ABC's of Creativity - Some of Our Favs

Back in January of 2013 Maria and I were working to get her newsletter setup and published. We talked about things to include and the idea of the "ABC's of creavitity" was mentioned. I thought that it would be great to have here on her blog and I offered to write the first one about being inspired by Art. So we started on journey last January 14 with A is Art.

Over the year every 2 weeks either Maria or I have written about a topic suggested by a letter of the alphabet that would inspire, inform or entertain you, our readers. There have been challenges along the way, including the time that Maria and Blogger did not get along; remembering who was going to to which subject and family committments. But together we were able to take you on this creative journey.

Today I am going to look back at some of our favorites.

My post B is Beads was fun to look at different types of beads and how they can be used. It was great to find information about some of the oldest beads ever found.

These ancient shell beads with manmade holes are among the oldest ones ever found. They could be about 90,000 years old. (from National Geographic News)

Maria's post C is Color was both informative and inspiring. It touched on the various color relationships and shared inspiring palettes and beadwork. Including this amazing collaborative piece entitled Teczak - The Rainbow.

This ultimate color wheel was designed as a fundraiser by Ewelina Rzad. 50 beaders from Poland participated. Soutache and seed bead wrapped cabochons are tastefully layered into a collar. Each cabochon is a mini work of art.

One of Maria's favorites is her post E is Embroidery. She was able to show the amazing embroidery with both thread and beads from across Ukraine and around the world.

This "sorochka" chemise uses beads to create a row between stylized flowers or acced their centres. It was created in Ukraine and is now part of Maria's collection.

The post J is Jewelry was fun to write as I looked as accessorizing from top to bottom. There is lots of eyecandy but also helpful images like this.

Guideline for necklace lengths

The two posts about Maria's areas of beading expertise are informative and inspiring - L is Loomwork and N is Netting.

"Costume of Kabuki" kimono on display at Bead & Button Show with designer and beader Takako Sako

Bead Shroud of Tabakenkhonsu @ MET

I enjoyed the challenge of preparing the post Q is Quills. There is limited information online about this unique First Nations art form. Using pictures Maria took during a class with First Nations' beadwork artist Naomi Smith, I was able to take you thru the basic steps of this variation of beadwork.

Maria's work in progress

And of course we could not take you on this creative journey without including S is Seed Beads. Maria's post does everything we were hoping do with each post; inspire and inform.

Czech seed beads with iris, silver-lined, matte painted stripe and opaque finishes.
From "Beader's Paint Box", 2013 seminar

I hope that you have enjoyed our creative journey thru the alphabet and that we have inspired and been informative along the way.

Wishing you a happy, healthy and creative New Year.

Happy Beading!

ABC's of Creativity - E is Embroidery

Embroidery is the art or process of forming decorative designs with hand or machine needlework. There is no end to the types of stitches and their possibilities, singularly or in combination.

Mother and daughter in Hutsul dress. The 'sorochky' and 'keptarl' vest are embroidered. The little girl's 'sorochka'  has all the traditional elements, but in miniature. I just love the beaded 'sylianka' 'gerdan' around her neck.
Photographed at the Yaremche Festival, 2006

Many nations have there own unique styles which serves to identify where the people are from. Folk costumes can be very specific to a particular village, a region, and finally a nation. This was true in the late XVIII centuries to mid XX centuries in Ukraine and its neighbours.

Hutsul region. Love how the 'sylainka' beadwork goes with the embroidery. The 'serdak' jacket is also embroidered with wool. Yaremche Festival, 2006  

A few embroidered 'sorochky' on display at the 60th anniversary exhibit of Ukrainian National Museum, 2012

Nastasiya Marusyk wears a Bukovynian bead embroidered 'sorochka' from Zastawniw and a bugle beaded 'obhortka' wrap skirt. Olya's 'sorochka' is also beaded while her 'obhortka is woven. Nastia embroidered this  original 'rushnyk' ritual cloth.
Ukrainian National Museum, Chicago, 2012

Embroidery can be a work of art in itself. An expression of creativity.

