photography by Viktorija Vaisvilaite
photography by Svetlana Batura
Every love and wedding story is different in its own beautiful way. And I am happy to meet people who want their stories “written” in unique handmade natural ways with nuno felt dresses and jackets. It is always unique.
Almost two years ago one of my clients was so excited contacting me, and she had an idea… She wanted me to repurpose her wedding dress that was sitting in the box for years. I think her excitement simply infected me and I said yes to her, let’s try this.
So the dress made its way to me over Atlantic. When I opened the big box, I had ambiguous feelings – fear to take the dress apart, excitement to repurpose it and…worry when I saw it was all synthetic and not silk as my client thought of it.
I don’t usually use anything synthetic in my pieces or projects, I don’t feel connected with the synthetics. And especially having to combine it with the natural materials… The other problem was that most of the fabric of the dress was not suitable for felting at all.
As the excitement and enthusiasm of the first moments faded away, I understood I could do nothing unless I build a connection with this fabric. I needed it to speak to me. There were dozen of times when I took it to my hands and then put it away. I took it apart, carded some fabric into fibers, and removed the embellishments to be felted on something I still didn’t know what. I was lucky to have such a wonderful client who understood my creative process and was ready to wait even for a year or more.
Concentrating my thoughts on my client, opened up my mind. Though the fabric was synthetic, it was a part of my clients image some years ago – I was sure this dress was soaking in most positive feelings, love and adoration during those times when my client was marrying a man she loved. It wasn’t just a piece of polyester to her. This was the point where the fabric could speak to me and I could listen. My work began.
It wasn’t all about felting, just a few pieces, it was more of interpretation in textiles. I applied several techniques and thought a lot about colors. I was sure the colors should be softening the feeling of synthetics and should be something that would look worth of a woman whatever her age would be. As the woman who decided to repurpose her wedding dress wants to cherish the things made of it for years or maybe a lifetime.
And…the best reward for this “communication” with the dress was my clients reaction – she loved every single piece. And I hope she is going to cherish it for years.
Whatever is your art or craft media, you will always turn to photography as the means to reflect your work to the world or even create a continuation of the thought of your work. That’s why I always considered it to be a very important aspect in one’s artistic life.
Not all of us of course have a professional photographer, professional equipment and studio, not to mention a few super models at hand to always present one’s work in the best manner. At least I don’t – just an improvised environment in an apartment, a tripod and remote control in my own hands and the same face all the time of which I really get bored and wished I had a couple of best friends – models nearby from time to time. Anyway, on the other hand it’s sometimes the easiest option when you do everything by yourself. It’s just the maker who can really express what he meant with his work (or a real soul mate photographer who feels and sees the world the way you do and knows every corner of your soul, thus – your work too… But tell me how often do you meet such? But… I am still dreaming of the photo shoots with some photographers I feel close to my soul and to have women I adore as my models… It’s nice to imagine).
I always regret when I don’t have enough time to picture all the work I do as I consider it to be a final act of my creation that materializes the image living in my mind. Or I’d better say – a final act that requires my own input as the very final act is the reaction of observers that the piece stimulates…
wedding dress (wool & silk)
wool, silk & flax, eco dyed with vegetable plant dyes
After all the celebration is gone, you are left with photos of the day that evoke feelings. It’s not just the feelings of the actual day, these are also the feelings that a person behind the lens has encoded in your photography. There are lot’s of talented photographers with their own signature, I guess it’s sometimes even hard to choose, but if I had to, the main criteria would be that footprint of feeling that photographer leaves in the memories of your wedding day.
I chose to introduce you to 3 different Lithuanian photographers who also do wedding photography. Yes, I am acquainted with all of them and that’s probably why I chose to introduce them here. Because I get a better feeling of what they do.
Svetlana Batura takes a very sensual, spiritual approach, she captures something that is beyond. Perhaps it’s more feminine look at the world, or I should better say sense, not look.
Viktorija Vaišvilaitė Skirutienė has a talent of capturing the very true pulse of life – very sensitive reality, those uncovered true moments in life, the touching point of soul and body, the relation. In reality.
