l'aviva travels

our visit with master shyrdak maker janyl was magical – i feel nothing short of in awe of the experience. janyl, who is in her early 70s, is widely recognized as the best shyrdak artisan in kyrgyzstan. beyond being an amazing tradition keeper and artist, janyl is an incredibly soulful and joyous woman. we were all completely entranced by her.

we ascended upon the remote mountain town of at bashy to visit janyl in her home. we were grateful that she was feeling well enough to receive us; she has been ill and communication with her has been somewhat challenging, both because of the remoteness of the area in which she lives, and the fact that she speaks only kyrgyz (while russian is spoken by the great majority of kyrgyz, those from the older generations living in mountain towns and villages do not speak any russian at all).

so with mairam’s charming son urmat in tow as our interpreter, we spent several hours with her – drinking cup after cup of tea and discussing the tradition.

janyl’s shyrdak are by far the most beautifully crafted shyrdaks that we’ve ever seen; the artistry on them is simply stunning.

for those interested, i will be posting five of her pieces on this blog tomorrow. please let me know if you are interested in having one of these gorgeous pieces once they are up by emailing us at studio@lavivahome.com.