Guardian Angels of Ukraine is a project of the League of Ukrainian Women of Canada (LU-OKC) founded in 2014, which provides support for mental health, rehabilitation, pays for medical equipment for hospitals, organizes educational programs for medical personnel and supports the social reintegration of wounded Ukrainian soldiers, veterans, volunteers and victims of the war against Ukraine. All this work is paid for by the generous donations of kind people in our community.
To raise funds for the Guardian Angels of Ukraine project, the Edmonton chapter of LU-OKC organized a painting party — “Painting for a Just Peace”, which took place on March 1 at the Ukrainian Youth House. About 30 people donated $100 each to come together in a friendly circle and paint an original work on glass in the style of Ukrainian craftswoman Maria Prymachenko.
The party was led by Iryna Karpenko, a graduate of the Art Institute in Kyiv who has been living and working in Edmonton since 2003. In Ukraine, Iryna Karpenko worked as an illustrator of children’s books and in Edmonton she ran an art studio-school for children and youth. In order to support our cause as much as possible, Iryna Karpenko declined the remuneration for her professional work and donated her time and expertise. Thanks to her generosity, the party was successful in its goal of raising funds for the Guardian Angels of Ukraine project. The participants were satisfied and spoke positively about working with Ms. Iryna.
Glass painting is an ancient and interesting technique that was practiced in Ukraine, probably as far back as the 16th century, according to information from artist Elena Diadenko, who works and teaches in Chicago, USA. She told in an interview with the Chicago television station “WTTW Public Television” that painting on glass is a cultural tradition. Self-taught painters painted on the back of the glass and the subjects were mostly biblical. Later, self-taught artists painted rural subjects, animals, plants and flowers. Diadenko claims that although such painting is of the so-called primitive style, it is very beautiful, authentic, very bright and always with a black outline.
The well-known artist Maria Prymachenko (1909-1997) belongs to such self-taught artists and created interesting, bright paintings, fantasy, but not on glass, but on canvas. Prymachenko’s works are called “naive art”, because she was truly self-taught and painted without classical techniques. Her works are very impressive in colors, shapes and subjects. Many of her paintings depict animals in exaggerated, fantastical shapes and colors, and some are even a bit strange. But besides that, Primachenko’s works are attractive and have been popular in recent years. It is worth mentioning an interesting fact. The Finnish airline “Finn Air” appropriated a work by Maria Primachenko from 1963 as a decoration for its aircraft. This misuse of Primachenko’s work was illegal and Primachenko’s family sued “Finn Air”. The court found that the airline had appropriated the work without permission.
During the party, the participants enjoyed a delicious snack prepared by Mariola Levita and a selection of different wines. Several local businesses donated gift cards that were raffled off throughout the evening. Among these donors were the Ukrainian restaurant “Taste of Ukraine”, owned by the Wozniak family, “Widynowski’s Sausage House” and “FreshCo Supermarket Palisades Square”. It was a nice surprise for those present and a generous support for the party. The Ukrainian Youth House Management donated its premises for the evening free of charge and sponsored soft drinks.
Special thanks must be given to the provincial Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood, who very generously paid for all the costs associated with this party, including all the painting materials, the buffet and wine, all the advertising and administrative costs that were necessary to make this “Painting for a Just Peace” evening a success. 100% of the proceeds from this unique evening were donated to the Guardian Angels of Ukraine project. Together, we have achieved a lot.
Lida M. Vasylyn, Ukrainian League of Canada, Edmonton Chapter
