Русский ремесленник

Definition

Characteristically Ustyug popular art, known here since the end of XVIII century. The place of its existence was not a city, a suburban village located on the opposite shore of the Great Ustyug Northern Dvina. In the name of the river flowing here Shemogsy, wood bark is sometimes referred to as "shemogodskoy thread. In the villages located on the shores of Shemogsy, in the XVIII century, farmers have learned the art of penetrating the slots and stamping on birch bark.
High skill of carving on the bark was famous shemogodskaya d Kurovo-Navolok, and the most talented carver and artist was IA Boar, a farmer of this famous village.

Art features a groove on the bark due to the properties of materials: birch bark of young birch, soft and pliable under the knife of the carver, steady hand that easily removes the motive for outlining the pattern, and sometimes simply "memory". After this plate glued to the bark are the items usually made of soft wood (aspen), sometimes the background to tint or color foil glued.
Shemogodskuyu thread is different from the traditional floral motif: a thin branch with leaves, gently curved, filled the entire field of carving patterned lace. Often in vegetable ornaments wizard injected geometric patterns of circles, diamonds - "cakes", ovals, segments. Tracks were built on the principle of clear symmetry. Completed the drawing border of leaves, triangles, wavy linear, mesh. Are allocated to the product subject compositions: from gallant scenes of court life, tea parties and festivities at the fabulous gardens in the XVIII - early XIX century - to reflect the household of the peasant classes: hunting, fishing in the late XIX - early XX century.
Modern masters Shemogodya, summing up the experience of previous generations, creatively developing the traditional stories and designs continue to surprise us with beautiful works of art. Vegetation pattern they combine with images of architectural monuments of the Great Ustyug, like weave in digestive ornament fairy figurines of birds and animals, readily illustrate the northern folklore. These patterns involve dynamic shoots with herbal curls, lush ornamental flowers. Bright contrasting backgrounds emphasize the beauty of the pattern, identify the natural properties of the material. Artists masterfully varied traditional ornaments, enriching their own creative discoveries.

