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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЧЕРВЕНЬ 2011 23 Beautiful and ornate gerdany had additional value. The more coral necklaces with coins a maiden had, the better were her chances of finding a rich husband. Austro - Hungarian coins were most popular. Coral, which was imported from Italy, could be bartered for wheat. Ms. Wolynetz briefly discussed gerdany and similar neckw ear created in specific regions of Ukraine. She noted, for example, that Hutzul kra i ka designs are very similar to gerdan designs. Boyko gerdan designs have floral motifs, while their embroidery design have geometric motifs; interest - ingly, the color combination used in both makes the gerdany and embroidery l ook alike. The Lemko gerdan, called k ryza , was very wide, colorful , and geometric. She also touched on “hair gerdany,” which are seed beads sewn onto ribbons, and on long gerdany, which are a modern invention created to suit modern dress. The second sem inar, “Traditional to Con - temporary Gerdany,” was presented by Ol g a Kolo - dij, who began her discourse by explaining that gerdany are traditionally a Western Ukrainian art form and that women in Eastern Ukraine created and wore balamuty — large Venetian beads and coral . Ms. Kolodij’s presentation was accentuated by her PowerPoint presentation of numerous examples of traditional gerdany and wedding headwear. She pointed out that even though a particular collection of gerdany might come from the same area, no t wo are alike . While the colors are similar and distinctively regional, the designs and layout of individual pieces are very different. The explanation for this is that no woman wanted to wear the same thing as another was wearing, and there was a competiti ve spirit that drove creativity and originality. Ms. Kolodij, who is “100% Boyko,” showed examples illustrating this point from Boykivshchyna, C h ernivtsi, Lemkivshchyna, Kolo - myia, and other regions of western Ukraine, drawing attention to regional color s chemes, symbols, and techniques. She noted, for example, that Zakarpattia is the only region that uses the ladder symbol ( drabyna ), that the Bukovyna region gerdany show a strong influence from neighboring Romania (floral patterns), and that V - shaped gerda ny are unique to the Ternopil area. Ms. Kolodij spoke at some length about trends that changed traditional gerdany into contemporary “artwear.” The four strongest influ - ences were mobility, creativity, access to printed information, and women’s desire to create or at least own gerdany that could be worn with contemporary clothing. A traditional gerdan design can easily become a contemporary design, and contemporary gerdan artists implement the following basic de - viations: changing the color of the beads, u sing different beads, introducing small changes in how a design progresses, and making the design narrower or wider. In concluding her presentation, Ms. Kolodij explained that art of gerdan making tapered off and nearly disappeared in the mid - 20th century ; interest in gerdany was rekindled by two important publications: Evhe lina Lutvynec’s Charivni Viza - runky (published in the 1970s) and Olena Fedor - chyk’s Ukraiinski Nadroni Prykrasy z Biseru (published in 2007). Among those in Ukraine who pursued the near ly forgotten art was Irena Bilyk, a teacher at the Children’s Creativity Center and School in Lviv. Ms. Kolodij showed many examples of the beautiful work that the children under Ms. Bilyk’s tutelage are creating. Ms. Kolodij also spoke about two Ukrainian Americans who revived interest in gerdany in the Philadelphia area — Lu c ia and Theodo sij Hryciw. Mrs. Hryciw offered to teach gerdan - making classes at the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center, and Mr. Hr y ciw crafted special table looms for this purpose . They later taught at UHSC at Manor College. More recently, Chrystyna Prokopovych created a 5 - lesson curriculum in the art of beadwork, which is still followed at the Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center. The final seminar for the afternoon was presented by Maria M. Rypan and was entitled “Contemporary Beadwork in Ukraine.” Ms. Rypan’s PowerPoint presentation showed the work of many contemporary bead workers in Ukraine; among the ones featured during the seminar were Nastia from Cherniv ts i (who uses beads in stead of cross - stitch to complete designs); Vaselyna Artsenykh - Hordenko (who sews traditional gerdan designs on cloth for display); and Yurij Melnychuk (whose three beaded headpieces were featured on Ukrainian stamps of “girls with head w ear”) . Ms. Rypan a lso spoke about other beadwork applications and art forms, including eggs decorated with beads, bead flowers, and bead icons. In closing her presentation, she noted an interesting anomaly between display preferences for gerdany: While diaspora artists disp lay their gerdany horizontally, artists in Ukraine display them vertically. – T etjana Artymyshyn - Daniliw and Tamara Stadnychenko
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