Close-up detail of Nastia's own 'rushnyk' pictured above, 2012

Detail of another of Nastasiya's unique 'rushnyky', 2012

Traditional embroidery with a one of a kind pictorial story below. Seems like love was in the air when this 'sorochka' sleeve was embroidered.

Detail of a 'sorochka' from the Hnatiuk Collection.  Note the "carved out" design created with a clever use of the needle and thread. Ukrainian Museum and Archives, OH, 2011  

Borschiw 'sorochka', Ternopil Region, from the Hnatiuk Collection.
Ukrainian Museum and Archives, OH, 2011

Detail of a 'sorochka' from the Pokuttya Region.
Collection of O. Turyansky, Ivano Frankivsk, 2004

Bedcover  sewn together using Bukovynian 'sorochky' from the end of the XIX century by Osypa Hryhorovych of Majeriw, Ukraine. Ukrainian Museum and Library, CT, 2012

Bukovynian 'sorochka' sleeve panel from the bedcover. Note the metalic beads and sequins embellishment. Ukrainian Museum  and Library, CT, 2012

Bukovynina 'sorochka' sleeve panel from the bedcover. Strings of seed beads color the flowers. Ukrainian Museum  and Library, CT, 2012

Dnipro Region 'sorochka' and embroidered 'korsetka'.
Ukrainian National Museum, IL, 2012

Detail of 'sorochka' embroidered with cross-stitched flowers.
Ukrainian National Museum, IL, 2012

Detail of a Bukovynian 'sorochka', mid XIX century.
Ukrainian National Museum, IL, 2012

Opillya Region. Seed bead embroidered corsette with sequins on the tabs.
Hnatiuk Collection, Ukrainian Museum and Archives, OH, 2011

Opillya. Same region, but the individual's personality is revealed with her own seed bead embroidered flowers.
Ukrainian Museum and Archive, OH, 2011

 The loom size determined the width of each panel. The cut and construction is very basic. The embellishment is gorgeous. Note decorative stitching to camouflage the seams.

'Sorochka' framed as art.  This 'sorochka' is embellished with beads.
Ukrainian National Museum, IL, 2012

Sleeve detail of the 'sorochka'. Note the interesting pattern created by repeating three motifs . Also the raised white motifs are created by unique 'curly' stitches. Seed beads embellish the black outlined motifs.
Ukrainian National Museum, IL, 2012

Detail of my 'sorochka' from the Bukovynian Region. Note the bead embellishment in the flowers.
Maria Rypan Collection, 2006

It does not have to be an even count fabric, though this is handy for cross-stitch and geometric patterns.  Sheepskin has been used to embroider on in the Carpathian Mountains.

Deerskin was used by the First Nations. The cut and decorative design of dresses or jackets told from which nation the wearer was from. Pouches, bandolier bags and moccasins were also embroidered in regional styles.

Santee Dakota Northern Plains men's jacket, about 1870's.  It has glass and metallic beads embroidered on tanned hide. Museum of Civilization, QC, 2010

Moccasin display. Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto, 2012

Pair of Southeastern beaded moccasins. Bata Shoe Museum, 2012

Woodland beaded moccasins display. Bata Shoe Museum, 2012

Pair of Woodland beaded moccasins. Bata Shoe Museum, 2012

In bead embroidery, a single or combination of "anything with a hole in it"can be picked up on a needle and stringing material. The beads are secured to fabric or a new embroidery medium courtesy of a few stitches. Some people embroider accessories, i.e. bags, clutch purses, headdress, even shoes.

Beaded butterfly decorating an embellished shoe by Roger Vivier, France.
Special exhibit at the Bata Shoe Museum, 2012

Pearls seed bead embroidered shoes by Roger Vivier, France.
Special exhibit at the Bata Shoe Museum, 2012

Embroidered fabric shoes by Roger Vivier, France.
Special exhibit at the Bata Shoe Museum, 2012

Roaring Twenties hat embellished with fabric flowers and creatively embroidered leaves coordinate nicely with the shoes with cut-out pattern on the tips.
Bata Shoe Museum, 2012

Embroidery can be used to embellish functional objects around the home. There is no end to the possibilities here. It could be a table runner, tablecloth, decorative pillow, curtains or wall hangings.

