Carving from Space. How does Strynaduiks family of Masters are engaged in Hutsul Carving
Mykola travels all the time. He is constantly in search. Most of all, a man likes to wander around his own home, to create in the imagination a variety of ornaments, lines, shapes. He says that this is the only way to draw energy for his work. He is entering his workroom. The diffused light of the lamp is leaking throughout the space. You can see сarving materials poured out everywhere. There are ornamental icons, plates, various paintings, copies of Hutsul hand crosses, ancient Hutsul zgardas nearby. three monochrome wedding photos are hanging on the wall near the table.
There is my father’s wedding. And also, mine.
Long ago I took spiders for my collection at my grandmother`s stable. And those spiders were weaving a web here. That was cosmically!
he recalls stories from the past.
The man is laying out the materials for work on the table. He is also trying them on and showing for us.
Mykola Strynadyuk, or simply “Koka” is a master of Hutsul carving. “Koka” is the master’s “alter ego”. This is also the name of his workroom in Kosovo. Mykola has been working with carving for a long time. Almost all of his life. He is constantly looking for new formats and ideas. Master skillfully experiments and combines what at first glance seems incompatible. He uses many Hutsul motifs and outlines in his decorative carvings. But he says that’s not enough to make the product interesting and unique in the end. That is why Mykola tries his best to find new forms and ideas for his craft. The melange of the traditional and the actual is depicted by new concepts of Hutsul carving perception of the Strynadyuk family. Many expressive images and forms for future works are laid down from the childhood and are only eventually emerged in the imagination. In this way Mykola sublimates and transforms them.
While Mr. Mykola is little by little showing carved icons and crosses, his son Bohdan joins the conversation. He, like his father, is also engaged in Hutsul carving. However, Bohdan’s decorative works and technique differ significantly from his father’s works. Here Bogdan begins to make a blank. Slowly, carefully. Then he draws an ornament, and then carves. Ornaments abound in all sorts of colors, whimsical shades and lines. While Bogdan is getting down to business, he adds that it is impossible to live near the mountains and not be inspired by them.