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Alanna Brown
I went on the placement to Slovakia mainly because I wouldn't ever miss an opportunity to go to a place I hadn't been to and learn about the place and its culture.
On the placement I learned lots of new techniques and retried some I already knew. We learned three techniques in Kesmorok craft workshops and visited the crafts school that had a lot of artworks on its wall and so had a friendly and inviting feel.
The first technique we did was Gatre; this is where you draw a circle on a piece of cloth then sew two lines of running stitch around the drawn line. You then fill in the circle using different knots and loops and then you sew over and under the two lines of running stitch before cutting out the cloth from inside the circle. I found this technique a bit fiddly but think it would be better on a larger scale, where the knots and loops were bigger. Next we did a technique using a piece of card and a pattern. You put the pattern on top of the piece of card then pin it and sew a running stitch along the lines of the pattern which you then remove, it just tears out. Then you fill in the sections of the pattern with the Gatre technique and finely you over sew the lines of the pattern and cut the running stitch so it comes away from the card. This technique took us a long time because it was hard to get the hang of so I found it quite frustrating but I am glad I learned it and think that if I wanted to use it in the future it would get easier. We were also doing some tie dying of fabrics which I have done before but not the way we did it. We learned how to use different coloured bits of wool and string to create wiggly lines of colour on the fabric as well as the main colour we were dyeing it.
In Stropkov we worked and learned at the cultural centre, which was a nice place to be especially when the Stropkov fair was approaching, as there were dancers and bands practising. We worked with three different people here. Firstly we learned from a woman called Maria, who we called Grandma. She was very friendly, and made cakes for us as well as making us some crochet hats. From her we learned a number of techniques including Embroidery and Cross stitch, which I already knew, and ones I didn't that used crochet hooks, metal 'Us' and little spindle like tools. I really liked Maria and found the techniques interesting. In the cultural centre we also learned how to do Macrame. This was one of my favourite techniques as you can create a big piece of work quickly it; is also not very fiddly, because of the scale. I would like to use this technique again and try out using some different materials such as coloured plastics.
We also made bobbin lace, which uses a pattern pinned on to a cylindrical cushion, with pins to hold the string from the pairs of bobbins. You weave the bobbins in and out of each other, pinning in each row at a time, and then you spray it with hairspray to hold it, and take the pins out to remove it from the cushion. Even though this was a slow technique in terms of the size of the piece you came out with, which would usually make me dislike it, I really enjoyed this technique and would have been happy to spend more time in the bobbin lace workshop of the cultural centre.
The last technique we did was weaving and this was my favourite which is very surprising because I didn't like it at my college induction. We did it in a shop that had a really nice feel and I made three rugs. I really think I would like to do more of this.
We went on several 'days out' which consisted of. going to two castles, one in Kesmorok and Speis Castle, a walk up a canyon, an open air museum, the valley of death, where thirty thousand people died in three days in the second world war, and where there are still tanks lying around in the fields, a walk in Slovak paradise, which uses lots of platforms ladders and bridges, (not for people with vertigo) and a raft trip. We also went into several churches, explored Kosice, Kesmorok, Stropkov and the place we did weaving, as well as enjoying the Stropkov fair where we saw dancers and singers. Mostly our experience with the locals was good. Bella and I spoke to many of the locals and made some friends, we also got a couple of email addresses so we could keep in contact. I also saw some interesting wildlife such as beetles, butterflies, plants and I even saw a snake outside the boarding school which is something I have been dying to see.
Overall I think the trip was one of the best experiences of my life so far, if not the best. I learned many new and interesting techniques some of which I would like to use again. I also learned things about the culture like that the speakers that played (annoying) music to you all day as you walk around Stropkov are left over from when Slovakia was a communist country and that people in Slovakia don't put milk in their tea. Going on the placement has also helped me realise things about myself like I can live away from home and without T.V. It's also given me more confidence to try doing things that I haven't done before.