Art of Gerdan - Edmonton

From Feb 11 to 15th I'll be doing my own mini Olympics in Edmonton as guest of Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts (ACUA) “Art of Gerdan”.

I'll be giving two presentations and beading workshops at each of three cultural venues. Looking forward to visiting the Kule Folklore Centre at the University of Alberta. The Ukrainian Catholic Women's League of Canada Edmonton Eparchy at Josaphat's Cathedral and Ukrainian Museum of Canada at St. John's Cultural Centre both have Museum Tours included with the "Art of Gerdan" event. Everyone interested in beading is welcome to come. Be sure to register for workshops. Click for brochure. For details by date, visit Canadian Events.

Christmas Concert

When in Toronto, I sing in a church choir. Sunday, Jan 10th, St. Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic Church Choir and Musicus Bortnianskii had a Christmas Concert of the most beautiful, rarely heard carols in N.A. Our conductor, Myron Maksymiw, manages to find rare gems and works hard to get us to tell the stories with our voices, intonations.

We were joined by the "Zoloti Struny" (Golden Strings) bandurist ensemble. Special guests from Ukraine played ancient carols on the "tsymbaly", a dulcimer-like instrument, and the "sopilka", a wooden wind instrument. They too were wonderful!! Each group had a little girl, who like an angel, rang a little bell perfectly! Every one was in awe. The evening was an absolute success!

Our modern church was beautifully decked out for Christmas. The choir ladies wore embroidered blouses, each one a work of art. I'm second from the right and here is my "sorochka" up close.

"Sorochka", late XIX-early XX century, Ukraine

Wool thread embroidery and seed beads on homespun even-count fabric.

The blouse has an added plain underskirt meant to be worn with an overwrap and finished with a wide "krajka" sash.

Close-up of sleeve head. "Kucheryavyj" (curly stitch) embroidery with seed bead embellishment

Christmas Beaded Tree ornament

This is a great ornament for Ukrainian Christmas Eve! As you can see, the Beaded Tree looks great when it's hanging freely. Beads were playfully strung on fine wire inside a metal cut-out attached to a burnished copper shape. A large bead above the tree serves as the topper and connection to the hook for hanging this fun ornament.

To those who celebrate according to the Julian calendar, best wishes for a Blessed Christmas.

Радісних Свят Різдва Христового та Щасливого Нового Року!

Веселих Свят!

Jo-Ann's Snowflake ornament

This Snowflake was a gift from my friend and samplemaker Jo-Ann. It's netting, beadweaving, at it's best. The little red stars are a R.A.W. detail which makes this snowflake one-of-a-kind.