Ukrainian folk embroidery is a valuable asset of the cultural and material heritage of the ethnic group, an important source of studying its past. The synthesis of tradition and innovation, archaic and professional, everyday and festive makes it possible to speak of embroidery as a highly artistic work of folk decorative art in Ukraine.

    Ukrainians and embroidery are inseparable. Our ancestors considered embroidered items to be a strong amulet. Embroidery was traditionally done by women, who passed on the most typical and brightest examples of ornament, color, and embroidery techniques from generation to generation. “The palette of patterns, techniques, and colors of Ukrainian embroidery is so rich that you can study them all your life and draw inspiration from them,” says Svitlana Makarenko.

Our ancestors have left us a tremendous wealth and it is our duty not only not to lose any of the priceless treasures, but also to multiply and pass them on to future generations. The artist combines the past with the future stitch by stitch, looking for rare ornaments, author’s works; she strives to preserve ancient patterns, embroidery techniques and its colors for posterity, to revive ancient patterns with the help of new techniques or colors; to convey the originality of decorative art from different regions of Ukraine.

    The artist’s life credo: “If you want to do good to a person, teach them to work well and create beauty.” For many years, Svitlana Petrivna has been directing her energy and inspiration to the development of the creative personality of each of her students, rooting for them, helping them to realize their ideas into original works. And over the years, she has created a lot of them.

Escaping from the war, the master brought her treasure, a huge collection of works, to Kamianets-Podilskyi, her hometown. The exhibition features works by the embroiderer herself and her students. Their products are a world of beauty and fantasy, a world of graceful images made in half-forgotten techniques of Ukrainian folk embroidery art – towels, napkins, panels, pillows, Christmas decorations, women’s and men’s shirts. Among the highlights of the exhibition are the embroidered book “A Pumpkin Walks in the Garden” and the cover for Taras Shevchenko’s “Kobzar”. The works convey the originality of decorative art from different regions of Ukraine, introduce various embroidery techniques and its colors.

    Traditional embroidery is not an ordinary decor. People are realizing this even more now, in these difficult times we live in. Embroidery is an art, our unique heritage. It is native, it warms the soul, it shows who we are, identifies us as Ukrainians and shows that we are proud of it. Our ornaments are the imprints of the values of today, which are closely linked to our roots.

For reference:

Svitlana Makarenko (born in 1966 in Kamianets-Podilskyi, since 1993 lives and works in Dnipro) is a member of the National Union of Folk Art Masters of Ukraine, an embroidery artist, winner of the Tetiana Pata Art Prize, head of the Embroidery circle of the exemplary artistic collective “School of Needlework” of the Municipal Extracurricular Educational Institution “Center for Extracurricular Work No. 1” of the Dnipro City Council.

1986 – graduated from the Kamianets-Podilskyi Cultural and Educational College;

1986 – worked as a methodologist at the KhRSaMCCaA (Khmelnytskyi Regional Scientific and Methodological Center for Culture and Arts);

2010 – graduated from the National Academy of Management Personnel of Culture and Arts.

Exhibitions:

2011 – “Let’s make our beloved Ukraine bloom with embroidery” (Museum “Literary Prydniprovia”, Dnipro);

2011 – “The Country of Embroidered Dreams” (art gallery of the Kamianets-Podilskyi State State Historical Museum-Reserve);

2012 – “White on White” (Dnipro Regional Universal Scientific Library named after named after the Slavic First Teachers Cyril and Methodius);

2015 – “Our flowers all over the world” (Dnipro House of Arts);

2015 – “Towels of Podniprovia” (cultural and entertainment complex “Dokhodnoto Zdaniye”, Ruse, Bulgaria, later this exhibition was exhibited in Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas);

2016 – “In the Land of Embroidered Dreams” (Hetmanate Museum, Kyiv);

2016 – “Patterns of Fate” (Museum “Literary Prydniprovia”, Dnipro);

2021 – “Paths on Canvas” (Museum “Literary Prydniprovia”, Dnipro);

2022 – “Paths on Canvas” (Kamianets National Historical and Architectural Reserve).