Folk icons painting with Yura Rafaliuk

Working with Yura Rafaliuk as an assistant and translator for Folk Icons Painting workshop series. The workshop offered to gain insight into the stylistic world of folk painting and folk iconography, starting by finding and prepping a wooden surface to work on using traditional methods with guided instruction on how to incorporate myth and folklore themes into a beautiful stylized piece of art using egg tempera and other paints

Yura Rafaliuk (Юра Рафалюк) is an artist and musician currently living in the village of Legedzyne, Ukraine who paints, embroiders, and plays Tsymbaly (Hammer Dulcimer), using traditional Ukrainian folk motifs and melodies interpreted in his own unique hybrid style.  

The major theme of his  current work is to study textile samples that have been in fashion in the village of Legedzine, situated in Cherkassy region, in central Ukraine. Fabric is seen as a form of an information matrix that transfers culture, local preferences and the lifestyle of village inhabitants. With it, you can follow how the fashion and tastes have been changing in the given region since 1940 -­ 1950s till now.

Ukrainian holiday dress in the XIX-XX centuries

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I feel like the big part of singing Ukrainian folk is to have more reasons to wear these incredible antique costumes.

When I put on the long embroidery shirt I feel like I turn into magical creature... and then it's not anymore me who's singing, it's the entire ancient ancestry that is behind me...

Ukrainian holiday dress in the XIX-XX centuries.

Mural Contest Beaux Dégâts (Montreal 2018) WINNER!

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Beaux Dégâts tends to create a parallel with street art and Fine Arts. It puts forward what has been forgotten by many artistic institutions, the reality the artists from the street, the importance of community, sharing, accessibility, the unusual. All mediums are allowed except spray paint. During the night, the public votes for their favourite painting.

For over two hours, our team of four artists called Chicken Lovers (Aaron Davis, Natalia Telentso, Jean-Phillipe, Alexandra Bandean) among other five teams created 8'' by 8'' mural on a theme given the night of the event: corporations that stole from street artists VS tarot cards. Which for us was McDonald and a tarot card of our choice from the list provided - Strength VII. We researched and appropriated visual references to conceptualize the artwork in front of the public and in 20 minutes presented our sketch. Our idea was to create the image like the tarot card but instead of a woman taming a lion we had Ronald McDonald "taming" a chick. Within the rest 1,5h we finished the mural and realized the audience voted for us the most, so we won the competition!

Drymba (Дримба) sound and vibration

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These are the thoughts about music (sound, vibration) and humans that to me are fascinating!

*Drymba (also known as mouth harp) a small musical instrument consisting of a lyre-shaped metal frame containing a metal tongue,which is plucked while the frame is held in the teeth, the vibrations causing twanging tones. 
**Molfar is a person with purported magical abilities in Hutsul (peoples of mountain Karpatian reigion in Ukraine) culture. Their abilities focus around herbalism and other folk magic.

Drymba sounds in two voices: first is the one that an audience can hear and the second one is heard only by the one who's playing. Because to play drymba one must push it firmly against their teeth it creates powerful vibration in a body. This effect leads to stopping... what molfars call "routine mind" (and shamans call "inner dialogue").

By the way, drymba's shape is similar to tuning fork, which is used for tuning musical instruments. So maybe, Hutsulian drumba actually is an ancient tuning fork that tunes to inner music of the Spirit?..

Human's language is not perfect only music is. Because it's the language of higher spheres, language of spirits of light. All nature, every plant and every stone has its sound, its music but people don't hear it. Only the lucky one's can hear it. Whoever is able to hear it is the happiest person in the world. There was time when the world had universal language and it will become like that once again when people will have universal language music...

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Original text in Ukrainian:

"Дримба звучить на два голоси: один із них чують слухачі, а інший тільки той, хто грає. І оскільки дримбу міцно притискають до зубів, створюється сильна камертонова вібрація в тілі. Цей ефект призводить до повної зупинки того, що старий маг дон Хуан із племені які називає «внутрішнім діалогом», а мольфари повсякденним розумом.
До речі, за формою дримба схожа на камертон інструмент, який використовується для настроювання музичних інструментів. То може, гуцульська дримба і є древній камертон для настроювання на внутрішню музику небес? І з допомогою цього маленького інструмента мольфар входить у такий стан, в якому починає чути «гармонію сфер», що нею створено та впорядковано світ?"

Уривок з книги Громовиці Бердник "Знаки карпатської магії". Автор - донька фантаста Бердника. 

Мова людська недосконала, тихо промовляє Мольфар. Досконала тільки музика, бо то мова верхніх сфер, мова горніх світів і світлих духів. Уся природа, кожна рослина й кожен камінь мають свою музику, лише люди її не чують. Чують окремі щасливці. І хто в змозі відчути й почути її то найщасливіша людина в світі. Був час, коли світ мав єдину мову, й колись знову настане такий час, коли людство матиме єдину мову музику...

Original source http://hogo-cz.livejournal.com/306709.html

Це коротка витримка із польового запису, зробленого у квітні 2011 року (за допомогою Mia Pixley). На додаток до гри на дримбі, Нечай також розповів Міа про с...