More from the Ukrainian folk art exhibit at the Fuller Craft Museum: embroidery!
The pieces above were both embroidered on cotton by Rosa Kutaseyvch. The red one is Vesilnyi (Wedding), 2018; the yellow one is Khortytsya Pisna (Song of Khortytsya), 2017.
According to the display,
Cossack embroideries, rich with symbolism and—according to Zaporizhzhya craftswomen—a touch of magic, are central to Ukraine's cultural heritage. Artist and ethnographer Rosa Kutasevych founded Tsvit Kalyny (Цвіт Калини) (Blossom of the Guelder Rose), a group dedicated to reviving these intricate traditions. The guelder rose, or kalyna (калина) is a beloved symbol in Ukrainian folklore, representing love, family, and hope.
In Cossack wedding tradition, red embroidery was crafted with great intention: started on a Thursday morning under a new moon, with a clear mind and prayer. Only healthy artists could stitch these garments, believed to carry protective energy into married life. Designs are double-sided—perfectly mirrored front and back—requiring months to complete.
Rosa, born in 1942, can no longer embroider due to illness. Today, her successor Nadia Tkachenko leads Tsvit Kalyny, whose members-many now elders-continue this legacy. Works on view include those by Rosa, Nadia, Zoya Doroshenko, and Kateryna Zarivnyak.
And here's pictures showing both sides:
The next one was hard to take a picture of, but it has a great story (and it's cross-stitch, my first and still favorite fiber craft):
Maria's Embroidery, a soul of resistance
In Ukrainian tradition, the rectangular shape of embroidered cloth symbolizes life's journey. Regional patterns carry ancestral memory—each motif a symbolic cryptogram of identity and belief. Typically stitched in red and black onto linen or hemp, embroidery decorates both household items and clothing, and plays a vital role in rituals such as weddings and funerals.
The vyshyvanka (вишиванка)—an embroidered shirt—is perhaps the best-known garment, its stitches around the neck, cuffs, and hem believed to protect the wearer. Since 2006, Ukrainians around the world have celebrated Vyshyvanka Day each May by wearing this emblem of cultural pride.
This vintage table runner was embroidered by Maria Sushailo, great-grandmother of exhibition ethnographer Sophia Sushailo. A widowed mother of three, Maria bravely expressed her patriotism through subtle blue and yellow threads—the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Years later, artist Alla Kishchuk replicated Maria's designs onto a shirt for Sophia's son, extending the lineage of love and resistance.
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