Sunday, March 31, 2013

Perseverance / Perseverenta

"Life isn't worth living unless you are forced to defend it now and then. Therefore you haven't truly tasted success unless you've picked yourself up after failure has knocked you down, as many times as it takes, until you accomplish what you've set out to do"
(The lesson of Perseverance - Wowacintaka, in "The Lakota Way" by Joseph M. Marshall III)

Today I found myself thinking about these words, facing the almost-summer outside when only four days ago we were dealing with heavy snow and freezing temperatures. I found it quite difficult to adapt, mostly because this is isn't the first time this month when weather goes from one extreme to another, and I only thought of the fragile flowers already in bloom the other days, eager to welcome this... twisted springtime. Among the few blades of grass, only sweet violets were still peeping their heads out of the cold earth. Strong, persevering, yet so delicate!... 



 Confruntandu-ma cu aproape vara de afara, dupa ce cu doar patru zile in urma ne luptam cu zapada si temperaturi sub limita inghetului, mi-au venit in minte cuvintele de mai sus. Mi-a fost greu sa ma adaptez de la -16 la +20 de grade Celsius, cu atat mai mult cu cat nu este prima trecere de la o extrema la alta din luna martie. Si m-am gandit la florile deja desfacute, din spatiile verzi, nerabdatoare sa intampine primavara asta... sucita. Printre putinele fire de iarba, doar toporasii isi mai iteau capetele din pamantul inca rece. Puternici, perseverenti si, totusi, atat de delicati!...





Sacred Spirit - Yeha Noha (Wishes of Happiness & Prosperity)

Detalii:
  • Set de 6 suporturi pentru pahare
  • Dimensiuni aprox. 11.5 x 11.5 cm
  • Fata din doc alb, cu floare aplicata din fetru lila si broderie manuala cu ata neagra de bumbac Perle Cotton no8, iar spatele din olandina lila
  • Puncte folosite: punct de ramurica si punct de nodulet
  • Pret: 50 lei
Details:
  • Set of 6 fabric coasters
  • Size approx 11.5 x 11.5 cm
  • Front side of white duck, with applique lilac felt flower and black hand embroidery using cotton thread Perle Cotton no8; back side of Holland-like lilac 100% cotton fabric
  • Used stitches: stem stitch and French knot stitch
  • Price: 11.5 Euros

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Radacinile trecutului nostru / Roots of our past


"Is it good to seek the past, Master Po? Does it not rob the  present?
If a man dwells in the past, then he robs the present. But if a man ignores the past, he may rob the future. The seeds of our destiny are nurtured by the roots of our past."

"Este bine sa cercetezi trecutul, Maestre Po? Nu-ti fura asta prezentul?
Daca omul traieste in trecut, atunci el isi fura prezentul. Insa daca omul isi ignora trecutul, si-ar putea fura viitorul. Semintele destinului nostru sunt hranite de radacinile trecutului nostru.  "

Kung Fu (TV Series, 1972)



Pe coloana existentei noastre, am ajuns intr-un moment de stramtoare. Viitorul ne sta inainte necunoscut, opac, incert... Campia trecutului insa, ne este inca fertila. Si radacinile puternice. 
Am pus alaturi de ele vartejul energiei regenerative si curgerea blanda a apei binefacatoare, pentru ca impreuna sa hraneasca si sa indrume semintele mult-incercatului nostru destin. Demn, curajos, vertical.  



On our existence column, we reached a narrow point. The future awaits ahead of us unknown, shadowed, doubtful... Yet the plain of our past is still fertile. And our roots strong.
I laid next to them the whirl of regenerative energy and the soft drift of benefactress water, so that together they could feed and guide the seeds of our long-troubled destiny. Dignified, brave, upright.


