On December 21, a creative meeting with Sokalskaya artisan Olga Rovetska took place at the Museum of the History of Religion (Potocki Palace), along with the opening of her personal exhibition “Garden of Angelic Songs.”
During the event, the author presented straw Christmas “spiders,” pysanky, and thematic panels made from linen and cotton fabrics in applique and printing techniques. According to ancient traditions, Christmas “spiders” served as decorations in Ukrainian homes during the holiday season and were considered symbols of the Universe. After the holidays, they were not thrown away — they were kept until the next Christmas and only burned during the making of new ones.
Olga Rovetska adorned her “spiders” and panels with pysanky. Pysanka art is a family tradition for the artisan. Over the years of creativity, she has created over a thousand pysanky on quail, pheasant, chicken, duck, and ostrich eggs. Although her work is based on ancient patterns, Olga Rovetska has developed her own recognizable style.
The Chief Specialist of the Department of Culture of the Sheptytsky City Council, Yuriy Hryniv, thanked Olga Rovetska for her long-term work in preserving and popularizing Ukrainian culture, working with youth, and actively participating in community cultural events. “Ms. Olga provided invaluable assistance in the preparation and implementation of events for the visit of His Beatitude Sviatoslav and the setting of the Ukrainian record for mass pysanka writing,” noted Yuriy Hryniv.
A special part of the event was a workshop on making straw “spiders,” which Olga Rovetska conducted for the children of military personnel and members of the community initiative “Living While Waiting,” which unites families of missing defenders. The holiday atmosphere of the event was further enhanced by the performance of the children’s folk ensemble “Namysto” from the Sokal House of Children’s and Youth Creativity (led by Oksana Zvirko).