Touching the bark

Shemoksa River, a tributary of the Northern Dvina River, slowly flowing past the birch and spruce woods on the green meadows filler. Look in the mirror her deep whirlpools of time-darkened hut villages with carved skates on the roofs, with lace trims on the windows. The local inhabitants have always been famous carpenter and carpenters' skill, skillful products from birch bark.
Birch bark - the oldest and most common in the North of the material for handicrafts. Because it makes shoes, kitchenware, toys, luggage, body and even cut lace.
Researchers at the northern handicrafts believe shemogodskaya Proreznaja elm began in the late XVII and the beginning of the XVIII century, when art cut the ornament on the iron began to decline and its methods as it moved to another material - bark. According to the old-timers, pioneers of this industry were masters Vepreva. This name were all residents of the village shemogodskoy Kurovo-Navolok that next to the Great Ustyug. In 1882, The local artist Ivan Afanasievich Boar for their products from birch bark was slotted at the All-Russia exhibition in Moscow, a gold medal. At the beginning of this century handmade birch bark products at the World Exhibition in France were awarded the diploma with honors.
In 1918, a lone artisans in Shemogodskom county created a cooperative association. The case initially went briskly, but then birch bark products for some reason, withdrew from the proceedings: they say she could not find wide demand. After lengthy negotiations on the Rights of the guild shop combined with a local furniture factory, and then completely shut down. It seemed that folk art, which has developed a long time, is about to die ...
So tell me one of the oldest masters shemogodskoy thread Yegorovna Alexander Markov, plump, round-faced woman with the characteristic rapid severyanok okatnym accent. Alexander Markov learned this craft in the war on shemogodskoy factory, Anna Alekseevny Ryadovikovoy, which adapted to their time skills with Vepreva.
After closing the shop has moved to Markov Great Ustyug, worked at a furniture factory, in kindergarten. In the evenings, to finish work on the farm, sat down to cut birch lace. Tormented ancient stock bark at tueski, mugs, jewelry boxes. Bestowed their girlfriends, neighbors, people you know. Gradually, her skill saw, there were orders for exhibitions, museums and private collections. In the late 60-ies started working in Kuzin, where the plant opened shop shemogodskoy thread, and soon Markov was invited to produce birch-bark boxes at Great Ustyug factory art brushes. Stalled fishing has been gradually reviving.
... The shop smells of the June birch forest products. Gently knock on wood hammers - it is going to box. For tables, spaced along the window, intently working girls. Before each masters - a pile of birch bark strips, ribbons, prepared in advance. On the one hand tape matte, velvety, white and pink, the other - shiny, dark-yellow. Barely noticeable bulging "needle" does not spoil the polished surface of the bark strip. Immediately uncomplicated tool: a slightly obtuse awl, compass, ruler, a short sharp knife on a long wooden handle and a smooth beech dosochka the size of a notebook.
Alexander Yegorovna puts one of the birch-bark strips on the board, take an awl and gently regard them center strip. Under her arm appears meandering line - the main stem. And now it grows trefoil first, second, third ... Smooth, rounded stems in part from divergent branches gradually entwine the entire surface of the bark strip.
- The hardest thing in our work - wiring, - says Alexander Yegorovna .- A good eye masters needed to balance in illustration was that nothing fell out and avoid overloading it.
Otcherknuv with line border, and scattered strokes, stamens in flowers, the veins in the leaves, - Alexander Yegorovna lays an awl, and picks up a chisel. Deftly, she keeps uhvatisto long handle of a knife. Cutter exactly concerns known only masters of places on the bark ...
- Birch bark, you know, too, with the character - Alexander continued Yegorovna .- In a soft well-cut, on the solid and layered - is more difficult: the edge bully, clean background and the details will not be. That is why one recent case - the workpiece material. Every year in early June, having received permission from the forester, we all go into the woods. Choose birch no older than fifteen years, always in a mixed forest. Snow-white, fragrant bark of birch sap can be easily removed. Only a little nadrezhesh down the barrel and ready. Trees with no rot, continue to grow. Then the bark is dried in the shade, pressuem, skin, smooths. Only then cuts out the right size piece for the boxes, baskets, mirror frames ...
Marvelous lace bark grows right before your eyes. Craftswomen are carving confidently and quickly, while they do not use any type specimens, and keep the picture in memory.
It is believed that the old masters shemogodskie basically cut trefoils with finishing trim, although the products meet the early twentieth century and the complex plot designs - for example, the image of hunting, carnival. Today Markova and her students, continuing the best traditions of shemogodskih artists, develop new modern details in the carving.
Ready to go over to registration boxes birch belt. Nesting dolls and bears, berries and birds, daisies and cornflowers, dandelions and sunflowers skillfully intertwined in a complex tie ornament.
- Each girl has his own hand, - said Alexander Yegorovna, taking a masters bark harvesting .- Here are the latest in the Rye vasilechki carved Galina Fomina, and these sunflowers are made Lyuda Bazhenova - her hand once you learn, with any other can not be confused.
I wanted to follow to the end, as is done birch-bark box. When the lace for her ready masters cut ribbons at the ends of "Castle" and neatly missed her glue to attach podtemnennomu stained birch-bark background. Then podkraivayut nutretso, also of birch bark, and, combining all three layers together, put them on sulagi, so here is called the wooden blanks. Few dried, then bend the edge, then again dried. When elm take the form of boxes, sulagi pull out, and instead insert the bottom and lid, previously otshkuriv them and refurbished. It remains only to glue on top of a lace bark circle - a box of tea is ready.
In the workshop on smoothly ostrugannyh wooden shelves are stored folders with thumbnails, boxes of different sizes and colors, birch bark baskets, wooden handicrafts, souvenir shoes, wicker snuff ... Caught my interested gaze, Alexander Yegorovna explains:
- These products are ready for adoption in production. And this - my job for the All-Union Exhibition of folk art.
I take off the shelf light fawn, warm to the touch chest, tightly wrapped in birch bark creamy lace. Peered into the lid boxes and see - the coachman whipping horses, and rushes, rushing three, vzvihryaya snow dust ...

"Vokrug sveta" magazine. December 1981.