Just a little reminder of how wonderful the Polish Artists are, courtesy of diddilydeedot.

Some beautiful Polish Artists and their work

POLAND - POLISH Perun, the Thunder God, by Polish artist, Zofia Stryjenska (Used with the kind permission of Dr. Piotr Wiench The most creative artist interested in paganism was Stanislaw Szukalski, son of a blacksmith and émigré from the town of Warta, born in 1893. Grown up in the USA he was sent by his father to study art in Cracow, Poland. His unique and imaginative style has drew much from pagan and folk tradition. He created a circle of his disciples, known as "Tribe of Haughty Heart", which issued a magazine called "Krak" (a name of legendary Polish count, founder of Kraków - Cracow). Just before the outbreak of the WW II Szukalski went back to the USA and he lived there until his death in 1987. His ashes has been placed, according to his will, at the feet of one of the sculptures on the Easter Island. Similar interests can be found in paintings and graphics of Zofia Stryjeñska. Looking for inspiration in the Polish folklore she tried to portray Slavic deities and depict traditional festivities. The interest in paganism was not limited to the artistic circles. It began to manifest itself in the form of a social movement. The leader of this movement was Jan Stachniuk, born 1905 in Kowel. After completing his university studies in economy he began to publish books presenting his views on paganism. In 1937 he founded a pagan magazine "Zadruga". An interesting trait of Stachniuk's thought is sacralisation of intellectual creativity and the cult of a cosmic energy, which manifests itself in strong will. According to Stachniuk, one cannot obtain prosperity by prayer and the success depends on one's own efforts and active, creative attitude towards one's life. It resembles in some way a protestant ethos. In Poland there are still living collaborators of Stachniuk from the pre-war time. A group of former members of "Zadruga" lives now in Wroclaw and publishes a series of books on paganism in their own publishing house "Toporzel". One of members of this group is Antoni Wacyk. In his book on Polish philosophy he underscores the personal dimension of the religious experience, which should preclude any forms of demonstrativeness or any mediating role of professional priests between people and the sacred. A pagan religion, according to him, should concentrate on a mystical experience. Wacyk urges also for revision of the national history, pointing out that historians tend to glorify losers. A neopagan group influenced by "Zadruga", "Association of Indigenous Faith", has been founded in Wroclaw by a right-wing pagan Jerzy Potrzebowski. ***************************************