On one of the principal Chernivtsi streets – named after Maidan Heroes – a wooden sculpture of an angel holding a trident in his hand was consecrated. Recently, the sculpture has appeared before the main building of Chernivtsi Medical College. It was an idea of Oleksandr Kulyk, the college’s director. Kulyk had seen similar artwork in his hometown near Rivne and was inspired to install a similar one near his own institution. “Throughout the past year, our students have often gathered money for ATO soldiers, for the injured, and the families of fallen heroes. So, let this angel be a kind of guardian for them, and a talisman for the city as well,” said Kulyk.
However, the idea was not easy to implement. It turned out that the whole Ukraine has little more than a dozen sculptors on wood, but one of them – Oleksandr Keivan – lives in Vyzhnytsia in Bukovyna.
“In the past I had graduated from Vyzhnytsia College of Applied Arts, but my passion for wooden sculpture developed only a dozen years ago. Since then I have created many works: you can find them in Vorokhta, Yaremche, Bukovel, and in other parts of western Ukraine,” says the master. “I use an ordinary chainsaw to cut the sculpture, and a cutter goes only for fine details. Before starting the work I do a sketch, as well as a research on the tree’s structure, because not every tree is suitable for making sculptures. The best trees for such a task are linden, oak, and chestnut. The old teak tree, which was growing near the college but had to be cut down due to a high likelihood of an accident, is the unique material for this work (the Medical college in Chernivtsi is more than 200 years old, and the relict tree which usually grows in Asia might have been of its age). Teak has a beautiful golden texture; it is extremely durable and resistant to weather.”
A month ago, the master has carved the sculpture’s basis, and let it “rest” for two to three weeks to avoid making cracks – by that time the tree should have recovered from physical weariness. Then he worked on fine details, polished the sculpture, put grounding on it, and covered it with a special varnish. After this treatment, Keivan says, a wooden sculpture will be able to stand for a long time, even longer than one from a poured metal. Before the sculpture’s consecration, a plaque was engraved on it, with the inscription “God save Ukraine.” So, the patriotic angel, who has already won the liking of many Chernivtsi citizens, will also be a guardian of all Ukraine.