And Victor Morozov, very cinematic approach, passionate and stylish. Lot’s of flight. Everywhere – in people’s relation, life or even exaggerated reality. But he is a master of creating a phenomenal day in one’s life.
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Kai baigiasi visas šventės šurmulys, lieka nuotraukos, kurios sužadina jausmus. Ir tai nėra tik tos tikrosios dienos jausmai, čia įsipina ir žmogaus, stovinčio už fotoaparato objektyvo, nuotraukose užkoduoti jausmai. Yra nemažai talentingų fotografų, turinčių savo braižą, tikriausiai sunku ir pasirinkti, bet jei reikėtų rinktis, vadovaučiausi būtent tais jausmų pėdsakais, kuriuos fotografas palieka savo kurtose vestuvių dienos fotografijose-prisiminimuose.
Norėjau pristatyti 3 skirtingus lietuvių fotografus, kurie užsiima ir vestuvine fotografija. Taip, pažįstu visus tris ir tikriausiai būtent dėl to pasirinkau juos pristatymui savo dienoraštyje. Dėl to, kad galbūt geriau jaučiu tai, ką jie kuria.
Svetlanos Baturos fotografija persmelkta jausmingumu ir jautrumu, dvasinga įkrova, jos objektyvas fiksuoja kažką, kas yra virš viso matomo. Tikriausiai tai labiau moteriškas požiūris, tik turbūt reikėtų sakyti jausmas.
Viktorija Vaišvilaitė Skirutienė turi ypatingą talentą užčiuopti ir fiksuoti patį gyvenimo pulsą – labai jautrią realybę, atvirus, tikrus momentus gyvenimo plotmėje, dvasios ir kūno sąlyčio tašką, santykį. Realybėje.
Ir Victor Morozov – labai kinematografiškas, aistringas ir stilingas. Begalė polėkio. Visur – žmonių santykiuose, gyvenime, net ir suintensyvintoje realybėje. Jis tikras meistras, kurdamas išskirtinę dieną savo personažų gyvenimuose.
Autumn has traditionally been a season for weddings in our country. Perhaps that’s why I get most of custom orders for weddings in late August and September.
I have always admired the brides who are searching for something really original, even unusual, handmade and natural. Be it a dress or a wedding bouquet. I know there are tons of gorgeous and luxurious wedding gowns for lease in wedding salons, but… these dresses have always pushed me away with their synthetic fabrics, lack of uniqueness and handmade feeling. Especially when you try to imagine it used by a person for the celebration that is supposed to be the most honest, open, one of a kind in one’s life…
It’s really nice to notice that there are more and more brides who take this natural and unique approach to their weddings. You might ask so where is that point of eco-friendliness if more and more brides would not lease a wedding gown in a salon for one day but would have it created just for her? Well, I think it would be much more eco-friendly to repurpose a wedding gown after the wedding to many useful and beautiful pieces of clothing or accessories or save that unique dress for the daughter or grand daughter compared to all chemical cleaning dresses in salons require.
Anyhow, it’s all a question of choice. Every bride who chooses me to design a dress for her is very different and amazing in her own way. I see them prepare for one of the most important moments in their life and hear the story of how they came to this point of choosing this and not that. So with this post I wanted to make a mini overview of some important aspects for weddings when you choose to do it in a natural and unique way. And I’d like to look at our local artists and artisans this time.
Wedding rings. Adding something really dear to it, like a detail of fingerprints of your beloved one, choosing more organic shapes and details, putting a piece of simple beach stone that means something for you rather than diamonds, or putting a stone on the side that only you can see – all those little things make huge difference…
by Jurgita Erminaitė Šimkuvienė
Flowers… the flowers I chose grow in our country – in a wild or in grandmothers’ gardens. They represent beauty, fragility, lightness of feminine nature.
White peonies
Heath
or even wild madder! (photo credit from Madara cosmetics)
I wish I could show you really unique and elegant shoes for the brides, designed by Lithuanian shoe designers, but… As every bride I met had most troubles finding shoes for her, I had the same trouble searching in the internet for our local shoe designers and.. I am afraid nothing really impressed me..or I was not lucky in my search. So I guess our brides will still have to be content with whatever they choose - high fashion shoes from Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Choo; elegant dance shoes or…everything else, just waiting for a new generation of local shoe designers to grow up and knock us back.
