Naše kulturno bogastvo - Razvojni center Srca Slovenije

PlaitingPlaiting belongs among the oldestcrafts in Slovenia. Plaiting-relatedknowledge spread from generationto generation and since the19th century this has been helpedby plaiting courses and schools.Today plaiting is among the bestpreserved and wide-spread homecrafts; nevertheless, it functionsexclusively at the self-taught andlocal levels. During the Easter holidays,plaiting products, in particularwicker baskets are most desired.Tončka Jemec from Petelinje nearDolsko plaits baskets and narrow,two-handled bags, usually of straw,and is famous among those whostill preserve the ancient plaitingtradition.Tončka Jemec or, informally, JeršinovaTončka, was born in 1931 in the villageof Petelinje where she has lived until thisday. She is known far and wide for herquality basketry. She plaits from willow,which she learnt from her motherand father. Her mother had learnt basketryskills from her father and the latterfrom his brothers who have gainedthe knowledge in the basketry schoolin Dolsko, established around 1900.Tončka remembers that in times pastthe most demanded products were thebaskets people carried on their backssince “everything had to be reaped andcut by hand and then carried home”.Her grand-father made baskets, “suchbaskets that used to be carried on thehead or for milk when women transportedit to Ljubljana on wooden carts”.Willow-plaited baskets were needed foreveryday jobs.Her products are made from naturalmaterials. Tončka cuts some materialand thin strips of wood at home, someare brought by her neighbours. Willow isan ideal material, in particular if it is cutevery year: one year old rods are the bestas it is without knots. Willow is cut inspring, then it is peeled, dried and sortedas to its thickness. Already in summeror autumn thick rods can be cleft intovitre, in three or four parts. Tončka uses ahand-operated machine to do this. Untilthe preparation of thin strips of wood, towit, vitre, the work is done “in dry”; however,plaiting required the material to bewet so that it became pliable. Tončkaplaits in winter only. She sits down ina chair, places vitre and rods on thefloor and starts plaiting. A single basketrequires plenty of work. Last year shemade a lot of small baskets for a sewingkit. She keeps her baskets for herself,sometimes she makes one or two perorder. Her favourites are the baskets forEaster, She is very innovative in her worksince there are always those specialwishes which she considers a challengeto her creativity, quite often she has anidea herself. Thus not only she preservestraditional plaiting but she develops itand fits it with new details as well.From 1987 to 1994 Tončka was a mentorof plaiting as an extracurricular activityat the elementary school of Dolsko. Theinterest was quite substantial: every time20 to 40 students gathered. They madebaskets which were later exhibited.Children took up plaiting but on rareoccasions, not even at home as theydid not have adequate tools at home(machines for thin strips of wood, willowrods etc.): children got those tools at theextracurricular activity. In 1990 Tončkawas awarded a top recognition by theChamber of Craft of Slovenia and wasgiven the title of master craftswomanof handicraft. In 2000, she was awardedanother recognition called gold tendril.Locals too, are proud of Tončka and herproducts. This is why she was made anhonorary citizen of the municipality ofDol near Ljubljana.Tončka says “that there is no profit in thecraftsman’s profession, it is not worthwhilefrom this point of view”. For thelast 50 years and more, crafts in Sloveniahave been neglected. Nowadays thecrafts are slowly reviving, people beginto respect hand made, quality andtraditional products more: thus, craftsmenare encouraged in their vocationalendeavours.53