THE EYES of LATVIAN COUNTRY HOUSES

Or giving the second life for glass

Country houses make the core of the Latvian rural landscape. It comes from our history – living in farm houses, islands, in one kin – like in a personal cosmos. It has saved our language, culture and our world outlook in spite of the 8 centuries under conquerers.

In the 20ieth century alone Latvia has experienced a change of 7 political systems. Each of them has left some traces in our rural landscape. The beginning of the present century is a bit calmer. Many of us still live in the cosmos of our farm houses. Yet - a typical feature of our rural landscape nowadays is our dead houses.

Windows are the eyes of a house. Our ancestors, acquaintances, neighbors and we ourselves have watched through them. This look has been saved – in the glass? In the history? The glass from the dead houses is being used for making art designs in the glass workshop of the NGO “Ūdenszīmes” (“Watermarks”)

It is the glass from the windows of the dead houses. And the glass from the happy houses – the ones that are being renovated by changing the windows, too.

The glass, both donated and found by ourselves, finds its shelter in our shed.

Later on it goes to our workshop to be cut, melted and made into a new form.

After going through the blessing of fire, the glass of the windows looks at us anew – as decorations for for our Christmas trees:

… and the ancient Latvian signs – the ones saving the blessing for our houses. The signs bringing light.

Designs for catching the rays of the sun and reflecting the light.

Our ability of seeing the world in a new way will stay alive –

as long as we can have our creative thinking. PALDIES!