-
.
- Ελληνικά
It was to the site of dear Brasidas that my steps brought me last year when I came to talk to people who knew about the lime kilns in the wider area, again in search of authentic Cyprus and our roots. That day, I was introduced to Brasidas and his wonderful creations.
I learn that at the age of five, Brasidas began making his first woodcuts. It was his grandfather, Onesiphoros (Nisiforis), who introduced him to the art of woodcarving, making everything from 'pithkiavlias' to samaria (sagas). Brasidas, always at his grandfather's side, sucked his 'mastorka'.
But he did not stop at the already known. As a true son of the place and an ecologist, he literally 'ploughed' with his feet every field, every hill and every gully, not only in Tala but also in the surrounding villages.
Brasidas sees from another angle, is impressed and travels with his imagination. He collects logs, stones, tree trunks, 'stumps', old discarded objects, and gradually gathers them here in his workshop, where his tavern is located. With his skilful hands and with the aid of his creativity and artistic eye, all these objects take shape, form and acquire life and use with only minor interventions. They become human figures, useful furniture, birds, turtles, snakes, goats, musical instruments and a thousand other things. He fills his spaces here with exquisite creations all carved with great effort and care.
The Brasidas of Tala is one of the few who remain to serve and keep the tradition, and at the same time enrich it with his own stamp.
He is the fifth of ten children of the family of Neophytos and Kyriakous.
He is the fifth of ten children of the family of Neophytos and Kyriakous. He was born and raised in Tala. He went through poverty, hard times, so a share of the responsibility of the then large family was bound to fall on the shoulders of little Brasidas. The goats needed grazing and milking. He gathered acorns for the pigs, as well as carob and olives. The oil had to come out, he also needed to harvest, to scrape the fields, to water the orchard with water through the stone fountain from the distant "Mylari" spring.
Little Brasidas, the 'trays' many, the route difficult. But Brasidas, 'scaring' the water with the hoe, sang - he had a lot of appetite and love for what he was doing.
He spent endless hours out in nature, in his grandfather's house which was cut off from the other houses in the village, on a steep spot with a beautiful view - the valley and the stream flowing all at once. The sound of birds, the bells of goats echoing around, the water singing - Brasidas' sensitivity grew as time passed. He became a musician, he sang, he made musical instruments with his own hands. He became a great dancer with a special style of his own, he became a bricklayer and an ironmaker.
I can describe Brasidas as a dynamic, self-made, multi-talented, with a restless spirit, a creator of folk art, but also as a collector of traditional Cypriot objects.
In all these works of his exhibited today we can clearly see his whole journey, captured with much love and reverence, all his experiences, everything he encountered in the course of his life.
Dear Brasidas, today I inaugurate this wonderful and rich exhibition of yours with admiration. You are worthy of congratulations and your works certainly deserve proper display and attention.
I am sure that all of you who honour the exhibition with your presence will also enjoy these unique folk creations prepared with love, passion and imagination by Brasidas.
Kudos to Brasidas and always creative!
(ASP)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
