagged dandelions. His son and daughter can weave, but do not share their father’s creative verve – he made ​​his first basket at the age of nine. He remembers how his father and grandfather wove – producing the simplest products: shopping baskets and furniture. Mr. Kuskowski went many steps further, weaving in response to market demand. For him, awareness of the use of ecological materials is also very important. He says that ‘you can’t live off wicker,’ but this specific combination of family tradition, satisfaction and gratification make him hold firmly to the occupation.

The most important thing is, as he believes, what is passed down to others in his work and during workshops he holds in schools or community centres. It also holds classes in kindergartens, schools, and museums in the region, but also courses for the unemployed. Wieslaw Kuskowski willingly participates in various fairs and exhibitions of folk art. You can meet him, among others, at the Kurpie Honey Harvest event, as well as at Kurpie Music, where he plays the harmonica, usually defending his champion’s title.

When asked about his awards, he says modestly that ‘there were a lot of them.’ Wieslaw Kuskowski was awarded the Pro Masovia Award of the Marshal of the Mazowiecki.