Carrying out time:
Round the year
There are more than 10 various types of traditional painting in the Vologda Region. First, they could be divided as graphic and free brush (“one stroke”). Frontons, internal partitions, spinning wheels, lockers, boxes, and tableware were painted. The Veliky Ustyug style of painting, semi-transparent and light, was mostly used to decorate birch boxes and tussocks.
Carrying out time:
Round the year
Patchwork dolls were there in every village house. They were not only for playing, but also for rituals. Vepsian dolls had been found in the Babaevo and Vytegra areas of the Vologda region. They were made of fragments of old mother’ things without using any scissors and needles, so that a child’s life would have no “cuts;” ash could be used for their filling. The following types of dolls were typical for the Russian North: stolbushka (picket-doll), zernushka (grain doll), rvanka (wrench doll); they served as amulets protecting from malign forces and bringing wealth and good luck. Following the traditions, you can make your own one.
Carrying out time:
Round the year
Making bast shoes (lapti), baskets, tussocks, birch-bark ware demanded special skills and mastery. Birch bark was harvested in the early spring in order to avoid hurting birch trunks. Then it would be cut into long stripes, flaked, oiled, and bound; only after that craftsmen would begin their work. Most often, birch-bark wickerwork was a male craft, because it required certain arm strength. Birch-bark goods were durable and waterproof. They were used for keeping salt and milk; the latter would not turn sour as birch bark is a good antiseptic.
Carrying out time:
Round the year
A belt was the central and essential attribute of the peasant costume. Belts could be broad or narrow, for men and women, children and adults; for holidays and everyday life. Belts also had a protecting function, and that was why the ornament and color were very important. The technique of weaving belts could vary: using planks, closed combs, or weaver's loom. We suggest you to try one of the techniques at our workshops.
Carrying out time:
April – October
What would be the right way to make paints? What’s difference between oil paint and tempera? What did they consist of? What is a crude colored woodcut and who were pedlars? You can get answers to these and other questions at our workshop.
