This white papercut is circular in shape, mounted on a dark green background. The central axis of symmetry is a mighty oak tree, spreading its branches across the entire width of the ornament. The oak tree plays a very important role in Lithuanian folk culture, symbolising stability and strength. Birds are arranged among the oak branches, and a lake with fish swimming in it is under the oak roots.
Height 39 cm
Width 39 cm
© Adelė Bražėnaitė
© Adelė Bražėnaitė
© Adelė Bražėnaitė
© Adelė Bražėnaitė
© Adelė Bražėnaitė
Odeta Bražėnienė
- Paper cutter
- Utena, Lithuania
- Master Artisan
Contact
Lithuanian, English, Russian
Address:
Aušros 60-24, 28147 Utena, Lithuania
Aušros 60-24, 28147 Utena, Lithuania
Hours:
By appointment only
By appointment only
Phone:
+370 67429176
+370 67429176
© Adelė Bražėnaitė
Cut folk art
- • Odeta grew up in a family of craftsmen
- • She became interested in paper cuttings as a child
- • She has been making paper cuttings for more than 40 years
Odeta Bražėnienė first saw paper cuttings as a child in a village near Rokiškis, where an elderly relative lived. It was in an old village house with an earthen floor that she first picked up a pair of scissors and cut ornaments to decorate shelves. She returned to this activity later, while studying in Vilnius. She joined the Union of Folk Artists and immediately began to participate actively in exhibitions. The active and talented craftswoman was soon noticed and received well deserved appreciation. In more than four decades of creative activity, she has held 40 solo exhibitions, which have toured various galleries in Lithuania, Poland, Russia and the US, she has also participated in more than 100 group exhibitions in various countries. Her works have been acquired by the museums of Rokiškis, Kupiškis and Utena. She is the author of eight books on cuttings. She never tires of admiring and popularising this craft. All her work is based on Lithuanian folk art, the plots of folk tales and songs, its ornaments and symbolic meanings, which she translates onto paper.
Read the full interviewWorks
Photo: © Adelė Bražėnaitė
Lithuanian Ornament
Photo: © Adelė Bražėnaitė
Summer Bouquet
This white papercut is mounted on a green background paper. It shows a bouquet of wild flowers in a vase. The flowers – cornflowers, poppies, bells – are combined with wheat spikes that crown the bouquet. It is a summer bouquet brought home and placed on a decorated shelf.
Height 39 cm
Width 39 cm
Photo: © Adelė Bražėnaitė
Autumn
This white papercut is in a circular shape, mounted on a dark green background. In the foreground is an expressive silhouette of a bird in flight, flying over a Lithuanian farmhouse. The symmetrical composition is emphasised by the apple trees on either side of the house, with apples dangling from their branches.
Height 39 cm
Width 39 cm
Photo: © Adelė Bražėnaitė
Tree of Life
This brown papercut is mounted on a white background. The Tree of Life is an ancient mythological symbol about the structure of the world. The axis of the world running through the tree connects the underworld and the heavens. The tree embodies stability, like a fulcrum. The world tree divides the world into three spheres. The underworld, the heavens and what lies in between: the earth and the world of the living. These three spheres also reflect the three times of being.
Height 30 cm
Width 20 cm
Photo: © Adelė Bražėnaitė
Blossoms
This white papercut is mounted on a dark red background. The papercut depicts a bouquet of cornflowers arranged symmetrically, with two singing birds between them. At the bottom are rye spikes arranged in descending order.
Height 39 cm
Width 39 cm
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