An exhibition "The Joy of the Hostess" is on display in the Art Yard (Daržų str. 10) showcase in Klaipėda!
Turned and carved wooden dishes and kitchen utensils are truly a hostess's joy. The showcase features the most practical, everyday works by the multi-talented woodcarvers Alioyzas Pocius and Stanislovas Meškauskas.
Alioyzas Pocius, a long-time teacher at Salantai Gymnasium and a folk artist widely known as a master of crosses, chapels, chapel poles, and Mardi Gras masks, has been carving wood since childhood. As early as the seventh grade, he designed and crafted a chair for himself, which still serves him in his home workshop.
Alioyzas "discovered" turned vessels completely by chance—his 10-year-old daughter Audronė needed a small container for a competition, similar to the ones shepherds used to carry butter to the fields in the past. After turning such a container, he found joy in turning similar and even larger bowls. At the Vilnius Kaziukas Fair, people eagerly bought Alioyzas's works, and other craftsmen followed suit. According to the author, it was from him that turned vessels began to spread, and now perhaps around 100 craftsmen across Lithuania create them.
For the past two decades, Stanislovas Meškauskas has been living joyfully and creatively in the coastal region of Minor Lithuania—in Juknaičiai. A folk artist and a master of traditional and original Mardi Gras masks, he creates many beautiful and unique works from wood.
Stanislovas's father was a carpenter, so wood and woodworking tools were familiar to the future master from an early age. He enjoyed carving, crafting, and helping his father with his work. Stanislovas began making wooden utensils needed by housewives "for the household" after retiring, although he occasionally had to craft something necessary even before then. The master turns candle holders, various wooden bowls, and carves wooden spoons, ladles, and troughs.
Daržų st. 10, LT-91246, Klaipėda
