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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ТРАВЕНЬ 2010 21 PYSANKY THROUGH THE AGES Reprising a large - scale cultural extra va - ganza is a challenge — past successes have a tendency to hover as cautionary tales or to evoke subliminal anxiety that new endeavors won’t measure up to previous endeavors. The pro cess requires bold plans and attention to minute details; it relies on coordination and symbiosis (among people as well as artifacts) and there is often a precarious balance between aspiration and viability. Any number of circumstances or things can upset this balance and subject the best laid plans to unanticipated upheaval. When such things occur, there are two options — pack it in or soldier on. Case in point is the experience of Branch 88 of the Philadelphia Regional Council, which, in conjunction with t he Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center of Manor College, had hosted a wonderful and well - attended exhibit on Ukrainian embroidery back in 2009. The success of the initial even t prompted a follow - up event for 2010 — an exhibit of Ukrainian pysanky. After month s of preparation, coordination, hard work, meticulous planning, and all those things designed to make things work, the event was scheduled for February 27. Space was reserved, a brochure was created, invitations were mailed, the availability of the feature d speaker was confirmed, flyers were disseminated, and all was good to go. And then the local meteorologists stepped in, predicting that the region was about to be socked with the four or five feet of snow. There was, assuredly, a moment of dismay — the tho ught that all those meticulous plans and preparations might be derailed by weather was a bit much to swallow. But those involved were not about to “pack it in.” With some tweaking and fine - tuning and reorganization, the event was re - scheduled for March 13. Hosted at Philadelphia’s Ukrainian and Educational and Cultural Center, the event (co - sponsored by the Ukrainain Heritage Studies Center, Branch 88, and the Ukrainian Selfreliance Federal Credit Union) included displays of ornate pysanky from the private collections of Olya Kolodij and pysanka artists Sr. Josaphat Slobodian, OSBM, Roksolana Harasymowych, and Roksolana Gili - cinski; and a pysanka writing demonstration by Ulana Prociuk. A hands - on craft corner for children was cheerfully and competently supe rvised by Ir e na (Renya) Gramiak. Kiddie crafts were divided by age: The little ones colored pysanky on paper, fished for krashanky in a tub of water, or arranged magnetic letters into words. The older children were given an info - page of pysanka - related mat erial and worked on a crossword puzzle and a word search (all created and designed by UNWLA Education Chair Christine Shwed). The children were also given a tour of the exhibit. The exhibit program was officially opened by Branch 88 President Roksolana L uciw, who welcomed guests and introduced the feature speaker for the event, Lubow Wolynetz. A professor of Ukrainian Language and Literature, American Culture, and Library Orientation at St. Basil College Seminary in Stamford, Connecticut, Wolynetz is also curator and librarian of Stamford’s Ukrainian Museum and Library and part - time curator of the Folk Art Collection at the Ukrainian Museum in New York. She has extensive knowledge of many aspects and manifestations of Ukrainian folk art, has participated in numerous folk art exhibits on various themes, and has authored over 40 articles for various journals. A polished speaker, who enthralls listeners with a comfortable style that makes difficult and intricate subject matter accessible and comp re hen - sible , she lectures frequently and has presented numerous papers (on topics ranging from the women's movement to conservation and preser - vation of museum artifacts) at conferences. It must be noted here that her attendance at this event was itself a sterling ex ample of soldiering on — a 3 - hour drive through wind and rain that included maneu - vering past fallen tree limbs and assorted detours. W olynetz’s presentation began with a riveting discussion of myth and legend arising from the sun and the egg as the univers al symbols of life. While cults and myths die, the symbols around which they emerged and evolved live on. She noted that although the practice of creat ing decorative eggs were not unique to Ukraine, the traditions and customs associated with this art form have endured in Ukrainian folk art far longer than in the folk art of other ethnic cultures . She attribut ed this pheno - menon to Ukraine’s history, which until very recently was characterized by a lack of indepen - dence and a succession of oppressors , and cit ed Panteleimon Kulish’s observation that while the German lives like a German and a Frenchman lives
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