Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Opishne - pottery capital of Ukraine

Opishne is an ancient Cossack town on the north of the Poltava region located 45km. north from Poltava. Its name is associated with pottery all over Ukraine. The craft has always blossomed there, thanks to the presence of fine clays in the area. That is why since centuries ago Opishne was regarded as a “capital” of Ukrainian ceramics. Potters throughout the entire Poltava region envy and try to follow all the Opishnian techniques in ceramics. There were about 280 potters in the town at that time. 

There is a National Museum of Ukrainian Ceramics there, founded in the beginning of the 1990's to save the national traditions and regenerate the old craft. It has several branches: an art school, a center dedicated to the study of the special methods of ceramics, a library, a publishing house, and audiovisual archives. Since 1997, the yearly congress of Ukrainian ceramists is held there. Wellknown potters (ceramists) compete during July. Their works can be seen in the yard of the museum or near the art school.