18 January, Lepel /Own. inf./. An exhibition of children's works dedicated to the theme of the Nativity of Christ was held at the district library. A three-domed matchstick church in cotton "snow", a girl angel with a ginger kitten in her arms, and Bethlehem stars… Participants of the "Christmas Motifs" exhibition interpreted the festive theme in their own way.
18 January, Lepel /Own. inf./. An exhibition of children's works dedicated to the theme of the Nativity of Christ was held at the district library.
A three-domed matchstick church in cotton "snow", a girl angel with a ginger kitten in her arms, and Bethlehem stars… Participants of the "Christmas Motifs" exhibition interpreted the festive theme in their own way. Spontaneity, originality, and kindness – this is what united their works. And it is not by chance, as the authors are children.
The results of months of effort were presented in the hall of the district library by students of the Lepel Children's Art School, pupils of the city's Sunday schools, and craftspeople from the "Raduga" (Rainbow) club of the Territorial Centre for Social Services. It would seem to be one event, one theme, but there were no identical works at the exhibition. From gouache painting and beadwork to "matchstick" construction – the children used more than one technique to talk about the holiday.
Pupils of the Sunday school of the Transfiguration of the Lord worked on their crafts for three months. The creative process was led by Irina Pshonko. She took on the preparation at the request of Father Sergiy Leshkevich. However, deep down, she worried whether everything would turn out well: she, a kindergarten teacher, had not studied decorative and applied arts anywhere. But the results speak for themselves: she worried in vain. Cardboard multi-storey houses, colourful plasticine angels, and in the centre, a Christmas tree with a golden star on top – it was as if a scene from the Ukrainian cartoon "Shchedryk" was brought to life by the children in the composition "The Night Before Christmas". And an angel tells the Magi about the Nativity in the paper-cut artwork "Do not be afraid, God has sent me" by eleven-year-old Anton Papko. Pavel Shishkov used two types of matches – with black and green heads – in the architecture of the "matchstick" temple.
And real pine cones became the frame for the work "Christmas" by Natalia Kolosovskaya, a pupil of the Sunday school of the Church of St. Great Martyr Paraskeva Pyatnitsa. By the way, professional masterclasses will soon be held at this school: teachers will teach children techniques such as quilling, paper-cutting (vytinanka), and cross-stitching.
Ekaterina OSOVSKAYA
In the photo: Father Sergiy Leshkevich with exhibition guests.
Photo by the author.