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Vira Roik

Vira Serhiivna Roik (1911–2010) — an outstanding Ukrainian embroidery master, Hero of Ukraine, and founder of the school of Ukrainian folk embroidery in Crimea. For over half a century she promoted traditional Ukrainian culture and the art of embroidery on Crimean soil, becoming a symbol of the spiritual bond between Crimea and mainland Ukraine.

Overview

Vira Roik was born in 1911 in the city of Lubny in the Poltava region, into a family with illustrious Cossack roots. Despite a serious childhood illness, and later a concussion during World War II that cost her the use of her right hand for embroidery, the craftswoman did not break. She mastered embroidery with her left hand and devoted nearly a century of her life to her beloved craft (she died at the age of 99).

From 1952 Vira Roik lived in Crimea, where she launched extensive creative, pedagogical, and educational activity. She founded the School of Ukrainian Embroidery in Simferopol, teaching children and adults the ornamental patterns of the Poltava region, the Kyiv region, Podillia, the Carpathian region, and other areas of Ukraine. For her significant contribution to the preservation and dissemination of Ukrainian folk heritage she was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine, and academician Dmytro Stepovyk called her the "Crimean Poltavka" and the "All-Ukrainian Mother."

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Origin, childhood, and the "magic thimble": Born in Lubny in the Poltava region into a family of Cossack origins. As a child she dreamed of ballet, attended a choreography studio, and was fond of music and drawing, but a serious illness confined her to bed. Hearing the doctors' verdict ("she will never rise"), the girl showed extraordinary will to live, got up, and took up embroidery. Her first lessons in the craft were given by her grandmother Oksana, who gave her granddaughter a small golden thimble that became a symbolic amulet for her throughout her life.
  • The beginning of her creative path and the trials of war: After graduating from gymnasium she worked in the Lubny embroiderers' artel. In 1936 she won an award at the All-Union exhibition of folk art in Moscow, after which her embroideries were regularly exhibited in many museums. During World War II she suffered a severe concussion that damaged her right hand. Showing exceptional courage, within a few years Vira Roik learned to embroider skillfully with her left hand.
  • Life in Crimea and domestic culture (from 1952): Having moved to Crimea in 1952, the craftswoman brought with her a boundless love for Ukrainian art. She strove for decoration and beauty in everything: even a small stool and a newspaper rack in her home were adorned with embroidery. She favored vyshyvankas, ordering garments from Lviv craftswomen and always visiting their workshops.
  • The School of Ukrainian Embroidery in Simferopol: She founded her own school of embroidery art in Simferopol. Students (both children and adults) became acquainted with the riches of Ukrainian ornamentation from various regions — from Podillia and the Carpathians to the Poltava and Kyiv regions. According to Liudmyla Bilous, deputy director of the National Museum of Ukrainian Folk Decorative Art, Vira Roik's main merit lay in spreading traditional Ukrainian culture in Crimea.
  • Museums and legacy (Simferopol, Gurzuf, the thimble collection): Thanks to the efforts of her son Vadym Roik, in 2012 the Vira Roik Museum of Ukrainian Embroidery opened in Simferopol, and preparations also began for opening a museum of the same name in the city of Gurzuf. In addition to the craftswoman's works and embroidery samples, the museums display her unique collection of 400 thimbles made from various materials.
  • Recognition, memoirs, and the book "The World in One's Palms" ("Svit u dolonyakh"):
  • For her outstanding personal contribution to the development of Ukrainian art she was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.
  • Academician Dmytro Stepovyk gave the craftswoman the honorary and affectionate names "Crimean Poltavka" and "All-Ukrainian Mother."
  • Her son Vadym Roik compiled and published the book of memoirs "The World in One's Palms. Memoirs of Hero of Ukraine, the embroiderer Vira Roik" ("Svit u dolonyakh. Spohady pro Heroya Ukrayiny, vyshyvalnytsyu Viru Roik"), presented at the National Museum of Ukrainian Folk Decorative Art.
  • Warm recollections of the artist were shared by her student Myroslava Tarakhan (a researcher at the National Museum of Literature of Ukraine), her mother — museum worker Zinaida Tarakhan-Bereza (who kept a special notebook "Advice of Vira Serhiivna" ["Porady Viry Serhiyivny"]), former director of the National Museum of Ukrainian Folk Decorative Art Adriana Vyalets, and deputy director of that museum Liudmyla Bilous.