Chinese painting school thrives in Lithuania
Print Edition
In the picturesque old town of Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, there exists a Chinese painting school, named Bamboo Garden. Established 10 years ago, the school is a place where people can relax and gain access to Chinese culture.
Elena Voveriene, founder and teacher of the school, has more than 700 students, aged from 10 to 87. Some of them have been attending classes for all the past decade. They have held right exhibitions of their Chinese painting.
“The Chinese art opens to us the simplicity of life, pureness of mind and help us find inner peace,” Voveriene said.
“The people who are attending the classes are happy to learn the basics of the Chinese art because it brings them peace, helps defeat stress of modern life, and brings them happiness to be creative,” she added. During her more than six-year stay in China with her husband Ginutis Dainius Voveris, Lithuania’s first ambassador to China, Voveriene spent lots of time learning Chinese painting.
As an architect, she is good at Chinese painting — not only drawing, but also teaching.
Tatjana Vorobijute, an 87-year-old student who has been attending the classes for 10 years, said: “The atmosphere in Bamboo Garden is very nice and calm, and the teacher is wonderful. It’s very important.”
Vorobijute said: “Voveriene learnt a lot in China, and came back with a lot of knowledge for the students.”
In the beginning of learning Chinese painting, Vorobijute preferred the Gongbi technique of Chinese painting. But later on, she liked more the style of Xieyi.
“It’s more skillful, more difficult, but you feel freer,” she said about Xieyi.
When she was young, Vorobijute got impressions of Chinese culture from exhibitions, teachers and pictures. An artist from an early age, she realized her dream in Bamboo Garden.
In recent years, Voveriene visited China quite often, and often came back with pictures taken in China for students to paint.
Besides Chinese scenes and flowers, the students also paint about their life. Akvilina Stegvile is one such student.
Stegvile is painting her 5-year-old daughter in Gongbi style. The painting “will be a surprise” for her daughter. “I really like Chinese painting. It’s so close to my spirit,” Stegvile said.
In order to recreate a Chinese atmosphere in her school, Voveriene designed the school in Chinese style, decorating it as a Chinese pavilion with bamboos bought from the Netherlands.
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