Simboluri primordiale: coloana -> viata, spirala -> energie regenerativa, linii paralele serpuite -> apa binefacatoare , rombul ->fertilitate (dupa Virgil Vasilescu "Semnele cerului")

Primordial symbols: the column -> life, existence, the spiral -> regenerative energy, sinuous parallel lines -> benefactress water, diamond -> fertility (acc. Virgil Vasilescu "The symbols of the sky" )



Detalii:

1. fete de perna din olandina, dimensiuni 40 x 40 cm
  • fata din olandina alba, brodata manual cu simboluri primordiale, cu ata de bumbac Coats Perle Cotton no8
  • spatele asortat din olandina albastra sau in culoarea lavandei (mov)
  • inchidere cu fermoar pe spate 
  • pret / buc: 65 lei
2. fata de perna tricotata dimensiuni 40 x 40 cm
  • fata tricotata cu model in romburi, din bumbac egiptean 100%, in culoarea lavandei (mov) 
  • spatele din olandina in culoarea lavandei
  • inchidere cu fermoar pe spate
  • pret / buc: 70 lei
Details:

1. 40 x 40 cm pillow cases made of Holland-like 100% cotton fabric
  • front side made of white Holland-like cotton fabric, hand embroidered with primordial symbols using cotton thread Coats Perle Cotton no8
  • assorted back side made of blue or lavender (mauve) Holland-like cotton fabric
  • zipper closure
  • price / piece: 15 Euros
2. 40 x 40 cm knitted pillow case
  • knitted front side with diamonds pattern, using lavender (mauve) 100% Egyptian Cotton
  • assorted back side made of lavender Holland-like cotton fabric
  • zipper closure on the back
  • price / piece: 16.30 Euros

Cu paine si sare / With bread and salt

Prinsi in valtoarea vietii de zi cu zi, tot mai rapida si mai solicitanta, ajungem sa pierdem din vedere adevate minuni ce ne-au fost date, conditii bazale si esentiale ale existentei noastre. Minuni pe care le consideram de la sine intelese si de care, din pacate, nu rareori de batem joc, pervertindu-le, ratand astfel semnificatia lor profunda.
O astfel de minune este painea. “Painea noastra cea de toate zilele”, hrana de baza in alimentatia taranului roman, adanc respectata si cinstita. Hrana a trupului si sufletului deopotriva. Martor si mijlocitor al relatiei cu divinitatea prin plamadirea, coacerea si sacrificarea (ruperea) ei simbolica la fiecare eveniment major al vietii - botezul, casatoria si inmormantarea, dar si in cadrul altor momente ceremoniale de peste an, de profunda traire spirituala. 

In cultura traditionala romaneasca, painea si implicit graul au avut dintotdeauna o valoare sacra. Painea pregatita anume pentru momentele “de prag”, de trecere, este una speciala, purtand insemnele ascunse ale cerului si Soarelui. Si chiar daca prea putine femei le mai stiu azi intelesul, painea (colacul ceremonial) continua a fi pregatita in acelasi fel, cu semnele de inceput – coloana cerului, cercul solar, semnele regenerarii si transformarii - tacute marturii ale unor vremuri in care arborele vietii nu fusese inca taiat, cerurile ne vorbeau, iar oamenii stiau sa asculte…


Caught in daily life’s torment, more rapid and more demanding, we often get to miss real wonders that were given to us, essential conditions to our existence. Wonders that go without saying, often brought into oblivion by perverting them, and thereby failing to understand their profound significance.
Bread is such a wonder. “Our daily bread”, basic food in the feeding process of the Romanian Peasant, deeply respected and honoured. Food for both body and spirit. Witness and mediator of our relationship with the divinity through its kneading, baking and symbolic sacrificing (chunking) at every life’s major event – baptism, marriage and funeral, but also during other spiritual ceremonial moments over the year.

