"SPRING CHORDS" Festival-Contest

Spring Chords Festival & Contest

NEW DATE: May 20, 2015 at 4:00 pm
Ivano Frankivsk, vul Depovs'ka, 97 
20.05.15 о 16,00год.,м.Івано-Франківськ,вул.Деповська,97

While in Ukraine in August 2014,  Maria Chulak, the chair of 'Rossa Karpat' (Cathpathian Mist), a community organization promoting folk art and craft in Prykarpattya invited me to help to promote this festival so there could be an international presence.

I agreed and here are all the details and application form in English and in Ukrainian. 

Maria Chulak, founder of "Роса Карпат" (Carpathian Mist),
and organizer of the the "Spring Chords", III Prykarpattian Festival-Contest

Next spring there will be a III Prykarpattian Festival-Contest of Designer Outfits with Folk Motifs --"SPRING CHORDS" in Ivano Frankivsk, Ukraine. You can see and read about the first and second festivals on the internet. I'm showing a few photos from the previous shows.

Dress sewn from a fabric with woven motifs.  II Spring Chords

Participation is FREE, however, the shipment of submission garments or travel are at your OWN expense. The application deadline is March 20, 2015.

The Third "SPRING CHORDS" (Весняні Акорди) Gala is scheduled for May 22, 2015. In the framework of the festival -contest there will be master classes, press-conferences about the festival results, formal finale, awards ceremony and a  gala concert.

This is a wonderful opportunity to participate in a festival designed to promote contemporary clothing inspired by traditional folk art motifs. While it's nice that that the producers are gearing this towards students and young professionals in Ukraine, I personally do not see what age has to do with it. It's the love of the folk arts, design and imagination that should be celebrated here.

The idea is to create contemporary fashion with motifs taken from folks arts and embroider, weave or embellish with beadwork (embroidery or beadwoven 'gerdan' accessory).

Outfits modelled at II Spring Chords Festival

There are many parcel and courier services to Ukraine. Shipping time needs to be built in so the submissions arrive in Ivano Frankivsk by May 10, 2015. No entries will be accepted without prior application.

A fashion show and gala will be held May 22nd at Hotel Nadia. There is a contest component to this with judging in four categories: One Garment; Costume; Collection; Accessories.

Collection presented at II Spring Chords Festival

I would like to see many entries from USA and Canada participating in the next Festival-Contest.

This is a very doable project! All it takes is to file an application by Mar 20th; send your outfit(s) to Maria Chulak by May 10th for fitting a model and prep for the show; plan a trip to Ukraine with a stop in Ivano Frankivsk for the Gala SPRING CHORDS Festival-Contest on May 22, 2015.

The personal trip would be an awesome for the Festival and your soul. Need any more excuses?

The benefits are numerous. If you participate, you become an "international" designer, creator and supporter of contemporary folk arts in Ukraine. If you have something suitable, I believe you can send a few outfits (don't forget the application form) to Ivano Frankivsk. There have been many great contemporary embroidery events recently in USA, i.e. at the Ukrainian National Museum. We have been doing this for a long time in North America.

'Sorochka' chemise at I Spring Chords Festival

Final walk of outfits and costumes at the II Spring Chords

HISTORY
The competition originated with the goal of developing and simultaneously supporting young talent, creativity and growth professional level of a fashion designer.  The festival enables an interregional exchange of artistic values, preserving of traditions and acquaints youth with Ukrainian folk culture. This form of artistic competition strengthens the love of folk arts and creativity, preserves spirituality, ethnic independence, and is a renewal of moral values.

The main goal of the festival-contest is to give students and young professionals opportunities to express their fantasy, demonstrate expertise and visualize garment styles based on folk traditions. “Spring Chords” helps applicants make the first steps in a professional career, enables the development of a nationally-focussed creative individual. 

Participation in the competition gives youth a chance to demonstrate their artistic potential to professional designers and is a natural starting point for further cooperation with well know fashion designers.

SPRING CHORDS Festival creates the conditions for creative collaboration between collectives and master craftsmen – representatives of the traditional national culture; enables the rebirth of national holiday rituals and customs, propagation of better spiritual  values of the Ukrainian people,  love of the native land; helps connect youth to Ukrainian folk art; encourages the preservation and support of the historic-cultural and natural riches of the Carpathian land. 

