It is an attempt to make a straw figure, with light falling from above to create a shadow that resembles the rings of life. It differs from other commonly knotted himmeli because it is made up of triangular pyramids rather than quadrangles.
Length 39 cm
Width 39 cm
Height 49 cm
Diameter 49 cm
©Daiva Bareikaitė
©Daiva Bareikaitė
©Daiva Bareikaitė
©Daiva Bareikaitė
©Daiva Bareikaitė
Loreta Lichtarovičienė
- Aliejūnų Liktarynė
- Straw worker
- Aliejūnai, Lithuania
- Master Artisan
Contact
Lithuanian, English, Russian
Hours:
By appointment only
By appointment only
Phone:
+370 867525568
+370 867525568
©Dovilė Jakštaitė
Straw gardens
- • Loreta finds deep meaning in himmeli
- • Making himmeli is like creating a world
- • She learned her craft from her mother-in-law
Loreta Lichtarovičienė studied ethnology and folkloristics, but her real passion is for Lithuanian straw himmeli (straw gardens). Himmeli are included in the UNESCO cultural heritage list – in the past these spatial objects accompanied Lithuanians from birth up until death. She was a teenager when she first laid her eyes on one, hanging in an old farm, she has never forgotten it. Afterwards she married into a family, which had a long tradition of himmeli making. This is how Loreta’s main mentor became the mother of her husband, who had learned the craft from her own mother and grandmother. Nowadays, she continues the old Lithuanian tradition of making himmeli in her studio in the village of Aliejunai, in the outskirts of Vilnius, by combining the dexterity of her fingers with family wisdom and symbolic meaning.
Read the full interviewWorks
Photo: ©Daiva Bareikaitė
Himmeli
Photo: ©Daiva Bareikaitė
Šiaudinis sodas
A five-storey himmeli, made in such a way as to highlight the core of the garden, its "spine". Our hands have five fingers each, and the garden, among other things, has a special patronage for creativity.
Length 36 cm
Width 36 cm
Height 49 cm
Diameter 49 cm
Photo: ©Daiva Bareikaitė
Sodas
This piece is made with rye straw. The himmeli is three-storey high. Decorated with five oat tops. Oats are a special crop in Lithuanian culture. This himmeli is made in the autumn, the time of the ghosts, to welcome the ghosts during the festivities.
Length 30 cm
Width 30 cm
Height 60 cm
Diameter 60 cm
Photo: ©Loreta Lichtarovičienė
Šiaudinis sodas
This himmeli is a commission. It is composed of a four-storey sky and a three-storey earth. In the middle of the garden is a man and woman, fire and water, sign of a family. Around it are six lanterns tied with twelve straws. It is a himmeli for protection against all odds, for love, prosperity and harmony.
Length 36 cm
Width 36 cm
Height 63 cm
Diameter 52 cm
Photo: ©Loreta Lichtarovičienė
Šiaudinė saulytė
A straw sun is tied for the Christmas party. It consists of three circles of 12 rays.This sun hangs in the house all year round, and as Christmas approaches, the old one is burned and a new one is tied.
Length 50 cm
Width 50 cm
Height 50 cm
Diameter 50 cm
Enjoy an experience with Loreta Lichtarovičienė
You may also like
Organised by
Under the high patronage of
In partnership with
