I have a pretty handy character feature – I can keep concentrated and calm in crucial moments – as if all emotions disappear, just because I can’t stand any uncertainty. Who am I, which side do I belong to – these questions were never questionable for me. Because life itself combined both east and west in me, with the blood of my parents. Two questions always annoyed me as a child: – Who are you? Halushka (a type of dumplings) from Poltava (a city in the centre-eastern part of Ukraine), or a western Banderit (follower of Ostap Bandera, a famous Ukrainian nationalist)? – Who do you love more: father or mother? At that time, I silently marvelled at the idiocy of adults, while I myself often pondered these questions and why people cared so much about my answer. The train every summer, twice in both directions, Uzhgorod-Kharkiv (east to west), a day and a half away, across the country, threaded my love and wonder for the mountains, – tunnels with lights to be counted, – closing my eyes with fear on high bridges – beautiful roofed train station in Lviv – not to miss the poppy fields of Rivne – not to oversleep the illuminated woman with a sword on the shore, and cross (religious orthodox tradition) myself, so that the train does not fall into the waters of the Dnieper River – and be filled with the resinous aroma of pine forests and the dry smell of the sands of Poltava…
I am Ukrainian, I am calm, and the course of my thoughts is steady. I will do everything I have planned so that more people will be surprised by the beauty of Ukrainian clothes. And I will do what I can at this time as a citizen of my country. Almost a month has passed since I started working on this item of clothing. Originally provided by Baba Yelka from the vaults of the Kropyvnytskyi Museum. Pliers, broken needles, wounded fingers. But I am very happy with the result.
24 Feb 2022 at 2:46 pm
Ukrainian Text by “Stiozhka” clothes atelier Translated into English by Ukrainianvancouver team – Mar 04, 2022