Secret Technology

Something struck me immediately when I first visited an orphanage in Russia. I was completely surprised at the skill level demonstrated by the kids when it came to handcrafts. These kids regularly produce beautiful and intricate crafts that I'm not sure an average adult in the U.S. could match. And when you comment about how impressed you are with their work, they just kind of look at you like they're thinking, "big hairy deal." Not that they don't take pride in their work; they were showing us around and pointing out their artwork hanging on the walls. I really believe that having these skills and a form of artistic expression can be therapeutic in a way for these kids who are carrying with them a lot of emotional baggage.

One of the things that we wanted to do when we visited Sovietsk last August was to have the kids and orphanage staff teach us the skills to make these crafts (and other skills like how to cook and catch fish). I learned from my friend Vadim Petrovich in the picture above a "secret technology" for how to peel birch bark layer by layer, trace on it an outline of some interesting image, and then use a small knife to cut it out and create a silhouette. Apparently this skill is proprietary, so I won't be able to share it with anyone. Fortunately for them, I lack the finesse to do woodworking and the brainpower to remember the secret technology (I think something was lost in translation). But I was able to come away with a beautiful and original piece of art that I created myself. (Or that's how Vadim Petrovich tells it. He actually did most of the work and corrected all of my mistakes.) We've waited for the smell of varnish to wear off before hanging it in our house. But we think fondly about the kids and Vadim Petrovich when we see it.