Izabela Zdrzałka as born in Załuż (Tarnopol Oblast, now Ukraine), She finished primary school, gymnasium and secondary school in Zbaraż. From 1939 to 1945 she worked in the local hospital. After the end of the war, she settled down with her family in Świebodzice near Wałbrzych.In 1946, she began her studies at the State Higher School of Visual Arts in Wrocław, where she obtained her diploma in the atelier of Mieczysław Pawełka in 1952. While still a student, she was employed at the Work Co-operative of Folk and Artistic Industry in Bolesławiec (currently “Ceramika Artystyczna” Spółdzielnia Rękodzieła Artystycznego), where she was entrusted with the supervision of the emerging paint shop. After completing her studies, she took up the newly created post of artistic director, which she held until 1958.

During this time she worked simultaneously as a mould designer, decorator and technologist. She put into production dozens of original vessels with asymmetrical shapes and soft lines. She developed recipes for coloured engobes, enamels and several coloured feldspar glazes (shades of brown, green and blue) and artistic reduction and crystalline glazes. She used a variety of decorative techniques: under-glaze stamping (using sponge and rubber stamps), enamels on earthenware and coloured glazes (using a cone, later a pear) and sgraffito (ornaments engraved on coloured engobes). Based on these techniques, she designed dozens of decorations that harmoniously emphasised the tectonic nature of the vessel. Initially she used motifs taken from folk art and the Bolesławiec tradition, creating painted and engraved genre scenes. Over time, she abandoned these in favour of abstract decorations in coloured glazes, referring to the style of the applied arts of the time.

In 1958, she left for the private Zakład Ceramiki Szlachetnej ‘Puchalski i S-ka’, where, until 1972, she was also involved in designing vessels, developing new glazes and supervising production. In addition, in the years 1960-1977 she taught drawing and technical drawing in secondary schools in Bolesławiec. After retiring, she designed individual moulds for various manufacturers.

In addition to her professional work, she also created unique ceramics, using the facilities of “Ceramika Artystyczna” and Eugeniusz Niemirowski’s factory in Parzyce. In 1966, she became a member of the Association of Polish Artists. The artist’s works can be found in the Museum of Ceramics in Bolesławiec and the National Museum in Wrocław.