Participation in the  “Spring Chords” Festival-Contest is free.

Participant’s work and information about them will be included in the Festival catalog.

The creative work of the designers will be evaluated by a competent jury:  designer, art scholars, craftspeople, artists, expert-analysts.

    Categories:

One garment;

Costume;

Collection;

Accessories.

Entries should be created on the basis of folk traditions and be adorned  by  embroidery, weaving, bead embellishment.

Entries should demonstrate the designer is aware of the current fashion trends and direction.

Entries should be created using quality materials, in keeping with the technological requirements.

Entries should be oriented for the consumer.

EACH PARTICIPANT COVERS THEIR OWN SHIPPING and TRAVEL EXPENSES

All participants will receive certificates from the festival-contest “Spring Chords”; 

Contest winners (in each category) will be awarded with memorable souvenirs.

Information about “Spring Accords’ will be available through the internet; in the press, media, information services, other mass media with rights to feature the event. 

Here are all the details and application form in English and in Ukrainian. 

In the framework of the festival -contest there will be master classes, press-conferences about the festival results, formal finale, awards ceremony and a  gala concert.

Merry Christmas

Christmas Tree in Toronto

Hard to believe it's Christmas Day already! I had many good intentions and lots of traditions I like to observe. By the time I got around to them all, here we are blogging on Christmas Day in Detroit!

This year's Christmas card mailing was huge! Twice the usual amount because I combined it with thank yous to all the wonderful people I met in Ukraine in my family visits, folk arts and beadwork research quest. How do you stop and print a few photos for keepsakes when you snapped 2,000+? There goes a full week/weekend trying to edit and selectively print "just a few"... Then there's the handwriting of each card. Began to feel like a dinosaur when I mentioned it to folks. Seems like cardwriting has fallen out of favor in today's busy crazy times. I continued on because I believe it's important to personally thank each and everyone and send a token photograph of our good times... they'll get it in time for Ukrainian Christmas on the Jan 7th.

My husband Eugene picked up the tree and decorated it while I continued writing cards. The baking was done in shifts. Pinwheel and honey poppyseed log cookies were sliced and baked on the 23rd morning before packing. The baking pans and ingredients for other favorites were thrown in to finish baking in Detroit once we arrived after a white-knuckled drive down Hwy 401 near Ingersoll, ON.

Yesterday morning I assembled gift cookie plates. Then worked on a few gifts and off to my brother's we drove for a Christmas Eve celebration. Family and friends came from far and wide. Traditions were observed. New twists were added. It was really nice... perfect! Later, we drove down to my parish for Midnight Mass. The church was full of families and classmates because everyone came "home for the holidays". What a wonderful time...

Christmas Eve 2010 in MI - Maria & Eugene

Merry Christmas! Best wishes to all for a Blessed and Peaceful Christmas. May the spirit of the season continue throughout the year.

Lexi & Don's Wedding "Korovai"

"Korovai" baked by Rosey Parubchak

I should be beading, but no.... I'm having too much fun putting together a iDVD for Lexi and Don from their wedding in Buffalo, NY on Oct. 9th.

It's a challenge as I took well over 500 photographs. I've been called a "chronicler" by Mary, so this is what I'm about to do. I'm trying out another "new" toy that came with my MAC. Should be very interesting...

As you can see, this was not your average wedding. There were traditions pulled in from all sides. The Ukrainian wedding bread is called a "korovai". It was baked by my sister-in-law Rosey in Toronto. Read all about the "korovai" in the write-up below.

The "korovai" and periwinkle wreaths on a specially embroidered "rushnyk"

Mary, the Mother of the Bride, embroidered an original "rushnyk", a ritual cloth which served functions throughout the wedding day. She incorporated symbolic patterns and motifs from both her and the groom's family into the 'rushnyk'. The wreaths you see on the altar represent the crowns of gold and are a folk custom from Ukraine. It was nice to see them blessed and worn for part of the service.

Don & Lexi Dixon hold the "korovai"

Lexi's family has a unique little ritual and requested a special smaller "korovai" ring be made. During the reception it was tossed and caught by the couple. The one with the larger half is the "boss". Guess who got the bigger half?

