l'aviva travels

the initial impetus for this trip to kyrgyzstan came in the form of an invitation from master shyrdak artisan mairam omurzakova, who invited us (via the wonderful organization vista 360 - www.vista360.org) to spend a couple of days with her and her daughter nurjan at their home in kochkor.

our days were an intensive course in all things shyrdak. mairam and family led us through shyrdak making step-by-step. the process is a strikingly intensive one; a tremendous artistic feat of turning sheared wool into beautiful felted rugs of color and pattern. as witness to it all, i fell in love with these pieces completely anew.

mairam radiates strength, and is a huge source of inspiration. she has played a seminal role in preserving the tradition of shyrdak and helping women and families in the region. in 1995, she co-founded a woman’s cooperative for shyrdak makers (which grew to over 500 members) as an initiative against the economic hardship that followed after the collapse of the soviet union.

mairam is also a wealth of information. she shared details about the history of the tradition, and the story telling aspects of each piece. we discussed the challenges facing shyrdak makers today (including limited access to quality dyes) and talked through ways to begin to face them.

i could not possibly have left those couple days spent with mairam and nurjan feeling more energized and inspired. i feel hugely honored to be collaborating with them.