Crocheted Olek is an artist from Poland who Crochets buildings to create the most wonderful pieces of art. She sits down with Pluto Media to discuss her life, her art, and whats on the horizon.

Tell me when you first discovered your passion for art?

Life and art are inseparable. I had always been a creative kid, constantly building something out of thin air, fantasies, and items I collected around my house. Crochet chose me as I was building a sculpture of rope, twine, and fabric and had worked all night to discover a way to connect the pieces. I have been crocheting ever since.

Where were you born?

I was born in Ruda Śląska, Poland. Everyone at that time was born Catholic, white, and only spoke Polish, and I was a stranger to my own people because of my beliefs, my clothes and my philosophy. Though I didn’t like it at the time, growing up in a socialist country made me who I am today. It taught me how to make art out of nothing.

Where did you get your inspiration from?

How does a thought or idea form itself? It is a response to information, images, words, food or lovers you have had. Inspiration comes from real life. Every project is different, but I am especially inspired by the people I meet and issues of human rights and oppression around the world. For example, I recently developed a short film, In The Blink Of An Eye. After working with refugees from Syria and Ukraine. I had initially intended to recreate a traditional Swedish home in crochet, and while working on the project many of the women shared stories of how they were forced to flee their homes after they had been destroyed by the war. I was inspired to blow up the crocheted house within the museum, showing how quickly we can lose everything we have built, our sense of home.

It's an interesting choice to take, have you ever felt much pressure to do something else?

As I said in my first artist statement, “My work is never finished. The continued response of the viewers makes the art. My contribution is the tool that helps people realize their own expressions. I hope that it proves that all things are interconnected. I want to bring color, life, energy, and surprise to the living space. I want to reach more and more people, and inspire them to question, think, act, and enjoy.”

You must have seem some interesting reactions from the public please explain some of the ones that stick in your mind?

I love creating public art because it is accessible to people who might not normally enter a gallery or a museum. Of course, many of my pieces are provocative and call attention to oppression or topics some might find uncomfortable. Many of my pieces have been burned or destroyed, but I prefer to focus on the positive reactions, of my work helping others to feel they are not alone and can share their stories.

You mention you have a miner's work ethic, what does that mean?

I spend thousands of hours with my hands in motion, crocheting loop after loop. The creative process is not just inspirational. There are many hours, days, and sometimes months of physical and tiring work required for my big pieces to take shape.

You mention you crochet everything that enters your space, how do you cipher through the clutter?

Everything in my work comes from real feelings, experiences and intuition. An object will catch my attention because of its relationship to something that has happened in my life, to someone I have met, and these small details eventually build themselves up into greater statements.

Explain the most interesting crochet request you have had?

The most interesting work is always the next work. I am always finding new ways to use this old-fashioned technique to create my sculptures. My work is never finished.

Your living now in New York. What’s the biggest difference you have noticed regarding people discovering your art?

I moved to New York in 2000 and finally discovered my home, my spiritual home, where I had the freedom to express myself fully in a cultural dialogue and a malleable exchange of ideas.

What building would you like to crochet the most?

The building that has not yet been built!