She was introduced to the art of textiles by the masters of Zakopane weaving - Ewa Bartosz-Mazuś and Marta Gąsiennica-Szostak. Between 1985 and 1988, she attended the State Visual Arts College in Wrocław. During this time, she founded the weaving group Splot, with which she had ten exhibitions in Warsaw and Wrocław, among others. After arriving in Canada, she continued her education at the School of Art in Montreal from 1990 to 1992.

After settling in Ottawa, she began teaching textile art at the Ottawa Carleton School Board - Continuing Education (1998-2005) and the Visual Art Centre - Orleans (1999-2005). She founded two international art weaving groups, 'Harmony' and 'Woven Bridges', to create and organise exhibitions together. She runs 'Studio Sadej', where she prepares exhibitions of her work and invites other artists.

In 2002, she taught an art course for three months at the English Academy in Seoul, South Korea. The artist maintains contact with the artistic community in Poland, presenting her work in galleries and participating in international textile art shows around the world. Through textiles, Sadej expresses her emotions, longings and nostalgia for her homeland and loved ones. The cosmos and distant galaxies are also a frequent subject of her works.

She is interested in experiments in fabric, searching for new forms of expression through colour, shape and space. The artist combines various plastics and recycled materials: plastic film, video tape, parcel packing tape, synthetic yarn. Sometimes she combines painting with fabric. The artist draws inspiration for her works from her relationships with people. She admires the work of Louise Bourgeois, Olga de Amaral, Magdalena Abakanowicz and Włodzimierz Cygan.

A key event for her was her participation in the Fiber Art Biennale in China - 'From Lausanne to Beijing' in 2012, as well as the Triennale of Textile Art in Łódź, where she took part in accompanying exhibitions in 2010, 2013, 2016. The artist has received awards for her work: Honourable Mention - Juried Art Exhibit 1996, Ottawa; Jurors' Choice Award, AOE Arts Consul, Selection 2014, Ottawa; Excellent Award - From Lausanne to Beijing Fiber Art Biennale 2014, China; Kate Derum Award 2015 - selected artist, Melbourne, Australia; Prima Design - 16 Concorso International di Tetisura e Fiber Art 2019, Parma, Italy; Participants' Award of the International Fiber Art Symposium, Kowary 2019.

Krystyna Sadej contributes articles on art, travel, and loose reflections to TN Polonia and the Canadian Tapestry Network Newsletter. In recognition of her artistic activities, she received a diploma on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Association of Polish Artists of Ottawa, 2019.

Major solo exhibitions: Józef Elsner Museum, Grodków, 1986; Cultural Centre, Lublin, 1986; Alle Reisen Gallery, Berlin, 1998; Polish Embassy in Ottawa, 2005; Jutrzenka Culture House, Zakopane, 2011; Museum of Weaving, Kamienna Góra, 2013; AOE Gallery, Shenkman Art. Center, Ottawa, 2013; ASAP Gallery, Wrocław, 2016; Dom Polonii, Kraków, 2016; Galeria Promocja, Jelenia Góra, 2019.

Duo exhibitions: Green Door Restaurant (with Constance Morley) Ottawa, 2001; Cumberland City Hall (with Constance Morley), Ottawa, 2002; City of Ottawa Archives Gallery (with Michelle Casey), 2015; Salonik Trzech Muz (with Zofia Werblicka), Wrocław, 2016; AOE Gallery (with Justyna Szulinska), Ottawa, 2016. Selected group exhibitions: Centre Pointe Theatre Gallery, Ottawa, 2007; V International Art Biennal, Biuro Wystaw Artystycznych, Krosno, 2008; Museum of Canadian History, Gatineau, 2009; Central Museum of Textiles, Łódź, 2010; Anahuac University, Mexico City, 2011; From Lausanne to Beijing, Nantong/China, 2012; Museum of Weaving, Kamienna Góra, 2013; International Triennale of Textiles, Museum of the City of Gdynia, 2013; International Triennale of Miniature Textiles, Museum of Textiles, Łódź, 2013. Extreme Fibres, Muskegon Museum of Art, Michigan/USA, 2015; Fibre Without Borders, Wrocław, 2015; UCI University, Cuatitlan Izcalli, Mexico City, 2016; Fibre Without Borders, Shenkman Art Center, Ottawa, 2016; Celebrating Friendship, Studio Sadej, Ottawa, 2017; Fate, Destiny and Self Determination, WTA VII Bienal, Montevideo/Uruguay, 2017; Territory, Court des Arts, Mulhouse/France, 2018; Roscommon County Council Gallery, Roscommon/Ireland, 2018; House of Tradition of the City of Kowary, 2018; Textil Museum, Neumunster/Germany, 2018; International Tapestry Oakville, Ontario, 2019; Art Vision II, Kraków, 2019.

Work in catalogue
Krystyna Sadej, fabric 'Moment in Time', plastic film, synthetic yarn, 2.5 x 2.5 m. A shimmering black and dark blue square composed of four triangles fastened together in the centre by a white button. The fabric is a play of opposites: weight and lightness, black and white, static and movement resulting from the pattern.