Small braided ring to see who's boss

Embellishing Your World

I'm just putting the final touches on this newest inspirational presentation about beading and surface designs (needlework, mixed media, etc.). This seminar will debut this Sat, Oct 22nd, at 3 pm at the Creativ Festival in Toronto. Here's what it's all about:

Transform the mundane into beautiful with an array of technique and design ideas presented by bead artist Maria Rypan. Be inspired to embellish a few things once you see how people in different parts of the world meet the challenge to create beauty with materials on hand. Breathtaking photographs of decorated objects and their stories will motivate you to transform a few of your own.

PS: There is so much eye candy! So many incredible artifacts from First Nations people, Pashtun tribes, Zulu chiefs, Ukrainian artisans, school kids and a former dissident, US crafters and a Canadian bead artist! Plus a chance to visually "meet" some of these talented people with their folk art.

I would love to show this PowerPoint presentation around the world. Just say the word, and I'll be there. Let's talk....

Presentations in Ukraine

How appropriate for the PowerPoint slide from OH to be the lead in for my presentations in Ukraine...

So much has transpired between the visit to the Ukrainian Museum-Archives Aug 13th and Sep 13th. There was a visit to an amazing Pysanky Museum in Reading, PA on the way to Bead Fest at Valley Forge. Then there was a two week trip to Ukraine for research and family visiting. I have tons of photos and stories!! These will be told a little at a time between shows and trips.

Maria at entrance to Ivan Honchar Museum, Kyiv, Ukraine

It was a great pleasure and privilege to share my "Contemporary Beadwork in Ukraine" PowerPoint with beaders and folk art enthusiasts in Ukraine.

I thought it would be interesting to show my presentation to master craftsmen, beaders, museum directors and staff who graciously allowed me to photographed some beadwork in their "fondy" archives. I wanted to show them how I've incorporated their work and stories into one of my many presentations. This one covered the different styles of beadweaving, gerdany, loomwork, embroidery with beads, metalwork, wirework, beaded eggs, etc.

I presented the "Contemporary Bead in Ukraine" twice. First on Sep 6th at the Educational Metodogical Center in Ivano Frankivsk, Western Ukraine. Then on Sep 13th in a great hall lined with display cases full of incredible artifacts at the Ivan Honchar Museum in the capital Kyiv.

A photograph is worth a 1000 words and provides a

stunning contrast to my contemporary outfit.

The Ivan Honchar Museum is dedicated to preserving traditional

folk arts through photograph and artifact collecting.

Maria tells about Ina Wasylkevych's cabochons and leatherwork in Truskavets.

A great buzz was created at the Honchar Museum

It was really wonderful to see so many beaders hanging on to every word, even photographing the the slides as I was showing them. Great questions came afterwards, as well as even greater expectations and ideas of what to do next.

Thanks to my brother, Paul Wasylkevych, for the photos and assistance with the PowerPoint presentation.

Contemporary Beadwork in Ukraine at UMA, OH

On the way to Philadelphia for Bead Fest, we'll be stopping at the Ukrainian Museum-Archives in Ohio on Aug 13th and 14th. I'll be presenting my Contemporary Beadwork in Ukraine and a Trunk Show Friday evening.

I've pulled the best photos of the most fascinating beadwork seen in my many recent trips to Ukraine. You'll see several bead artists/vendors at the Vernisage, a piazza full of folk art next to the Lviv Opera. Visit master craftspeople’s homes. See how the rich legacy of beadwork evolved into contemporary colored accessories. You’ll be amazed at the variety of beadwork styles, bead embroidery, wire bead flowers, beaded eggs... and more.

My RYPAN DESIGNS Trunk Show will feature books, beadwork kits and patterns related to Ukrainian-inspired themes and more. Refreshments will be served.

There will be two Gerdany Beadwork Workshops on Saturday for an excellent hands-on intro to the world of beadwork. Be sure to sign up for classes. This could be your new hobby! Advance registration required for workshops. Space is limited. See www.umacleveland.org Contact: (216) 781-4329 or email staff@umacleveland.org Ukrainian Museum-Archives Inc., 1202 Kenilworth Avenue, Cleveland OH 44113-4417

Wintery visit to the museum in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland

Ivan Franko statue by Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964)

First reflection

I'm Maria, a beadaholic and designer of Rypan Designs, taking baby steps into the world of blogs to share information about beading, folk art and eye candy.