Lviv: We have always seen stylish lights, lanterns and curtains playing a vital role in any music festival. In an International music festival just the level of decoration goes up. But, have you ever thought of using paper cut-outs as decoratives?
International Festival of Folk Music in Lviv has used huge sheets of paper to decorate the theatre, which is a popular centuries-old craft known as "Vytynannya" in Ukrainian.
Artist Daria Alyoshkina has brought back this craft to life. She used a technique called "vytynaty" which means to cut out a pattern in Ukrainian and if one takes a closer look the intricate cut-out patterns can be seen.
"I fold the paper as you can see there is a fold in the middle. After each paper is folded, I do a drawing using a pencil on the one half of the artwork. I don't erase the drawing after it's done. This is a kind of quality mark confirming that everything is handmade, each line was drawn without any involvement of mechanical instruments. After that, I start cutting gradually, for example moving from down to top. The most difficult thing is to make a big artwork from a small sketch," says Alyoshkina.
In Ukraine, this art-craft has been popular since the 19th century as people would create cut-outs of paper as a cheap and easy way to create decorations for their homes.
When asked about her inspiration for designs she says, "I use our traditional symbols in all my work. For example, I take (inspiration) from our Ukrainian 'pysanky' (Easter painted eggs), carpets, an embroidery. I would say that the traditional symbols are basic for me, but I try to make them more modern and interesting for our contemporary society, trendy and stylish."
Festival organiser, Ruslan Lyashenko says that he commissioned Alyoshkina as he feels the paper decorations complement the music, costumes and general atmosphere of the folk music concert.
The biggest vytynanka Alyoshkina has ever made was 2 by 4 metres, which takes around 5 days to create. She sells her artworks online and through social media networks.
Alyoshkina began practicing paper cutting professionally in 2009. Since then her vytynankas have been used as decorations in theatre, as curtains in libraries, shops, cafes, on book covers, T-shirts and bags and in interiors of homes.
She hopes to revive this once popular craft.
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