Vera Krasko, a craftswoman specializing in making dolls, graduated from the Ufa State Petroleum Technological University and worked as a leading engineer of the production department in the service center for the repair of drilling and oil field equipment of OAO ‘Gazpromneft’. She first took up decorative and applied art in 2013, and three years later, her solo exhibition ‘Oh, This Maslenitsa! ’ (Maslenitsa is a folk holiday celebrated during the last week before Great Lent) was held at the ‘Gamayun’ Museum Center.
One of the items was ‘Maiden’ — a doll peasant bride. Together with another doll, ‘Lad’, it formed a composition ‘Youth’ of the big project ‘Any Time is a Blessing’.
Vera Krasko dressed the girl in a scarlet ‘sarafan’ dress made of Baranov calico fabric with a floral pattern. The dress of such silhouette was made up of three straight pieces of fabric. Between them, six to eight wedges with triangular linings were sewn. The number varied depending on the length of the lower hem. A sarafan of this shape and color was not a casual dress — women put it on for the wedding celebration.
In the 19th century, the merchants Baranovs from the Vladimir governorate founded a factory for the production of fabrics. Elegant Baranov calico fabric combined shades of ruby-colored, ponceau, scarlet, Turkish red colors. The latter was obtained with the help of madder. It is a plant-extracted colorant made from powdered madder root. These fabrics were very popular among girls.
The doll wears a wide headband with a floral ornament, which does not hide the hair and does not cover the top of the head. This detail indicates that the girl has not gone through the wedding ceremony yet. Married peasant women always covered their hair with a headscarf immediately after the ceremony.
The doll’s shirt is called “polikovaya”. It is a traditional Russian women’s type of shirt, made of fabric rectangles and squares. On the shoulders, you can see red inserts which are called ‘poliki’. They were often decorated with embroidery or cut out entirely from scarlet cotton fabric.
The artist used trimming to imitate traditional embroidery on the sleeves. This pattern depicts the world tree — the symbol of eternal resurrection, connection with the ancestors, and fertility.
Vera Krasko’s project “Any Time is a Blessing” is dedicated to the author’s vision of different stages of a person’s life. In addition to the composition “Youth”, it includes a girl and a boy from “Childhood”, “Maturity” — a married couple with three children — and “Old Age” — an old man and an old woman in their declining years.
One of the items was ‘Maiden’ — a doll peasant bride. Together with another doll, ‘Lad’, it formed a composition ‘Youth’ of the big project ‘Any Time is a Blessing’.
Vera Krasko dressed the girl in a scarlet ‘sarafan’ dress made of Baranov calico fabric with a floral pattern. The dress of such silhouette was made up of three straight pieces of fabric. Between them, six to eight wedges with triangular linings were sewn. The number varied depending on the length of the lower hem. A sarafan of this shape and color was not a casual dress — women put it on for the wedding celebration.
In the 19th century, the merchants Baranovs from the Vladimir governorate founded a factory for the production of fabrics. Elegant Baranov calico fabric combined shades of ruby-colored, ponceau, scarlet, Turkish red colors. The latter was obtained with the help of madder. It is a plant-extracted colorant made from powdered madder root. These fabrics were very popular among girls.
The doll wears a wide headband with a floral ornament, which does not hide the hair and does not cover the top of the head. This detail indicates that the girl has not gone through the wedding ceremony yet. Married peasant women always covered their hair with a headscarf immediately after the ceremony.
The doll’s shirt is called “polikovaya”. It is a traditional Russian women’s type of shirt, made of fabric rectangles and squares. On the shoulders, you can see red inserts which are called ‘poliki’. They were often decorated with embroidery or cut out entirely from scarlet cotton fabric.
The artist used trimming to imitate traditional embroidery on the sleeves. This pattern depicts the world tree — the symbol of eternal resurrection, connection with the ancestors, and fertility.
Vera Krasko’s project “Any Time is a Blessing” is dedicated to the author’s vision of different stages of a person’s life. In addition to the composition “Youth”, it includes a girl and a boy from “Childhood”, “Maturity” — a married couple with three children — and “Old Age” — an old man and an old woman in their declining years.
