Recently, the Vytautas Valiushis Ceramics Museum in the town of Leliunai, Lithuania, hosted the 9th International Symposium of Traditional Ceramics which gathered ceramic artists from Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine.
The theme of this year’s symposium – Shapes and Colors of Traditional Ceramics – was reflected in the works produced during the event, each highlighting the participants’ regions of origin. Latvian craftsmen Jānis and Marija Saikovski, founders of the Daugavpils Clay Art Center, created ceramics characteristic of Latgale, while Agata Paula Dzalbe produced black ceramics inspired by archaeological finds in Latvia and adorned with ancient solar symbols.
Ukrainian ceramists Oksana Martynovych and Romana Motyl presented traditional festive painted pottery vessels intended for drinks – kolachi, as well as candlesticks and plates. Lithuania was represented by Gintaras Vitkauskas, Jolita Levčenkienė, Genia Vaičikauskienė and Vytautas Vaišys.
As part of the symposium, Romana Motyl, Associate Professor at the Department of Visual Design and Art, the Institute of Architecture and Design, Lviv Polytechnic National University, spoke about traditional ceramics in Ukraine, and Dr. Jānis Saikovski, Vilnius University, ethnologist and art critic Vytautas Tumėnas, gave a report on Challenges and Contexts of Ceramic Traditions in Lithuania.
The participants of the symposium worked together at the Vytautas Valiushis Ceramics Museum for a week: they sculpted, molded, decorated dishes of various shapes, and shared their skills, techniques and personal insights. An exhibition of works brought by the symposium participants as a gift to the museum was held in the adjacent hall.
