On the eve of the Christmas and New Year holidays, research staff of the regional history museum, together with artist and designer Svitlana Krachylo, held a master class on making a New Year's postcard "Hutsul Reindeer". The idea was inspired by images on tiles by the famous Hutsul folk master Oleksa Bakhmatyuk (1820–1882).
The event was opened by Oksana Dragomyretska, Head of the Department of Archaeology, Medieval and Modern History of the Region, who congratulated those present on the upcoming holidays and emphasized the particular importance today of fostering national-patriotic education among youth, and involving children more in discovering their own Ukrainian roots…
Tetiana Nykyrsa, Leading Research Fellow of the Department of Nature of the Region, prepared a fascinating presentation on the mysterious world of fairytale flying reindeer harnessed to Santa Claus's sleigh, and real northern reindeer, which impress people with their strength, speed, and endurance. She introduced guests to a representative of the fauna of the Bukovinian Carpathians – the red deer, and spoke about the significance of this animal in ancient Ukrainian mythology as a symbol of the sun, purity, renewal, and of deer antlers as an embodiment of sun rays, the tree of life.
In the archaeological exhibition, Oksana Dragomyretska demonstrated Late Paleolithic tools made from the antlers of red deer and northern (!) reindeer, emphasizing that due to the harsh climate in ancient times, these inhabitants of the North were representatives of the local fauna.
Images of deer at various historical stages can be found in cave drawings, on pottery, and pysanky (decorated eggs)... Notably, on the ceramic dishes and tiles by the 19th-century master potter Oleksa Bakhmatyuk, samples of which (dated 1853) are presented in the exhibition of the Department of Archaeology, Medieval and Modern History of the Region. O. Dragomyretska spoke about the life path of O. Bakhmatyuk (Bakhminsky), his development as a master, and his rise to popularity. During his lifetime, he produced tiles for up to 150 stoves, often installing them himself. It is interesting that today, over 1000 of the master's works are preserved in museum collections in Ukraine, Austria, Poland, Romania, and private collections.
Under the guidance of artist Svitlana Krachylo, participants of the card-making master class created greeting cards, depicting on them, using appliqué and acrylic paints, the red deer – a symbol of light, rebirth, and spirituality.
The event concluded with the presentation of gift editions of #CHOKM to Ms. Svitlana and a group photo of all master class participants.
