Fretwork

Carving is the branch of applied art and sculpture technique. Wood, bone, horn, amber, plastic or any other material that can be carved, cut, scraped or smoothed with a knife, a hammer, a chisel or a handsaw.

Using carving technique various articles can be created: small and large sculptures, the decorations of sculptures, wooden decoration of the interior and exterior of buildings, household utensils, adornments. Articles carved from wood can be decorated with inlaid work, can be polished, varnished, painted in various colours or gilded. Carvings from bone and horn are usually only polished. Carving decor usually has the figures of human beings and animals, masks and floral arrangements.

It is due to the geographical position of Lithuania that wood as a material for creating folk art flourished. Since early times wooden household articles dominated in Lithuania . Working tools, household articles, sledges, carts with harness, furniture, architectural details were being carved. In the course of time carving principles characteristic of the Lithuanians were formed, i.e., precision of performance, moderation, the completeness of composition, the usage of meaningful symbols. With the change in living conditions many of these objects acquired other applications. Their function became only decorative - as souvenirs. That way they have been preserved from disappearance. The people want to revive the symbolic meaning of the ornaments that their collective memory contains.

Sculpture

Wood carving is one of the oldest fine arts in Lithuania, and its traditions are the pride of Lithuanian culture. The carvings of wood are vary varied and they are executed with such perfection, that they can boldly be called sculptures.

Monumental Sculptures

The tendencies of contemporary Lithuanian folkart were most clearly expressed in monumental sculpture, the revival and flourishing of which gave prestige to national creativity and became an important phenomenon of Lithuanian national culture. Quite a lot of monumental sculptures are erected singly and in groups on sites of historical and literary importance, in cemeteries. Folk monumental scupture has developed especially intensively in the year of revival: monuments were erected in the places were partisans died, others celebrated jubilees in church yards and towns. The first jubilee ensemble was created in our region in Birstonas. There are plenty of sources that reveal the soul of the Lithuanian, but the deepest and immeasurably important are wooden crosses decorating Lithuania's roadsides and homesteads from ancient times. No other branch of folk art is as popular as crosses and shrines. Our wooden crosses wouldn't attract strangers' attention, wouldn't force them to get interested in Lithuania, if our wooden crosses wear only simple forms of Christian crosses. In the world Lithuania is known as the land of crosses, God's holy land. These crosses told us and keep telling about ancient times, the cult of the past and the artist's inner monologue about the dreams, sorrows and idols of a Lithuanian. Nowadays folk artists still retained a mystic ability to express themselves in the speech of crosses. From the ancient times it has always been a sacred speech. The carver of crosses never identifies himself. It has always been sufficient to experience the inner joy of creating a wooden wonder.

Wooden Sculptures

Contemporary Lithuanian folk sculpture has adopted the experience and features of the rich traditional folk sculptures, but has experienced many trials and tribulations. In the post-war years new themes were demanded. The masters oriented themselves towards literary plots. Humoristic and satyrical subjects: devils of all kinds, drunkards, hunters and lovers. Sculpture became souvenir-type, its theme and artistic form deminished. At the same time quite a number of masters created valuable sculptures, mostly for exhibitions. At the expositions of folk art, sculpture still takes a dominant place. Recently traditional themes have frequently been resurrected (the Pensive Christ, Pieta) and images of national heroes created.

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Sources of information:

• V. Kubilius International symposium of wood carvers - Igliauka • J. Almonaitiene The ring of festives. Vilnius, 1998 • A group of authors Lithuanian folk art society. Booklet • A group of authors Lithuanian folk-art. Vilnius, 1992. • P. Galaune Lithuanian Folk Art. Vilnius, 1989 • V. Kiausas The meeting of the godesses Medeine and the Sun with St. Urban. Seimininke. 1997m., Nr. 34

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