All colors of Montenegro - wool dyeing with vegetable dyes, Šavnik 22-26. July (Vijesti.me)

The international art workshop "All colors of Montenegro - dyeing wool with vegetable dyes II" is being organized again this year at the initiative of the Museums and Galleries of Nikšić, but now in the house of Pekić in Šavnik.

Last year, the Wall of Nikšić was "painted" with the colors of Montenegro, and the artists showed in a creative and original way that wool can be even "warmer" when it is dyed with natural colors. This year, JU Museums and Galleries Nikšić, led by the director, Jelena Đukanović, MSc, is again organizing the international art workshop "All colors of Montenegro - dyeing wool with vegetable dyes II", but this time the venue is the recently renovated house of Pekić in Šavnik.

"The success and good public reception that the project caused last year obliges us to improve it and enrich it with new content and participants. "Participants are institutions and renowned artists, researchers, professors and students from faculties and art academies from Italy, Sweden, France, Holland, Croatia, Serbia, BiH and Montenegro", said Đukanović.

She reminded that last year 18 famous artists, professors and students from Belgrade, Trebinje and Podgorica participated., and that not only the number of participants is greater this year, but also from the countries and institutions they come from. The event will be held from July 22 to 26 and will begin with the "Beginning of the Beginning" exhibition, which will feature works created last year. Đukanović explains that Šavnik was not just chosen as this year's venue.

"Savnik is the unofficial center of the Drobnjak region. It is located at the confluence of three rivers, Bukovica, Bijela and Šavnik, at an altitude of 840 meters, which guarantees a pleasant climate in summer. The surroundings of Šavnik are rich in pastures and forests with a flora characterized by medicinal and pigment plants. The tradition in animal husbandry, especially sheep farming and wool processing, which has remained and has a tendency to develop, is another reason why we chose Šavnik to host this event," she said.

According to Đukanović, through the sublimation of science, tradition and art, the event will contribute to the presentation and popularization of our cultural heritage, autochthonous flora and creativity in artistic expression, which will result in an even better tourism valorization of Šavnik, and therefore of Montenegro.

"Such innovative projects contribute to the valorization and popularization of our natural resources, cultural heritage, agriculture, tourism, ecology and creative potential, and at the same time they contribute to the valorization of an underdeveloped municipality from the north - Šavnik, which gravitates to the municipality of Nikšić and has great potential for development, especially tourism and agriculture", said the director of the Museum and Gallery.

While the 20th century was "marked" by the industrial production of synthetic dyes for textiles, today, due to requirements related to the protection of the environment and human health and the increasingly frequent occurrence of allergic reactions, there is renewed interest in the use of natural dyes in textile dyeing processes of different origins.

"The dyeing process itself is an ecologically clean technology, and plant pigment extracts are obtained from renewable sources. The colors obtained in this way are unusually beautiful, and their mutual combination creates harmonious artistic units, which can be seen in the ethnological collections of our museums. Intuitive and lucid solutions in the application of available materials - ash, alum, slag, slag... in combination with plant pigments, through age-old practice, have led to the permanence of colored material that even modern technology cannot overcome," said Đukanović.

The botanist of the project, Dr. Nada Bubanja from the Natural History Museum of Montenegro, will be in charge of the selection of pigment plants, and in circulation are broc, birch, sač, rujevina, black ash, quince, walnut... while the participants will use techniques such as dry and wet felting to shape the wool. , knitting, weaving, spinning...

"The very process of selecting and preparing plant material, processing raw wool, dyeing wool, spinning, weaving or knitting is an attraction in itself for the audience and tourists. The artistry of the entire procedure, the presentation of traditional wool shaping techniques, as well as the possibility of participation, provide visitors with a unique experience," she stated.

As part of the art workshop, three lectures will be held - Dr. Ana Sutlović, from the Faculty of Textile Technology in Zagreb, will talk about the technological process of dyeing with vegetable dyes, Dr. Nada Bubanja will talk about Montenegrin medicinal plants and organize a tea tasting as part of the "Tea Party". Jelene Glušica Nikolić will hold a lecture on natural cosmetics based on Montenegrin medicinal plants. Aida Brenko, M.Sc., from the Ethnographic Museum in Zagreb, will introduce the workshop participants to the issues and symbolism of colors, as well as the history of coloring, all through the exhibition "The Power of Colors".

Last year's project was supported by the Ministry of Culture through the Program for the Protection of Cultural Assets, while this year it is a question of partial support from the mentioned ministry to the Šavnik Culture Center, which is a collaborator on the project.

https://www.vijesti.me/vijesti/drustvo/kroz-ruke-umjetnika-i-vuna-postaje-toplija