Tibor Uhrín
One example of a forgotten craft is making sieves, using a technology of bending chopped wooden splints from fresh wood. Despite the fact it was once quite widespread, this craft is probably not used at all in Slovakia. However, in other regions, for example Scandinavia, it is relatively widespread and the products are a popular part of the table setting. Splints bent into a circle and “sewn” at the end were the basis for producing a variety of vessels and boxes intended, for example, for keeping sewing utensils, food or herbs. With the addition of a bottom, a light, strong vessel is created without using glue. The traditional production method can now be replaced by more modern technology – chopping, sawing and changing the thickness of the splints or slats, or by planing. Such a method is used by Börje Ax in the Swedish village of Orsa in the region of Dalarn, where they use various types of wood to make bent wood vessels. This extraordinary technology greatly attracted my attention during a visit to his workshop in the summer of 2001. I tried it with various woods. I worked well with bending the wood in the traditional way, but I was not very satisfied with my sewing. Therefore, I created my own reliable and strong simple “wooden rivet” with dowel pins. My vessels are various sizes and heights, serving as bowls, boxes and containers for keeping or serving food.