Ukranian Embroidery

Vera Nakonechny

When my family immigrated to the United States in 1962 we settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the network of Ukrainian-Americans was strong and well established. I was able to immediately explore my interests in Ukrainian folk arts and soon became involved in passing this living artistic traditions to others with my volunteering in youth organizations, schools and the Ukrainian Heritage Museum.

As a folk and traditional artist I have assisted in the preservation and further development of this art forms by passing them on to the next generation of Ukrainian-Americans, as well as stimulating interest in people outside of the Ukrainian-American community.

I have leaned weaving from Master Craftsman Mrs. Eudokia Sorochaniuk thru seminars and grants received from PCA. Weaving is a big part of the Ukrainian folk art that varies from region to region – the colors, the styles, the techniques and uses.

I intend to continue my research in Ukraine in the archives of the Ethnographic Institute and National Museum in Lviv and other local museums. What has been preserved in their archives is of invaluable worth but in grave danger of being lost do to archaic preservation techniques.

I will continue teaching and sharing my knowledge in part, because I realize that this is a means for my cultural community to remain a viable and vibrant part of the American mosaic, as well as an entity in itself.

Artists Achievements

~Became a member of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America, and participated in their courses in Ukrainian Folk Arts. These courses emphasized methods of passing on the techniques to others.
~Became a member of the teaching staff of the Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center at Manor College and participated in traveling exhibits.
Under head instructor Zenovia Shulha at the Lviv Academy of the Arts in Ukraine, studied loom-weaving techniques and completed a woven skirt (using an 8 harness loom) with an intricate pattern from the Poltava region.
~Conducted further research about Ukrainian embroidery in the archives of the Ethnographic Institute of Lviv, the National Museum of Lviv, and other museums throughout Ukraine.
~Guest speaker at an international conference held in Ukraine on the preservation of traditional art forms in the Ukrainian Community, both in Ukraine and abroad. The major focus of the conference was on methods of teaching children and passing the knowledge on to adults.
~Served as a consultant for a display of traditional folk garb of Ukraine at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
~Participated in a festival in Maryland supported by the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington where I demonstrated and displayed weaving.
Prepared artifacts for an exhibit at Troy-Hayner Cultural Center, Troy Ohio
~Continued research in Ukraine on weaving techniques from Kyiv, Lviv, Chernihiv, and Kosiv (in the Carpathian Mountains region).
Guest speaker at seminar held at the Ethnographic Museum of Lviv in Ukraine on the subjects of “Promoting and preserving traditional art forms in their true form in the diaspora” and “Accomplishments in preservation of traditional art forms, made possible by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.”
~Exhibited my works and conducted a hands-on seminar to learn Ukrainian weaving at CHA & SPRINGSIDE MULTICULTURAL EVENT at Chestnut Hill Academy.
~Prepared an exhibit and took part in the Ukrainian embroidery and weaving teaching at the 14th Annual International Spring Festival organized by North Penn School District in Lansdale, PA.
~Took part with Mrs. Eudokia Sorochaniuk in the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Apprenticeship in Folk Arts – “Master/ Apprentice” program sponsored by New Jersey State Council on the Arts held in the Down Jersey Folklife Center at Wheaton Village, NJ. ~Our work was exhibited at the Center’s Museum for three months.
Elected to the advisory board of the Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center in New Jersey.
~Participated in the opening of the “Community Fabric: Group Show” held by Philadelphia Folklore Project and my work was exhibited at their museum.
~Participated and demonstrated weaving in the Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center in Millville NJ.
~Took part in the conference sponsored by the Ukrainian Museum in New York – “Folk Art, Folk Lore, Folk Life -Ukrainian Living Heritage”, demonstrating weaving.
~Became a member of the Philadelphia Guild of Hand weavers.
Article published on the Philadelphia Folklore Project publication “My art is my passion”.