#Ukrainian Folk

[merrymorningofmay]

thought i’d share another thing i made here :’)

i started working on this thing back in january, as russian troops were gathering around our borders, and i got around to finishing it a couple months later, after they retreated from kyiv and my lucky family and i were able to get back home.

for half of the process i was asking myself, “is making this even worth it if it’s going to be bombed to ashes in a couple of weeks?” (the answer was yes); for the other half, i was asking myself how and why do you even make a house now that there are dead and gutted houses all around (the answer was “well, what else is there to do anyway”).

was aiming for the “small ukrainian granny’s apartment” vibe with soviet era “ugly 70s brown” color furniture and a bit of a witchy/magical realism touch :’) details + a bit of ukrainian folk trivia below!

featuring:

a little pot with a star in it, because stealing stars from the sky and storing them in pots for their evil little purposes is a classic ukrainian witch thing;

eastern orthodox icons, because every respectable ukrainian granny has those in her house + massive church-sanctioned witch hunts were never really a thing in ukraine and a witch is likely to have as amiable a relationship with god and saints and angels as with chorts (demons);

portrait of taras shevchenko, adorned with a rushnyk, because, again, can not be a proper granny apartment without those;

a blooming fern, because fern bloom is a Thing in ukrainian folklore (leads you to a hidden treasure, protects you from evil magic, brings you good luck, all that stuff);

a calendar booklet. it has recipes, farming + (dubious) medical advice, lame granny jokes, and shows February 25, because we’re still stuck in February 24 and hoping for the next day to arrive;

a mysterious tiny door. that rune means “heritage,” and i thought that a witch’s inheritance would warrant a little spooky door to keep it safe (also, our heritage is precisely what russia is trying to take away from us right now, so the concept has a special meaning to me);

fashionable pink slippers!

bonus: a CREATURE

[slavinkka]

Young Ukrainian girl seemingly from Poltava (Полтава) 1935❤️🇺🇦

(Colourised by me~)❤️

[rinalllin]

My sketch entry for #dtiys by Tangetsun

This girl become a little upyr

Always late, but I want finally draw all challenges I saved for years

[anastasiamaru]

Ukrainian Amulet Doll Motanka

An ancient part of our folk culture.

Made with a cross instead of a face because the spirit of an evil creature can fly through the eyes. Is a sacred object, symbolizing kindness and hope for a better future.She shouldn't resemble an existing person and have a name

Ukrainians makes it for protection house, people they loved, newborn, soldiers.

[mlishchinska]

Історичний одяг українки / Historical costumes of a Ukrainian woman

3 B.C - 18 century

Нью-Йорк / New York, 1966

[lethendralis-paints]

"War essays" book cover

I had an amazing opportunity to illustrate a book cover of an Estonian journallist, documenting the international response to russian invasion of Ukraine and the cooperation to help Ukraine persevere and win. This image is a compillation of Ukrainian and Estonian decorative motifs in their respective flag colours. Not the most flashy of my works, but a very important one.

The book is free to read here: https://twitter.com/KuldkeppMart/status/1600458386730258435

[3cosmicfrogs]

i always miss my aunties this time of year...

[witchyfashion]

Baba Yaga's Book of Witchcraft: Slavic Magic from the Witch of the Woods

Move Swiftly On Your Own Two Feet, for Baba Yaga You Must Meet

Discover ancient and modern Slavic magical practices through stories told by the legendary Baba Yaga herself. Learn about the magic of the sun, moon, and stars, as well as the magic of weather, animals, seasons, stones, food, beeswax, and more. Each chapter includes a piece of the fairy tale of Vasylyna, comments from Baba Yaga, and hands-on tips and techniques from author Madame Pamita.

Explore magical activities alongside authentic folktales about the birth of the sun and the land of the blessed ones. Step-by-step instructions show you how to stitch Ukrainian folk embroidery motifs into protective charms, weave wreaths from herbs, make enchanted poppets, and work with the spirits of the forest, the hearth, and the sauna. With a bounty of tips and information, this book teaches you to embrace the beauty of these traditional practices and reclaim your personal magic.

https://amzn.to/3K4K8bL

[zarya-zaryanitsa]

Hello! I've recently started trying to reconnect w my Ukrainian and Hutsul ancestry - symbols (or sigils or whatever you want to call them) are important to my practice and I want to incorporate symbols into my art for the ancestor veneration parts of my practice. Do you have a good resource for Ukrainian or Hutsul symbolism? I'm from the States and my Ukrainian skills are not where they need to be yet to comfortably try and navigate non-english sources and I lack the cultural community around me so I'm struggling with being able to tell if a symbol is supremacist related and I'd hate to find a symbol and use it and find out I'm brandishing a supremacy symbol

Also thank you for posting so many references as well as warning against certain idealogies, its appreciated!

Hello!

Honestly you’d probably get much better results by asking a Ukrainian person, preferably of Hutsul ancestry as well. While I’m fascinated by Hutsul traditions I don’t know nearly enough to advise on them.

I can share a couple of interesting articles I encountered in the past, however the information presented in them merely scratches the surface of the problems you’re inquiring about:

Common patterns of pysanky

Hutsul pysanky

Patterns of East Hutsul sleeve embroidery

I wish you best of luck and apologize for my unsatisfactory response.

Zarya

[greencheekconure27]

"Ой на горі вогонь горить" співає ансамбль Кралиця. м.Київ. КНУКІМ

[rinalllin]

Litavytsya

 My character design of mythical creature Litavytsya For Ukrainian Bestiary Artbook

[anastasiamaru]

That is how looked like Ukrainian women😍

If you know your history🇺🇦

You feel more confident in your future 💙💛

[mlishchinska]

Олена Кульчинська / Olena Kulchynska

[thesecretgardenofmysoul]

З Днем вишиванки, Україно 🇺🇦

Памʼятаймо, що вишиванка - наш генетичний код нації. І тепер він незламний!

International Vyshyvanka Day💙💛