Bread and implicitly wheat always had a sacred value in the Romanian traditional culture. Bread made for the times “of passing” is a special one, bearing the hidden symbols of the sky and Sun. And even though too few women can still “read” their meaning, bread (the ceremonial ring-bread) continues to be baked the same way, bearing those long-given marks – the column of the skies, the solar circle, the symbols of transformation and regeneration – silent evidence of the time the tree of life hadn’t been cut off, the skies still talked to us and people knew how to listen…  

Muos (Mos) impartit la pomana / "Muos" the alms-bread
            especially baked for the funeral
image via: http://www.formula-as.ro/2010/900/enigme-16/sfanta-paine-a-vlahilor-11985
Colacu' lu' Crasun (Colacul lui Craciun) / Sacramental bread  baked for Christmas
image via: http://www.formula-as.ro/2010/901/enigme-16/sfanta-paine-a-vlahilor-ii-12010

Painea indeplineste si o functie magica, de revelare a viitorului. Se crede ca fetele nemaritate isi pot afla ursitul in ajun de Mos Nicolae (in noaptea de 5 spre 6 decembrie). Ritualul presupune ca fata sa-si pregateasca o paine alba, mica si sarata, pe care s-o manance inainte de culcare, iar in vis i se va arata cel care o va lua de sotie, aducandu-i apa. Conditia esentiala pentru indeplinirea dorintei este aceea de a tine post negru peste zi, purificare absolut necesara pentru primirea semnul divin.

De asemenea, painea ritualica,  coapta si mancata in anumite zile “date” ale anului protejeaza impotriva bolilor, atat pe taran, cat si pe animalele din gospodarie pe ajutorul carora isi intemeiaza intreaga existenta.  
Faptul ca painea a ocupat si ocupa un loc central in cultura traditionala romaneasca este reflectat de multitudinea de proverbe si zicatori cu si despre paine, dar si de aceea ca cea mai mare dovada de respect si ospitalitate fata de cei care ne trec pragul este a-i intampina cu paine si sare. Pe stergar alb, cusut cu semne tainice, aceleasi de pe painea-dar.

Eu nu cunosc aceste semne, dar am pregatit painii de zi cu zi cativa saculeti de panza, sper eu potriviti pentru asa onoare. 

Bread also has a magic role, of revealing the future. It is believed that single young women can find out who their fated one is on Saint Nicholas’s eve (the night between 5th and 6th of December). The ritual consists in baking a small, salty white bread the young woman has to eat before going to bed and so she’ll dream the fated one bringing her water to drink. The main condition for her wish to be answered is fasting over the day, purification absolutely necessary to receive this divine clemency.

Furthermore, the ritual bread, baked and eaten in special, “given” days of the year keeps the diseases away from the man and his animals on whose help lay the foundation of man’s entire existence.
The fact that bread has and always had a central role in Romanian traditional culture is shown by the multitude of sayings with and about bread, but also by the fact that the greatest form of hospitality and respect towards our guests is welcoming them with bread and salt. Both on a white towel, hand-embroidered with mystic symbols, same as those baked on the gift-bread.

I don’t know these mystic symbols, but I made some fabric bags for bread which I hope to be appropriate for such an honour.   






Detalii:
  • saculeti pentru paine din olandina alb si crem 
  • dimensiuni: aprox 40 x 29 cm
  • brodate manual cu "paine" si diferite alte simboluri si modele (spice de grau), cu ata de bumbac Coats Perle Cotton no8
  • petice aplicate din in, poplin, panglica sau iuta, cu marginile nesurfilate pentru un aspect mai rustic
  • snururi asortate din in, panglica, poplin sau sfoara, pentru inchidere
  • pret / buc: 25 lei

Daca va place un model, dar il doriti brodat cu "paine" intr-o alta limba, va rog sa-mi trimiteti un email ori sa lasati un comentariu cu respectivul cuvant, iar eu voi fi mai mult decat bucuroasa sa vi-l cos. Multumesc!

Details:
  • bread bags made of Holland-like 100% cotton fabric (white and cream)
  • size: approx 40 x 29 cm
  • hand embroidered with "bread" and other symbols and patterns (wheat), using cotton thread Coats Perle Cotton no8
  • applique linen, poplin or hemp patches, with raw edges for a more rustic appearance
  • assorted linen, poplin, ribbon and rope cords, for closing
  • price / piece:  6 Euros

In case you like a pattern and wish it with the word "bread" written in your own language, please feel free to write me (and of course, the word! :)) and I'll be more than happy to do it. Thank you!