An excerpt from the interview with Ekaterina Nesterova,
an artist from the wood painting workshop
of St.
Elisabeth Convent
Could you tell about yourself and your work? What
projects are you working on now?
I graduated the University of Technology in Vitebsk with a degree of a designer
of clothing and fabrics. Now I work as a designer and artist in the painting on
wood workshop of St. Elisabeth Convent.
I came to the
workshop of St. Elisabeth Convent about three years ago by good fortune. You
would not believe me, but I was walking through the central city mall and saw a
small shop of the Convent there. I remember that I was interested in a
particular book. At that time I just started my work as an illustrator. In the
shop I saw a lot of beautiful items aside from books, such as pottery,
painting on wood and many others. The most importantly all those items were
handmade. That fact inspired me to try for myself and to see if I could help and work at the convent.
What were your first steps and works?
At the first it was quite difficult to work. The specificity of the work was
completely different from what I was used to. I understood that I would have to
learn much new, but at the same time that attracted me even more. Every day I learnt something, and I continue
learning even today: new secrets of the craft, new techniques, new artists… The
workshops of St. Elisabeth Convent are the a place where you work on
something and also work on yourself, develop your skills. You grow as an
artist. It is almost a “universal environment”, but at the same time your responsibility
is quite high. Of course, just like in any other artistic profession, there are
sorrows and joys, ups and downs.
It all begins
with a sketch. We depict the main idea of the nesting doll’s design and chose
certain colors for it. You know, in our painting on wood workshop each artist
has its own signature style. Great attention is paid to the draftsmanship of
the doll’s face. We do our best to make it look nice and kind. It should bring
joy and reflect the spirit of the convent. The face should be expressive and
humble at the same time...
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CONVERSATION