Russian Cultural Center in Damascus holds workshop on Matryoshka

DAMASCUS, Jul.31, (ST)-Holding  workshops for children is an important part in the program of the Russian Cultural Center in Damascus, as each workshop is devoted to a specific aspect that develops children’s artistic and cognitive abilities.

This morning, the Russian Cultural Center held a workshop for the children of the Circassian Assembly to give them an idea about the Russian Matryoshka dolls, which are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another.

The name Matryoshka, literally “little matron”, is a diminutive form of the Russian female first name “Matryona” or “Matryosha”.

The wood is prepared for the Matryoshka in the spring and is put in a fresh air to dry for a year or two. Each mold is subjected to more than 10 operations. First, the smallest non-separate doll is made. At the end of the process, each doll is painted with varnish, and then the artist begins to decorate it using both oil and water-based dyes.

A woman in traditional Russian dress was drawn on the surface of the Matryoshka, but her form has diversified at the present time, as landscapes from Russia and mythical characters are painted on her, besides family’s members, including mother, father and children.

The supervisor of the workshop Aya Shehadeh talked about the Russian folklore, and referred to the Matryoshka, its meaning and its relationship with family  and the mother’s love and embrace of her children inside her, which is one of the symbols of ancient Russian art.

Basma Qaddour