A series of presentations and workshops in traditional Slavic art in the USA are set to be led by two ladies from Hovorany, South Moravia. They are travelling as ambassadors of the Moravian Beauty foundation, which promotes folk traditions across the world.
Expats and art lovers in the United States are soon to get a personal visit from the traditional art of Moravia and Slovakia. Ludmila Zahrádková and her daughter Jana Kůrková set off last week from Hovorany in the Hodonín region. They are travelling to three states in the USA to teach fellow Czechs and other interested parties how to paint traditional Slovak motifs in interactive workshops.
The pair flew first to Atlanta, Georgia, and are supported by the Moravian Beauty foundation, which regularly cooperates with Czech and Slovak communities in the USA. Founded in 2020, the organisation aims, among other things, to preserve and develop the art of folk crafts, and to care for the tradition of folk costumes (kroje). This means that Ludmila and Jana's suitcases will contain quite unusual clothing for a foreign trip: traditional dresses, starched and brightly coloured. The audiences on their American tour expect it!
The workshop's coordinator, Tadeáš Kopřiva from the Moravian Beauty foundation, outlines the itinerary and cities to be visited:
"Atlanta, Cedar Rapids, Dallas, and West. We will be leading three workshops in Atlanta. Mostly it will be painting on clothes and wood. The same thing awaits us in Cedar Rapids and at the Czech Sokol in Dallas. In West, we will participate in a folklore festival with our workshop ... We regularly share Moravian beauty not only in Moravia, but also overseas. It's about spreading awareness of Moravia and its traditions. The decorations can be used in several ways: on clothes, on boxes for the home, on anything."
For Ludmila Zahrádková, painting Slovak patterns is a natural continuation of caring for folk costumes, which she and her daughters have worn throughout their lives. Her specialty is painting the patterns on umbrellas.
"I always create a design, I have to draw it out and then I colour it in. I paint it on the fabric, and then I have to iron it over baking paper, so that it can withstand the rain. It's a Turkish pattern. In our country, Turkish hats are worn with the costume. This is more labour-intensive, but I think they like it more. ... We don't take paints, everything will be prepared there. We agreed that we would paint caps, shoes and whatever else they wanted to wear."
Ludmila and her daughter are counting on a busy programme, which will also include demonstrations of a traditional activity typical to Horovany: sprinkling sand to make elaborate patterns on pavements outdoors.
"It is painted by taking the sand in the palm of your hand. Here it is released in a thin stream with your little finger. Each pattern has its own name."
Like a Moravian mandala, some American streets can look forward to being beautified with a very traditional style - before the wind blows the sand away.