photo #8463135

The village of Zalipie, located in southeastern Poland, is a living painting inhabited by around 800 people. The identity of Zalipie began to take shape two centuries ago when housewives sought the best ways to cover the soot stains from their stoves, which blackened their ceilings. At first, they washed them, then they started painting them white, using cow hair as a brush and a mixture of dumpling fat, milk, sugar, and egg whites as paint. When the stains began to seep through the whitewash, they thickened the problem areas and, little by little, transformed them into geometric shapes and later into colorful flowers. Where the "canvas" couldn't hold the painting, the women found alternatives. Although the need was originally limited to the ceiling, they began painting down the walls, then moved on to stoves, doghouses, birdcages, chicken coops, barns, trees, courtyard wells, porches, and even the exteriors of houses. Even the churches in Zalipie have interiors adorned with floral motifs, which blend harmoniously with the icons and other Christian elements. Perhaps the most famous local story is that of Felicja Curylowa, a small, frail old woman with white hair who painted every corner of her home, inside and out, as well as every household object. Years after her passing, her house was transformed into a museum. The tradition was carried on by other elderly women, who still paint unexpected objects, wear hand-painted clothes, and sit in their gardens, where every flower pot and bench is covered in floral motifs. They wave at visitors, inviting them inside. It would be a shame to refuse. A warm smile, a few words despite the language barrier, and a sparkle in their eyes as you admire the painted ceilings—all these complete the authentic experience of Zalipie and its people, who have turned what they had into art, without commercial intentions, ostentation, or propaganda of any kind...