The Ukrainians using embroidery to stand up to Russia
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Loading... - Akila Kamal
- 25 Jan 2023
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How artists, volunteers and designers turned a Ukrainian folk blouse and craft into symbols of defiance.
Sitting in the corner of a Ukrainian-run café in downtown Tbilisi, Alla Timoshenko deftly runs a threaded needle through a bird-shaped piece of felt.
For Ukrainians, the nightingale that she is embroidering to turn into a brooch is a symbol of hope, spring and building homes, Alla explains.
Once complete, she plans to sell the item through her Instagram handle as an emblem of hope for Ukraine’s victory against Russia.
Embroidery has always been a form of creative expression for Alla, whose grandmother taught her the craft when she was eight years old. But it was only ever a hobby for her until her late twenties when she decided to quit her stressful job with an IT company in Kyiv and become a design consultant. “Embroidery became a form of meditation for me,” says the 34-year-old, who started using the skill professionally.
She has worked on commissioned embroidery art projects for hotels and cafes – such as the one where she now sits – both in her native Ukraine and in Georgia, where she has lived on and off since 2017. But after February 24, 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, embroidery became an outlet for Alla’s grief and rage. Read More…
