Easter... Spring awakens... and I dance myself into ecstacy between some serious straw weaving

I have started a post about Easter and it has not happened... and I've been in many places, seen many things, and composed multiple blog posts on multiple topics (in my head)... so many themes I'd like to share.

Right now, I feel some breathing room, having landed in the very peaceful town of Cieszyn, so I hope to share more soon. But I am still swirling in the obereks and mazureks I left behind in Warszawa, and my being has not fully come down from the entirely magical few days of Wszystkie Mazurki Swiata festival, even after a day of weaving with straw!

You might not understand if you never go there, but if you are a lover of dance and traditional music, especially Polish and Eastern European, then you must go there.

And you can experience this festival in springtime, or fall: https://www.festivalmazurki.pl/

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/05433b_8e090c4559764f369c002141b2bef688/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

There were many bands I was smitten by at the festival, but Hraybery and Apostoly definitely were at the top. Music of my soul!

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/05433b_9cf969e3ee3948ca8bfceb5d4651bc25/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Not only dancing, but incredible acapella performances by many groups as well- songs from Polesie mostly, but also other parts of Poland, Ruhnu Island (Estonia), Sweden, and Lithuania. This video is of a harvest ritual song performed as part of the concert of the finalists of the competition. They were all incredible.

OK :) About the straw weaving...

Today I arrived at Serfenta in the heart of Cieszyn- just steps from the main Rynek (town square).

I was so glad to finally step into this beautiful place and learn something totally new and exciting with some amazing women!

Paulina Adamska already met me at the train station last night, and oriented me to the old town centre, and today I got to spend the day with her in their studio space learning to make a basket from rye straw using the spiral loop technique. I was enjoying all the beautiful photos and the many basket examples everywhere, as well as finally trying this special technique that is so rare and so beautiful.

Paulina shared a presentation on the story of Serfenta- about the history of their journey, their research, and their model of preserving and sharing the heritage craft of basketmaking in Poland, as well as the specific journey of finding the knowledge carriers of the spiral loop straw basketry and learning from them.

We had so much to talk about, and as I'm so curious always about the many deeper layers of this all, it wasn't just about technique, but also about the cultural anthropology and the personal human aspect.

First Paulina showed me how to do the technique on this giant round piece that all the students have started on, and that has been touched by many hands (even people I know in Toronto- which is so cool! :)

This is what the finished spiral loop baskets can loop like. They have many all over their studio :)

But I did finally try my hand at weaving my own, and getting it started was hard!

(As beginnings often are, especially in baskets ;)

I was determined to make a round basket, though that's harder than an oval one to start.

But I did it!

Such a pleasure.

Getting a feel for the rhythm is the key, and now I want more... haha :)

Small photo shoot:

So grateful for this new technique- very unique and very cool!

Looking forward to more...

Cieszyn, April 28