“Batik Girl. The fabulous Józefa Kogut” is a project of an illustrated activity book accompanying the exhibition of Józefa Kogut at the Ethnographic Museum in Kraków. The sketchbook is distributed free of charge with the exhibition ticket. It tells the story of the colorful artist while also leaving space for readers’ own creativity.

Józefa Kogut was a 20th-century Polish artist. She was a master of artistic craftsmanship and the most renowned member of the Kraków Workshops Association. Award-winning and highly regarded in her time, she is today almost forgotten. She spent her entire life connected with Kraków.

She created unique creatures, vines, and ornamental swirls that survive on batik textiles and toys, as well as in sketches and paintings. In 1925, Józefa received a medal and the Grand Prix at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts and Modern Industry in Paris.

The exhibition sketchbook spreads knowledge about the remarkable work of Józefa Kogut. It encourages interaction: opens viewers to art, stimulates imagination and shows that everyone can create regardless of their artistic skills.

Lively illustrations, free typography, shapes and colors reflect the spirit of Józefa’s artistic practice. The structure of the book is based on the idea of cycles: recurring motifs, rhythmic forms and a creative process that connects the viewer with the artist.

The activity book is intended for both children and adults visiting the museum. It’s bilingual and can be used while exploring the exhibition as its complement and added value, as well as after returning home.

While working on the project, I used source materials that I was able to access thanks to the courtesy of the museum. I drew inspiration from the artist’s sketches and from objects she created, such as batik textiles, chests, vessels, and toys.

To create the illustrations, I used watercolor stains and pencil marks, giving them an artistic character and a sense of freedom in form.

“Batik girl. The fabulous Józefa Kogut” offers an opportunity to discover the story of Józefa and can also become an impulse for one’s own artistic activity. Together with the exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum in Kraków, the sketchbook creates a space for experiencing and creating.

Let’s see my other illustrations projects. I create various book children’s illustrations, editorial illustrations, character design and comic book designs. I’m also on Instagram.