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TICATEC BULGARIA July 2005

Report by Angela Fox

I am a crafts student and I found out about this European placement to Bulgaria through my college tutor.

I have always had an interest with other cultures and societies. I thought about what a wonderful opportunity this would be for me. To learn about crafts and skills of others was fantastic.

I went with a few people from my college that had applied and was joined at the airport by three other ladies, Sarah and Barbara from Liverpool and Leanne from Lancashire. We were all of mixed age groups, which I think helped group momentum. We got on quite well together.

We started our visit in Samacov; it was there that we were to learn woodcarving and basket making.

My task within the first week was, wood carving, with the master, Stefano Banchief. He started this skill at six years old and was very experienced. Woodcarving is a way of life here in Samacov; there is carving everywhere in people's houses and also in the monasteries. Woodcarving is connected with rituals and our first carving was a mask. The mask looked quite tribal, I was told that these masks were put in houses in spring, kicking out the old and in with the new. Also you have to hang the mask on the East side, to get rid of evil spirits.

I managed to produce quite a few carvings during my time in the workshop, using lots of different types of wood, such as lime and Lagovitz. Pine, walnut, cherry, pear and oak are also used. I found the wood hard to carve at times, I was told not to go against the grain of the wood as this makes it harder to carve.

The following week was a basket making placement. Vinci showed this task to us. We were Vinci's guests, along with his two children and wife Njana. Vinci explained to us that, racita (willow) is used to create the basket. It has to dry for up to three or four days, then peeled (put back in water to peel), then boiled for two three hours depending on it's length. You cut the willow in autumn to get a dark brown colour and in spring for a white willow. You split the willow using a Tshepach. This makes first and second quality willow. The difference is that it is easier to add colour to the second quality, I think this is because it is thinner and perhaps more absorbent. The first quality willow is stronger though when it has water on it.

During our free time in Samacov we had a few visits, we went to a "Pastry and Cabbage" festival. There was traditional singing and dancing. It was a brilliant day. We got our photographs taken by the press and we were on the news. I felt like a celebrity. It was quite funny.

We visited Rila Monastery and walked up the near by mountains. When you go to the top of one of the mountains, there was a cave that you could go inside, if you went through it three times, you write down a wish and hope for it to come true.

We stayed in Chiprovski for our final week and a half. It was amazing. We were staying with the weaving master, Yolka, and her husband. She was a lovely welcoming lady. The place was very different to Samacov. It was quite rural, countryside, livestock everywhere. A few donkeys, sheep and chickens.

During our time here we experienced, dying (of different plants and barks) and weaving on a vertical loom.

We dyed wool, cotton, willow and sweet corn leaves. The first material we dyed was "Crataegus Monogyna, which is Hawthorn. We put the materials in a clay, copper and iron pot., 30litres of water is needed to dye 1 killo of wool and 1 killo of the dying product, wood or plant. The plant is left to dry out in a cold dark place, and then boiled. The type of pot used affected the colour produced. I used the copper pot, the wool turned into a dark brown colour. It was quite a warm looking brown. I made a catalogue of the materials I dyed; this will be useful when experimenting in future with colour, which interests me.

I was quite interested to learn the history of natural dying. Apparently people used natural dyes until the middle of the 19th century. In 1860, the first synthetic dye was produced in Western Europe, but Bulgaria continued to use natural dyes, as they believed that the colour keeps longer. This isn't true.

We also learnt the history of carpet making, from the 17th century through to today. During the 17th century only four colours were used, blue, green, beige and brown. Only geometrical figures were used. During the 18th century, chemical dyes were used; people started introducing nature into their work, leaves and flowers.

I found the weaving quite hard to do. It takes a lot of time, skill and concentration. I would like to try to achieve more in weaving, what I produced was quite basic. I enjoyed learning this skill though.

We had an excursion to Belogradchick. I enjoyed this visit. We went to a fortress ruins and seen the "natural phenomenon," and also, the "Magura" caves. I took quite a few photographs.

Altogether my time in Bulgaria was amazing, a fantastic opportunity. I met some wonderful people and got to learn the language. They are in general very warm and generous people and I have some great memories. I will defiantly be applying for another opportunity such as this. I have learnt and experienced some wonderful things.

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