Ukrainian Embroidery
Master Artist: Yurij Melynchuk
Apprentice Artist: Vera Nakonechny

Description of the Art Form

Under the Soviet Union, Ukrainian traditional arts were not supported and, in fact, were actually discouraged and in some cases were intentionally destroyed. As a result, this centuries-old art form had almost been lost. Since gaining independence, Ukrainians have shown a renewed interest in traditional arts.

As an essential part of every day life, traditional Ukrainian embroidery is incorporated into many different articles and reflects the spirit and soul of its people. The Ukrainian sense of beauty and spirit has been expressed through embroidery. An extremely rich art form, Ukrainian embroidery has been passed on from generation to generation and is an intricate part of our Ukrainian culture. Yet many intricate and unique stitches and patterns are being forgotten. The preservation of the traditional designs in their pure form is of the most cultural importance to Ukrainians everywhere.

Under the Soviet Union, Ukrainian traditional arts were not supported and, in fact, were actually discouraged and in some cases were intentionally destroyed. As a result, this centuries-old art form had almost been lost. Since gaining independence, Ukrainians have shown a renewed interest in traditional arts. As an essential part of every day life, traditional Ukrainian embroidery is incorporated into many different articles and reflects the spirit and soul of its people. The Ukrainian sense of beauty and spirit has been expressed through embroidery. An extremely rich art form, Ukrainian embroidery has been passed on from generation to generation and is an intricate part of our Ukrainian culture. Yet many intricate and unique stitches and patterns are being forgotten. The preservation of the traditional designs in their pure form is of the most cultural importance to Ukrainians everywhere.

Doll in costume from Central Kyiv region. Technique: “Satin” and “Reverse Back” stitches.

Yurij Melnychuk, Master Artist

Place of birth: Korzhova-Sloboda, Ukraine
Current Place of Residence: Kyiv, Ukraine

Artist Statement

Ritual towel from Eastern Podillia region. Fabric: Hand woven from Hemp. Technique: “Two sided back stitch”, “Two sided satin stitch” and “Edging”. (Looks identical on reverse)

I have spent my entire life in Ukraine. I was involved in embroidery since my youth under my mother’s guidance, and I have been dedicated to researching and preserving traditional Ukrainian embroidery. Under the Soviet Union, Ukrainian traditional arts were not supported and, in fact, were actually discouraged and in some instances were intentionally destroyed. As a result, this centuries-old art form had almost been lost. Since gaining independence, Ukrainians have shown a renewed interest in traditional arts but are limited in the knowledge and skills available.

Accomplishments/milestones

Table scarf from Poltava Region. Technique: “Satin stitch”, cut work and “Kosychka” (long arm braid).

1980-1985, Natural geographic studies and middle school geography and biology instruction, National Pedagogical University
1989-1995 Environmental protection and rational use of resources, Geography Institute, National Academy of Ukraine
2005 Member of the organization of Ukrainian embroidery center, “Ariyana,” Kyiv, Ukraine.
2004 Participated in the international conference “Ukrainian costume in time and space.”
2003 Received a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to lecture on the symbolism of the Ukrainian embroidered ritual towel (rushnyk).
2002 Co-authored and chaired the committee to gather material for the publication of a three volume encyclopedia, “Ukrainian Embroidery.” 1998 Participated in the international conference, “The embroidered towel in the span of time,” Minsk, Belarus.
1994-1997 Organized a hands-on yearly course in the Ukrainian National Embroidery “Soloviini ochka” with the Taras Shevchenko National Museum.
1994 Organized an exhibit, “Ukrainian national embroidery: traditional and contemporary,” featuring authentic embroideries from the National Museum of History of Ukraine collection and some private collections.
1993 Received the title of master craftsmen of folk art embroidery.
1992 Founded “Tsvit,” a group of master craftsman dedicated to revive the old Ukrainian traditional embroidery.

Yurij Melnychuk taught a two year course on Ukrainian embroidery, including more than 200 techniques and stitches of Ukrainian traditional embroidery based on authentic samples from the “Ivan Honchar” Museum, as well as color application, ornament symbolism, composition, history, semantics and patterns of Ukrainian folk garb. He served as advisor to the National Guild of Folk Arts Craftsmen in Ukraine, and provides pro-bono consultation to the Folk-Technical Counsel “Ihrashka” with the Ministry of Education of Ukraine, on matters of ethnology, museology and national folk art. In conjunction with other master craftsmen, he helped with the realization of the project “Dolls in the traditional folk garb.” The project consisted of dolls (50 cm in height) dressed in miniature copies of folk garb form different regions of Ukraine. Also, in cooperation with a well know toy sculptor, Yadviha Vasylewska, he started a new project, “ceramic dolls,” which resemble features and garments of residents of the Kyiv, Poltava, and Polissia regions of Ukraine, with plans to cover all the regions of Ukraine in the future. Mr. Melnychuk has also had articles pertaining to embroidery printed in “Ivan Honchar” Museum official publications, the magazines “National Folk Art,” “Pictorial Arts” and the art almanac “Artania,” and participated in conferences and discussion panels sponsored by the “Ivan Honchar” Museum, the Outdoor National Museum of Folk Art and Architecture, the National Museum of Ukrainian Folk Decorative Arts, and the Poltava National Museum. He gives professional advice to scholars and museum administrators in appraising and obtaining museum artifacts, has lectured pro-bono to students, conducted theoretical and practical seminars in embroidery to middle school teachers and group leaders of hand crafted folk art, and has conducted many interviews with foreign and domestic newspapers as well with local radio and national TV cultural programs.

Vera Nakonechny

Place of Birth: Hanover, Germany
Current Place of Residence: Philadelphia, PA

Artist Statement

Since I was a young girl, I remember my mother embroidering different artifacts with intricate Ukrainian stitches. I was very intrigued by one particular stitch where she would embroider on the reverse side of the fabric and a beautiful pattern would come up on the right side of that fabric. I was curious of how she knew how to do it. She talked to me and explained that they were old and traditional Ukrainian stitches, from the region where she was born, and she learned them from her mother and her older sisters. I decided to learn all I could about Ukrainian Embroidery.

The love for my culture took me to different levels by striving to learn more in depth the different styles and techniques, so they could be preserved in their original and pure form from different regions of Ukraine. My main objective in this quest was not only to learn for myself, but to pass on that knowledge to others—to a younger generation.

Accomplishments/milestones

2004 Participated as a panelist at a conference sponsored by the Ethnographic Institute of Lviv on embroidery, ritual towels, and the preservation of these arts in Ukraine and the United States.
2001-2002 Continued to research Ukrainian embroidery in the archives of various Ukrainian museums.
2001 Received a fellowship grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to study Ukrainian ritual towels.
1999 Received a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to learn the technique of a Hutzul “kyptar” (sleeveless leather jacket) with Master Craftsman Eudokia Sorochaniuk.
1998-1999 Researched the archives of the Ethnographic Institute of Lviv and the National Museum in Lviv. Attended an embroidery conference and as guest speaker discussed the preservation of Ukrainian embroidery in the United States.
1994 Conducted workshops on the nyz technique in Verhovyna in the Carpathian Mountains.
1992 Conducted embroidery classes in Ukraine.