[1] Polikarps Čerņavskis was born at Jurīši village in Silajāņi Parish, Latvia in 1923.

He inherited the interest for pottery from his godfather, renowned Latgalian ceramicist Polikarps Vilcāns, who became his mentor.

[1] During the World War II, Čerņavskis was drafted into the Nazi Germany army in 1943.

[3] He was one of the Latgalian ceramicists that was represented in 1957 Silajāņi ceramics exhibition in Rīga, organized by Jānis Pujāts.

[7] In 1996, he was awarded with the Order of the Three Stars for his contributions and achievements in the Latgalian ceramics.