In retrospect, you've just seen fine examples of decorative embroidery created in two very different corners of the world. There's plenty here to inspire your creativity.

And I haven't even touched on the new forms of bead embroidery around cabochons! Freeform embroidery is fun. There are a lot of gorgeous neckpieces and bracelets being created today.

We'll just have to continue this topic another time... Meanwhile, do give embroidering a try. It can be very  Zen-like calming change of pace!

"From the Museum's Trunk" Sorochky Exhibit at UNM, Chicago

Bead embroidered 'sorochka', UNM Collection

The embroidered "sorochky" exhibit opened Fri, Jun 9th, 2012, and will be on display for two months. There are 88 chemises from the Ukrainian National Museum Collection brilliantly exhibited on walls and a trunk, dramatically featured in a few frames and shown in full costume with bilingual ethnographic information. These were adorned with traditional beadwork: 'korali', 'gerdany', a Lemko 'kryza', a 'dukatch' pendant. And this the tip of the iceberg! There are about 158 'sorochky' from the XIX to XX centuries in their archives. See their video for an idea of what to expect.

East "sorochky' wall. Zakarpattia, Opillia & Volyn mannequins.

Row of "sorochky' on the east wall

The Dnipro Region, UNM Collection

On the way back from the Bead and Button show Monday we specially stopped in Chicago to view this folk art exhibit. Am I ever thankful we did! This was lucky for me, but I assure you this display is well worth the drive!!

Sorochky Exhibit at UNM, Chicago

Could not believe how prevalent the floral motif was in so many 'sorochky'... And how many interpretations and stylizations there were!! We left with a great respect for the culture, tradition, symbolism and awe at the genius of the creators of these works of art. 

I now have great material for future visual presentations. My next inspirational one is for this October's Creativ Festival. It's called "Nature Reinterpreted: Adornments and Decor".

From the East Wall of the Sorochky Exhibit

"Tour of Gerdany Regions" started at UM-A, Ohio

These presentations premiered at the Ukrainian Museum-Archives in Cleveland on Aug 12th. Luckily for me, The Hnatiuk Collection was on exhibit in the Gallery where I was to hold my Gerdany Workshops on Saturday.

 The Hnatiuk Collection Exhibit with a gerdany workshop setup

 Kilims and 'Keptar' vests from The Hnatiuk Collection

I attended the opening of the Hnatiuk Museum in Livonia, MI in the late 1990s. So many artifacts and treasures crammed into a walkout home basement was an unforgettable sight! I was just getting into beadwork and fascinated by a showcase with shelves full of gerdany. These photos start off my Beadwork Photo Album.

'Sorochka', The Hnatiuk Collection

Kudos to UM-A Curator, Aniza Kraus, for the dramatic display of a selection of embroidered 'sorochky, keptari and kilims'. By focusing on the production of the fibers and materials, the exhibit was educational. The UM-A published a book using The Hnatiuk Collection as the basis for scholarly articles on textiles from the XIX & XXth centuries with 400 great photos for reference.

Friday night at the Rypan "Movies", UM-A

My PowerPoint presentation was held in the Museum main room on Friday night. The "Ethnographic Region Tour" was a hit for the North American viewer. It was a great intro to the "Gerdany Regions" of western Ukraine. Here the viewers saw an ethnographic region map introducing multiple slides of gerdany beading from different regions. They could get an appreciation for the various styles of beading, colors and motifs.

Learning different styles of gerdany-making at UM-A

There were two contemporary beadwork Gerdany Workshops on Saturday. 

Maria helps Jennie Bochar learn how to bead

Best treat for me was the collection of beadwork Jennie brought for Show & Tell. Among the gerdany, there were her Baba's pieces brought over when she was 16 years old. I never say such a tiny Lemko 'kryza'!

 100+ year old 'kryza', J. Bochar Collection

'Kryza' details, J. Bochar Collection