Beverley Lowes

During July and august of this year myself and six other students travelled to Slovakia. The placement lasted five weeks, during this time we learnt a lot about the culture, traditional crafts, and history of the country it's self

During the five week period, we learnt about fifteen different textile techniques, throughout each week we spent Monday to Friday learning how to make the traditional textiles and working in small business workshops. One of my favourite's techniques was macrame. This was a knotting process mostly used for traditional hangings. To start the technique we tied thirty lengths of rope to a piece of wood, and then started to knot each length together. In the future, I would like to use this technique again maybe using different materials.

We also learnt a technique called bobbin lace. This process was the total opposite to macrame. For this, we used a round pillow and twenty pegs. Our pieces were very small and delicate. I also would use this technique in the future for decorative purposes.

During the last week we visited a studio in Presov where we learnt weaving, we spent two days testing different colours, ideas and sizes. I really enjoyed this technique as it is readily available and used by myself at the collage I attend.

Other techniques that we learnt included:

- Gatre, this was a technique where you cut out pieces of a fabric and made a lace effect inside

- Sewn lace and sun techniques, these techniques were similar in the way that you made a frame with thread and then sewed inside to make the lace

- Crochet, instead of using needles we used hooks to make the loops

- Embroidery, this was like colouring with thread. We chose our design then filled in with different stitches and colours.

During the five week stay, we took part in many cultural activities. On our first weekend, we took a raft ride down the river Dunajec on the polish border. The raft took us through a very mountainous region, which also had a number of canyons. It was interesting to hear some of the cultural stories and myths about the mountains.

Spik castle: was a great cultural experience. The castle was situated high above the rest of the surrounding landscape, the views from the top was amazing. The castle also has a museum containing old clothing, ceramics, tools and coins, which once belonged to the castles historic occupiers.

Zadielska canyon: was a sight I will never forget. One Sunday our guides took us for a hike to the top of the canyon. The canyon sits 650 meters above sea level and is situated near the Hungarian boarder. The gradient is very steep and it took us about one and a half hours to reach the top.

However once there the views were spectacular and well worth the effort as we could see the Hungarian boarder and beyond.

Nearer to stropkov, there was a lot to see and do. About twenty minutes away there was an open air museum. It held many old houses from many areas around Slovakia. Wooded houses were mainly used in high tetras. These houses would be painted with white patterns to show wealth and would have high fences surrounding the properties to keep wild animals at bay.

Death Valley is also a sight to see, the valley is dotted with Russian tanks, 30,000 people lost their lives in three days of fighting in world war two, the Russian solders fled leaving the tanks behind. It was amazing to see the tanks now knowing they have not moved since the day they were abandoned.

I really enjoyed the stay in kezmorak and stropkov. I think the programme should definitely be repeated as I have learnt so much about the culture and more importantly about the traditional textile techniques. I will definitely use the techniques I have learnt in future projects on my college course. In addition, the culture, scenery and style of Slovakia have given me a multitude of ideas, which I think will influence my future projects. Thank you for the experience of a lifetime to visit Slovakia it is a memory that I will treasure forever.

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