Graduated from the Secondary Art School in Jarosław. In the years 1971-1976, she studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, majoring in painting and artistic pedagogy. As part of her individual studies, in 1975-1977, she undertook a two-year apprenticeship in the Tapestry Studio at the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Poznań (now the University of Arts). She studied tapestry in the studio of Professor Magdalena Abakanowicz. From 1976 to 1989 she was a member of the Association of Polish Artists, Poznań branch. While working in Poland, she searched for individual, new forms of expression in fabric, most often creating small, monochromatic weaving forms, such as reliefs and collages, and began experimenting by combining plexiglass, synthetic and natural fibres.

Jaga Jarosiewicz's works were awarded several times: in Munich, EXEMPLA 80, second prize at the National Unique Textile Exhibition in 1984, Prize of the Mayor of Łódź at the National Unique Textile Exhibition in 1988. Twice, in 1983 and 1989, the artist received the Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and Art. In 1989. Jaga Jarosiewicz moved to Chicago, where she continued her creative work. She had an exhibition of her textiles at The Polish Museum of America and in several Chicago galleries. The City of Chicago - Department of Cultural Affairs, awarded the artist a creative scholarship in 1991.

In 1992, the artist settled in Canada. She became involved with The Artist Co-op (Artist cooperative) in Toronto, which gave her a studio. Her interests shifted from the fibre to the picture plane - the weaving frame was replaced by the canvas frame. The fresh experience of adapting to new conditions in exile - a new language, culture and the alienation that accompanies these phenomena - underlies a new creative stage. Letters, words, handwritten or printed, become components of new works. Jaga Jarosiewicz fills the canvas with letters to tame a new language through art. Words or single letters of the Latin alphabet, filling the planes of the paintings, form a series of 'text-based artworks'. Sometimes the 'written images' are arranged in landscapes, sometimes they are a monochrome play of light and depth. An exemplification of these explorations and solutions was presented in four solo exhibitions in Toronto as 'Art in Transition: The Atmosphere of Sensation, Silence Inscription, Contexture, Trajectories.

A series of written paintings was presented at the Neilson Park Creative Centre in 1996 in Toronto and, generating interest, allowed the artist to enter the Canadian art market. Archive Gallery established a partnership with the artist. In 1996 and 1998, Jaga Jarosiewicz was awarded an Ontario Arts Council creative grant. In 1997 and 2001, the artist was awarded a 'travel grant' by the Canada Arts Council. Jarosiewicz's work has been awarded three times in New York: in 2002 with the first Pilot Club Award, in 2003 with the second Pilot Club Award and in 2004 with the first Mildret Willcuts Memorial Award.

The artist carries out commissions for public institutions, corporations, residential buildings and private residences. Jaga Jarosiewicz's works can be found in national collections: National Gallery of Australia, St. Michael's College School, Four Season Hotels & Resorts, RBC Dexia, Concord Adex, Cecconi Simone Inc., Navigator-Toronto, D.C.C. Communications Inc., Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, National Museum in Poznań, BWA: Gorzów Wielkopolski, Przemyśl, Rzeszów, Białystok. Private collections holding the artist's works: in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Australia, Denmark, France, Germany.

The National Museum in Poznań has two tapestries in its collection: "Registration" and "Synthetic Arrangement". The collection of the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź includes four objects by Jaga Jarosiewicz-Olesiak: the tapestry 'Monochromat with bordering', the tapestry 'Monochromat X', the miniature 'Awers-rewers I', and the tapestry 'Monochromatic obverse'.

Selected individual exhibitions: Painting exhibition, ZPAP, Piła, 1976; BWA Gallery, Rzeszów, 1978; EXEMPLA 80, Munich, 1980; 1st National Exhibition of Miniature Textiles, Łódź, 1985; 5th International Triennale of Textiles, Łódź, 1985; INTRART 85- International Art Fair of Socialist Countries, Poznań, 1985; Tkanina- Jaga Jarosiewicz-Olesiak, BWA, Gorzów Wlk. 1986; Looking for Similarities, BWA, Przemyśl, 1987; International Exhibition of Miniature Tapestry, Institute of Culture, Mexico, 1988; Art of Textile, BWA, Białystok, 1988; Concerti, Central Museum of Textiles, Łódź, 1988; World Weavers Wall - Exhibition and Symposium, Melbourne, Australia, 1988; Art in Transition: Textiles & Drawings, Polish Museum of America, Chicago, 1989/90; Works by Jaga Jarosiewicz, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago, 1991; New Mixed-Media Work, Gallery East, Chicago, 1991; Art in Transition - The Atmosphere of Sensation, Public Art Gallery, Toronto, 1996; Silence Inscription, Archive Inc. Gallery, Toronto, 1998; Contexture, Archive Inc. Gallery, 2000; Equation, Kabat-Wrobel Gallery, Toronto, 2002; Trajectories, Kabat-Wrobel Gallery, 2004; Re-Formation, Archive Inc. Gallery, 2007; Independent Artist Exhibition, The Artist Project, Liberty Grant, Toronto, 2009, 2010.

Selected group exhibitions: Contemporary Art of Poznań, BWA, Kraków, 1981; Experimental Textiles, Cultural Center, Leipzig, 1984; Polish Modern Tapestry, Polish Cultural Institute & Collins Gallery, London, 1984; 1st National Exhibition of Miniature Tapestry, Desa Gallery, Łódź, 1985; InterArt 85, EXPO, Poznań; 5th International Exhibition of Tapestry, Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, 1985; International Exhibition of Miniature Tapestry, Institute of Culture, Michoacan, Mexico, 1986; 7th International Biennal of Miniature Tapestry, Museum of Savaria, Hungary, 1988; International Tapestry Symposium, Melbourne, Australia, 1988; Polish Miniature Fiber Art, Textile Arts Centre, Chicago, 1992; Women in Art, Polish Museum of America, Chicago, 1995; Narrative, Archive Inc. Gallery, Toronto, 1997; Forum, PEKAO Gallery, Toronto, 2000; The New Spirit of Ontario, The Lieutenant Governor's Offices, Toronto, 2001; Polish Contemporary Art in Canadian Collections, Toronto, 2007; Three Contemporary Polish-American Artists, H.F. Johnson Gallery of Art, Kenosha, USA, 2008; The Artists Project - Independent Artists Exhibition and Sale, Toronto, 2009, 2010; Emergence, Spazio Dell'Arte Gallery, Toronto, 2014.

Work in catalogue
Jadwiga Jarosiewicz-Olesiak, untitled, acrylic on panel, 150 x 180 cm. With her 'written paintings', the artist situates herself in the long history of painting using letters in paintings. Calligraphy in China was considered an art equal to, or even superior to, painting. In contemporary art, there has been a shift towards writing letters and numbers. Jaga Jarosiewicz's painting, with its monochrome tones of browns and reds, is reminiscent of the textiles Jarosiewicz created in Poland. In exile, the artist changed her medium and began writing on her paintings to incorporate art into the process of learning a new language.