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My placement in Bulgaria

In my last post, I briefly introduced myself and my blog. This post will explain a bit more about myself and my placement in Bulgaria.

My placement was funded by ERASMUS and was in association with the Devetaki Plateau Association, as part of a lifelong learning programme in education and culture. You can find more information about ERASMUS here and about the Devetaki Plateau Association here. In summary, my placement was a cultural exchange, with a programme formulated to enable me to experience the traditional arts, crafts, folklore and culture of Bulgaria.

I applied for this programme first and foremost because I enjoy art and crafts. I like to think of myself as an artist. I enjoy painting, craftwork and making jewellery and textiles. I also appreciate the arts, and enjoy learning about different type of art. Further to this, there has always been something about Bulgaria that has fascinated me. When I was a little girl, my grandfather took me to charity shops and there I found many interesting artefacts, including wooden souveneirs from Bulgaria. I found the craftwork so beautiful and interesting - like nothing I had ever seen. I spent hours looking at the intricate designs and beautiful colours, and always imagined what the place where these objects were made was like. In my own art, I am interested in how art can tell a story, and how information, legends and folklore can survive the years through artwork. This programme therefore seemed to be the perfect opportunity for me.

In addition to this, I am particularly interested in the healing and thereapeutic nature of art. I believe art can communicate ideas in a way words cannot. I was therefore interested in learning new skills which may help me to develop my own art therapy.

I travelled to Bulgaria with my partner, Matthew, and a small group of others who were also on the programme.

We travelled around Bulgaria from 2nd - 8th September 2017.
Me in Sofia (the capital) on our first night in Bulgaria.

My next post will be about "Martenitza". You will have to wait until my next blog post to find out what that is!

Rebecca

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