Spider Zhora
This soft toy was made by my daughter, Olga Kovalskaya, 13 years old.
Soft toy Spider Zhora
Dimensions: 46×45х10cm
Material: Faux fur, hollofibre
This soft toy was made by my daughter, Olga Kovalskaya, 13 years old.
Soft toy Spider Zhora
Dimensions: 46×45х10cm
Material: Faux fur, hollofibre
Traditional Ukrainian motanka dolls.
Their making is one of the oldest Slavic traditions. Motanka is a symbol of goodness and prosperity, a symbol of hope for the best and often a strong sacred object.
The name of the doll itself — «motanka» comes from the concept of «motate»- to wind, and the general appearance of such a doll is a human figure, usually female or child, made of pieces of cloth and thread. The body parts of such a doll were connected by knots. Each doll was and still is a unique work of a master.
A real motanka is made without the use of stitches. When making a doll, masters wind or wrap it with cloth and threads, and for fastening they use ribbons and threads, which they simply wrap around the parts and fix them with knots. The main rule is that the doll should have a cross-shaped form.
The doll’s head is formed from a small piece of cloth, inside of which a ball of thread, other scraps or cotton wool is put. This head piece is wrapped crosswise with threads, symbolically representing the face of the doll. Torso and head are also connected with threads, tightly wrapping them around the body of the doll from the head down and perpendicular to the torso, thereby forming the hands motanki. Clothes, jewellery and headdresses or hairstyles are made from improvised materials. Here the variations are limited only by the imagination of the authors.
In any case, however, the motanka still retained certain sacred knowledge and power. Such a souvenir, especially made with your own hands, can become a family amulet and a full-fledged family heritage, which has absorbed centuries-old knowledge and beliefs.
These motankas were made by my daughter, Olga Kovalskaya, 13 years old.
Ukrainian motanka dolls
YEAR: 2024
ARTWORK TYPE: Original Art/One of a kind
Dimensions: 145х115х20cm; 160х22020cm; 120х115х20cm
Material: Yarn
TECHNIQUES: Traditional Ukrainian motanka dolls
Christmas decorations
Because of the war in Ukraine, the children and I did not spend New Year’s Eve (2023) at home. It was not possible to buy a big tree and many Christmas decorations. We made our own New Year’s decorations and toys. It was very fun and interesting. The holiday was a success.
TITLES:
Snowflake Christmas tree
Father Christmas’s mitten
3.A Christmas sock
Father Christmas cap
Yellow snowman
A Christmas sock
Small Father Christmas’s mitten
A pink gnome in a red cap
Firebird
Angel
Angel
YEAR: 2022
ARTWORK TYPE: Original Art/One of a kind
DIMENSIONS: 9х8 cm
Materials: Decorative felt, Thread, Christmas decorations, glue, feathers, coloured paper
RELATED THEMES: Toys, Christmas decorations
TITLE: Granny Ira doll
YEAR: 2022
ARTWORK TYPE: Original Art/One of a kind
Doll’s height: 39 cm
Materials: Hollofiber, cotton cloth, woollen threads, acrylic paints
RELATED THEMES: Dolls, Sost toys
TITLE: Fyokla doll
YEAR: 2022
ARTWORK TYPE: Original Art/One of a kind
Doll’s height: 35 cm
Materials: Hollofiber, cotton cloth, woollen threads, acrylic paints
RELATED THEMES: Dolls
I probably didn’t play enough with dolls as a child. It is still one of my favourite relaxing activities.
TITLE: Motrya doll (Handmade interior doll)
YEAR: 2022
ARTWORK TYPE: Original Art/One of a kind
Doll’s height: 35 cm
Materials: Hollofiber, cotton cloth, woollen threads, acrylic paints
RELATED THEMES: Dolls
New Year’s Eve dollhouse
I made the house together with my children. I used two dolls and a small garland to light up the inside of the house. The rest was made by me and the kids.
Materials: cardboard, acrylic paints, glue-pistol, PVA glue, beads.
Dimensions: 29x20x19cm
Making gnomes was my daughter’s school homework. It was so interesting that not only my daughter, but also my son and I enjoyed doing it. My son made the sled and my daughter and I made the gnomes. They turned out pretty well, in our opinion.
We used socks, barley grits and decorative felt to make the gnomes. For the sled we used glue guns, wooden sticks, decorative soft balls and Christmas decorations.
TITLE: Gnome Grisha
YEAR: 2022
ARTWORK TYPE: Original Art/One of a kind
DIMENSIONS: 9х8 cm
Materials: socks, barley grits, decorative felt
RELATED THEMES: Dolls, soft toys
Making gnomes was my daughter’s school homework. It was so interesting that not only my daughter, but also my son and I enjoyed doing it. My son made the sled and my daughter and I made the gnomes. They turned out pretty well, in our opinion.
We used socks, barley grits and decorative felt to make the gnomes. For the sled we used glue guns, wooden sticks, decorative soft balls and Christmas decorations.
TITLE: Gnome Fedya
YEAR: 2022
ARTWORK TYPE: Original Art/One of a kind
DIMENSIONS: 19×7 cm
Materials: socks, barley grits, decorative felt
RELATED THEMES: Dolls, soft toys
This soft toy was made by my daughter, Olga Kovalskaya, 13 years old.
Soft toy Penguin Gabriel
Dimensions: 23x10x8cm
Material: fabric, cotton fibre