The people of Vilnius applied Japanese experience when renovating things

The weekend in Vilnius was not spoiled by the summer heat, but instead generously rewarded with experiences. Origami, kintsugi, haiku, ikebana, sashiko, orizuru, boro - the people of Vilnius who stayed in the capital for the weekend not only remembered or learned Japanese words, but also understood their meaning while folding paper cranes, sewing scraps of fabric, decorating cracked plates or making poems. 

"The axis of our workshop became familiarity with the Japanese philosophy of wabi sabi, which invites us to recognize and appreciate imperfection, fragility, teaches us to accept the unnatural cycles of life and thus seek peace and harmony.

Plates and cups with small cracks or abrasions brought by Vilnius residents to "Dėkui" stations became living examples of this. Neighbors from the "Amatininkų inn" kindly agreed to wash them in their dishwashers and the dishes were revived in the workshop", said Milda Paukštė, founder of the "Denim Diaries" studio, who organized the celebration. 

According to the Japanese kintsugi tradition, cracks in ceramics are not hidden, but on the contrary, they become an accent and tell a story. 

"Such works can become a cozy detail for the home or a gift. People of all ages and experience, who are not professionally connected with art, choose decorating more and more often as a way to express their thoughts or to relax. 

When it comes to decorating glass and ceramics, amateurs make up the absolute majority of those engaged in it, and their main goal is to renew what has become unnecessary", said Alina Zagubovič, manager of the "Art Inn" company, who came to the event with a clutch of tools for the workshop.

Eglė Gilė, an educator who creates handicrafts from secondary raw materials, agrees with the saying that shards bring happiness, and helped the participants of the workshop to create talismans of happiness - cute pendants from ceramic shards. 

For actor Adam Stanciks, who was interested in the event, jewelry making is an increasingly engaging activity. Adam usually carves them from wood, and this time he immediately gave the pendant with a fragment of a flower created from a shard to another guest of the workshop - journalist Ieva Žigaitei. 

During the creation of the workshop, the participants also shared their thoughts on where to put the no longer needed dishes and glass packages that appear in the household. There are different ways: reuse, give away, sort for recycling. 

"Ceramics should be thrown with mixed waste, and not in green containers together with broken glass and packaging", - Vaida Griškevičienė, an ecologist from "Zhalioj taška", emphasized an interesting fact. 

In another space on Žydaus gatevele, women gathered patiently sewing patch to patch in an ancient Japanese sewing technique called sashiko. Combining scraps of denim and linen, they created boron-style coasters for tea cups.

A children's table, as if it is no longer needed, arrived at the new "DĖK'ui" boutique in the old town, immediately became useful for origami folders. Young and old learned to create the most popular form of origami - orizuri (lit. paper winch). 

A box with a thousand paper cranes, unfolded from the pages of old books, also awaited a closer look and caring hands. Ceramist Neringa Akcijonaitytė gave them to the festival and she was happy that the cranes, once folded for an artistic project, got a chance to spread their wings again.

Florist Diana Janavičiūtė, who came from Klaipėda to the event in the capital, did not miss the opportunity to be among people interested in Japanese culture. "I probably read all the books about Japan in Lithuanian!" - Diana mentioned her passion, she has been interested in the culture of a distant country for 35 years.

She spent the whole evening making ikebana. According to this Japanese way of arranging flowers, the most important are not the flowers, but the non-traditional parts of the plant - the stem, leaves. Accented lines, shapes, contours.

Diana's ikebana is located in dishes that are no longer needed by someone.

"It's a bit sad that the cycle of seven thematic weekends in Vilnius has ended. Although this summer in the Old Town of Vilnius is completely different than before the pandemic, it also opened up new opportunities and helped to establish beautiful friendships with neighbors and people interested in a more sustainable life. 

If not for these weekends, the "DĖK'ui" boutique would not have appeared in our studio. Here, at least until the middle of November, people will be able to bring and give away good things they no longer need. We felt such a need and this initiative was supported by the Vilnius County Waste Management Center. 

We will continue the Japanese workshops in the workshop space in the boutique, at least until the middle of September. Join us - autumn is a great time to take a closer look at the things you have, rethink your relationship with them and give them new opportunities", invited M. Paukštė.