kasia klon

In September 2013 after eight years of mastering my levels in printmaking techniques, I was finally getting my diploma form Academy of Fine Arts. I was honored with the highest grade and selected for Best Diplomas of 2013 competition. But than my health begun to fail. My face got swollen, I had troubles breathing, red spots appeared all over my body and I didn’t know what was happening. It went off and on for few months. And it was a painful nightmare. After making official tests I was diagnosed with PPD allergy, one of the components of printing ink. The doctor explained that allergy is incurable, can be very dangerous for my life in case of anaphylactic shock, and the only way to avoid symptoms is to stay away from my current work. I’ve changed my diet, I’ve stopped coloring my hair, threw out all the chemical cosmetics or cleaning supplies if there was a chance it could affect me, I gave up clothing that might had been colored with PPD. I suffered from depression. I didn’t know what should I do now with my life, I was both scared and lacking the new purpose. Felt blocked not being able to express myself. For me painting was a lower, easier medium, that everybody could afford, everybody could do, without knowledge or technical skills. But I felt a desperate need of expressing my frustration. Finally after one year, I decided to use painting to portrait my sickness. It was in a way a therapy. It took time to create, but when it started to look good, it felt as a transformation. I was finally able to overcome my weakness and accept my allergy. I realized that painting was not as easy as I primitively thought, and that it has a great potential for experimentation and exploration. I finally felt creatively unblocked. Since that moment I've started working as a painter.