Participants
Avilova Natali		Persyantseva Olga
Bogdashkin Nikhita		Kondratyeva Olga
Mayakov Dmitry		Deineko Anna
Gugis Irene		Belyatko Vlada
Perepyolkina Marina		Krasnitskaya Mary
Leaders
Kraynova Tatiana Ivanovna, the English teacher
Nikitina Svetlana Igorevna, the Computer teacher

The aim of the project
To find out what place the folk art occupies in our modern society and bring this knowledge to the attention of the students of our school (to train the guides for our school museum of toys)

The main hypothesis of the project
The toy contains ulterior information about traditions and beliefs of the folk.

The name of our project work is “Folk art in Moscow region by the eyes of the adolescents”.

We’re decided to work on this theme, because when we go to the museums and art exhibitions, we see a lot of things, that catch our eye, they look so attractive, glamorous that we would like to know, what origin such objects have, what was the aim of the craftsmen, who made such unusual toys in Sergiev Posad (now Zagorsk - picture right), Gzhel and Fedoskino.

In the north-east of the Moscow region there lies Zagorsk, an ancient Russian town of a character all its own. The town has long been renowned, all over Russia, for children’s toys so skillfully made by its talented inhabitants.

The content, form and decor of Russian toys have reflected the folk notions of life, good, beauty. At the same time they have been a medium, through which Russian people could express their capacity for creating expressive inspiring images.

Sergiev Posad has long been renowned, all over Russia, for children’s toys so skillfully made by its talented inhabitants. No wonder it is in Sergiev Posad that the country’s unique museum of toys is located.

 

The first Russian matryoshka the girl with a cockerel in her hand.

We have learnt that toys have long retained the echoes of ancient legends and beliefs. For examples, rag-dolls, which have been common in any peasant environment for years. They are faceless. It was a peculiar taboo in many Russian villages. People feared that those faces would be possessed by the evil spirit capable of harming the child. This naive folk superstition obviously echoed distant animistic beliefs when every event used to be attributed to the forces of good or evil. Another obvious implication attached to the toy since olden times, as is confirmed by ethnographical and folklore sources, is its magic guarding function. Other facets of folk art come to the fore in the toys made by the craftsmen from Sergiev Posad (now Zagorsk). What was amazing, above all, was a rational and original technique of Sergiev Posad wood-carving.

Dolls. Moscow. 1920s. Fabric, knitted fabric, wadding, embroidery.

Lady. Hussar. The first half of the 19th century. Wood, carving, painting

In the end of the 19th century new kinds of toys began to be made. The matryoshka won wide recognition as a Russian traditional souvenir to be enjoyed ever since. First of all, the name, also spelled matrioshka, was a popular name for girls. It believed that it was derived from the Latin word “mater” which means mother or, more to the point, grandmother. The largest doll is the grandmother with future generations of dolls tucked inside it. This symbolized the hope and value of life and the family. Traditionally, a matryoshka was given to newborns to wish them a long and prosperous life.

Matryoshka or nesting dolls. They come in a variety of sizes, characters and number of dolls nested one inside the other. The largest doll is the grandmother with future generations of dolls tucked inside her. This symbolizes the hope and value of life and the family; the heart and soul of Russian people.

 

Gzhel
Almost all the population of Gzhel participated in producing majolica pottery, plates, pitches, bratinas (loving-cups), wine scoops, mugs, ink-pots and other, more decorative festive wears, such as dishes, jugs shaped like a two-headed eagle.
	Gzhel art includes stylistic uniformity and individual variations, which helped to create various styles and diverse artistic manners.

Fedoskino miniature painting

This art has been known in Russia since the late eighteenth century when the Moscow merchant Piotr Korobov opened his workshop in the village of Danilkovo, opposite of Fedoskino across the River Ucha. Practically, the production of lacquered papier-mache articles with painted decoration has not changed significantly since the mid-nineteenth century.

It was a good experience. We tried to establish a good working relationship.

We learned how to cooperate both with each other and with other people.

We have been working on the problem for 2,5 months. We discussed the contents interviewed people, visited libraries to gather necessary information.

We’ve found out, that the folk toy is an original and established part of Russian folk art and culture.

Folk toys not only bring out the general feature of this interesting artistic phenomenon, but peculiarities of individual crafts and various aspects of folk thinking and world perception.

A trip to England (November 2003)
The Museum "Yesterday's World"
In November a group of our students went on a trip to England. We visited several English towns and Battle was among them. There we visited Buckleys Yesterday’s World, one of the most unusual attractions in South East England. We saw fascinating exhibits dating from 1850 through to the 1950s. We got acquainted with enchanting displays, which include a Victorian Kitchen and Edwardian chemists, sweet shop, toy shop. We spoke to the curators of the museum and they told us about their folk art, the history of it. It helped us in our work on the project.

The Main Results
The content, form and decor of Russian toys have reflected the folk notions of life, good, beauty. At the same time they have been a medium, through which Russian people could express their capacity for creating expressive inspiring images.
We have learnt that toys have long retained the echoes of ancient legends and beliefs.
For examples, rag-dolls, which have been common in any peasant environment for years. They are faceless. It was a peculiar taboo in many Russian villages. People feared that those faces would be possessed by the evil spirit capable of harming the child.
This naive folk superstition obviously echoed distant animistic beliefs when every event used to be attributed to the forces of good or evil. Another obvious implication attached to the toy since olden times, as is confirmed by ethnographical and folklore sources, is its magic guarding function.

Conclusion
We’ve found out:

• The folk toy is an original and established part of Russian folk art and culture.
• Folk toys not only bring out the general feature of this interesting artistic phenomenon, but peculiarities of individual crafts and various aspects of folk thinking and world perception.
• The toy contains information about traditions and beliefs of the folk, it is the source of knowledge about inner world of a man in different historic epochs.