Already 3 weeks ago, time has been flying since than, but looking at the pictures it all comes back. It was just an amazing weekend, filled with creative activities and a wonderful group of people.
I don't need much, when Viscri appears, after driving the last km off road, all the stress of the last weeks falls from my shoulders. I think I lost my heart in Transylvania.
And when opening the front door of Viscri 125 and some of the familiar faces is coming to welcome you, you feel as arriving at home. Thank you Mihai, Raluca and the whole team of Viscri 125 to make it every time such an amazing weekend.
The place is magical, the rooms are decorated with so much attention to detail, without overloading it.
After breakfast we started by getting out, in the garden, and collected some plants and flowers, to be used them later in the day. Anyway there is no better way to start the day than with a walk in nature, to fill our lungs with fresh air, hear the birds singing.
The Romanian traditional design has been the theme now for more than 3 years, and it keeps inspiring.
weaving rug Radauti via Sporulcasei - weaving rugs from Oltenia via Denisa Bârgãu
The Romanian rugs have a long history, and their beauty keep impressing me. Unfortunately less and less people practice this handcraft. The flat woven rugs were plant dyed till the 1940s, the moment they started to import synthetical dyes. Each region will have its own motifs, combination of colors. The tree of life is a very popular theme for the rugs. Floral designs are typical for the northern part of the country.
The museum of the fortified church has some nice textiles in their museum. This church in Viscri is part of the Unesco heritage, when you climb up the narrow stairs you will have an amazing panoramic view . The museum has some small treasures, worth paying a visit.
Weaving textiles or rugs was a tradition done by families, in all regions of the country. I have collected over the years some books, each of them contains hundreds of different rugs just for one region. Romania has an amazing heritage and not only for rugs.
The traditional rugs were the inspiration for this years workshop. To discover the rich heritage, the symbols used to give a meaning to the rug, maybe only know by the owners or the people of the community. Sometime some of the symbols are only used in certain villages and can be different in another part of the country. It is the Romanian secret language.
fashion shoot in Romania Anthropologie - interior with rugs via Gypsy Yaya
Rugs were not always used as we know rugs: they were put on the wall to keep the cold outside. It gives a beautiful inspiration for color harmonies, to combine different motifs. More and more young Romanian designers are getting the inspiration from their ancestors.
weaving rugs from Oltenia via Denisa Bârgãu
Making a rug is very time consuming. This was more a kind of occupation to be done during the winter months when they were not able to work on the field, or to prepare all the food in summer to be eaten in winter.
We took out the color pencils, the scissors and got creative to design our own rug. Quite relaxing, perfect for a Saturday morning and to get slowly in the tradition mood.
And when you are studying rugs it comes as natural to explore what you can do with creative weaving. There the plants, which we collected in the morning, got woven into a small textile.
Colorful results, poetic, and full of life.
Weaving nature into textiles
Walking around in the village of Viscri and you see the handworks done by the local people. Colorful with natural materials.
On Sunday we got to our journal, collecting ideas, making small sketches, taking notes. Finding ideas around us to inspire us over the next months for our interior or other creative events.
Inspiring to start a journal, it makes you also more aware of the things around you.
and what would our stay in Viscri 125 be without Viorica. Taking care of each of us, preparing one wonderful dish after the other.
No plans for summer yet, put Transylvania on the list. Check out Viscri 125 and have a wonderful holiday discovering the countryside and traditional handcrafts.
Hope the blog post could inspire you for weaving some creative moments in your daily program.
Have a great week!
Want to thank still my sister, Annick, for making most of the pictures you see here on top.
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