Wedding photography… it’s for my next post.
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Ruduo – vestuvių metas nuo senų laikų. Galbūt todėl baigiantis vasarai ir prasidedant Rugsėjui gaunu daugiausiai užsakymų vestuvėms.
Visada žavėjausi nuotakomis, kurios planuodamos savo vestuves renkasi originalumą, netgi neįprastumą, natūralumą, tikrumą. Ar tai būtų vestuvinė suknelė, ar gėlių puokštė.
Mane visuomet atstumdavo saloninės nuomojamos vestuvinės suknelės. Taip, žinau, kad ten pilna labai ištaigingų ir gražių, puošnių suknelių. Bet jų dažniausiai sintetinės medžiagos, rankų darbo jausmo ir unikalumo trūkumas veja mane tolyn nuo jų, ypač kai įsivaizduoji, kad tokią suknelę moteris renkasi vilkėti tą savo gyvenimo dieną, kuri turėtų būti nuoširdžiausia, atviriausia, tikriausia, vienatinė jos gyvenime…
Ir tiesą pasakius džiugu stebėti, jog bėgant laikui tokių moterų, kurios pasirenka originalų, rankų darbo, natūralų kelią savo vestuvėms, daugėja. Galite paklausti, kur gi čia tas ekologiškumas, jei kiekviena moteris siūdinsis vestuvinę suknelę, o ne nuomosis. Bet aš manau, kad vestuvinės suknelės “perkūrimas” po vestuvių į daugelį kitų originalių ir mielų širdžiai aprangos detalių, aksesuarų ar kitų dalykų; ar galiausiai tokios vienetinės suknelės saugojimas savo dukteriai ar anūkei, yra daug ekologiškiau palyginus su visa chemija, kuri naudojama saloninių suknelių švarinimui ir atnaujinimui.
Žinoma, visa tai yra pasirinkimo reikalas. Kiekviena nuotaka, kuriai aš kūriau vestuvinę suknelę, skirtinga ir žavi kiekviena savo būdu. Aš matau, kaip jos ruošiasi vienai svarbiausių savo švenčių ir klausau jų istorijų, kaip jos priėmė sprendimą rinktis būtent tai, ką pasirinko. Šiuo įrašu dienoraštyje norėjau tiesiog turmpai apžvelgti keletą svarbių vestuvių aspektų, kurie buvo svarbūs ir mano sutiktom nuotakom. Ir norėčiau pasižiūrėti į mūsų vietinių kūrėjų ir vietinės gamtos kuriamus ir dovanojamus dalykus…
Vestuviniai žiedai. Maži dalykai turi didelę reikšmę. Mylimojo pirštų ar delno antspaudų detalė ant žiedo, jūros akmenėlis, kuris turi jauniesiems svarbią reikšmę, o ne deimantas, ar akmenėlis ten, kur jį mato tik mūvintis žiedą, organiškos formos, faktūros…
Lietuvoje augančios gėlės vestuvinei puokštei – balti bijūnai močiutės gėlynėlyje, laukiniai viržiai ar net lipikai iš pievų. Visi jie simbolizuoja moteriško prado grožį, trapumą ir stiprumą, lengvumą…
Labai norėjau surasti unikalius ir elegantiškus vestuvinius batelius, kurtus lietuvių batų dizainerių, bet…kaip ir visos mano sutiktos nuotakos turėjo daugiausiai problemų ieškodamos batelių, taip ir aš nesugebėjau internete rasti nieko tokio iš lietuvių meistrų, kas iš tiesų pakerėtų savo originalumu, elegantiškomis linijomis.. O galbūt man tiesiog nepasisekė ieškoti. Tad panašu, jog mūsų nuotakos turės tenkintis tuo, ką pasirinks – aukštosios mados atstovų nepriekaištingus batus (Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo), elegantiškus šokėjų batelius, ar…visa kita tol, kol užaugs nauja lietuvių batų dizainerių karta ir savo kūriniais tiesiog nustebins mus visus.
Vestuvių fotografija… palikime tai kitam įrašui. :)
