She grew up with wood next to her father, the carver Július Katina. As a child, she sat next to him in the workshop for hours on end, unknowingly fulfilling his desire for a son named Ján who would follow in his footsteps. She still remembers how, for example, he turned wood, and she always knew which chisel to hand him. Or the sense of grandeur when he painted a nativity scene and brought home gold paint… It’s no wonder that she wanted to practically follow in his carving footsteps. At first, he was reluctant to give her a knife, afraid, but when he saw that she was constantly drawn to it and was skillful, there was no turning back.

At first, she decorated her mother’s flowerpots with carved sticks, she gifted her classmates with small pieces, and with the help of boys and her father, she made functional wooden guns which she also ornately decorated. Everything led to her studies at the secondary art school, but she wasn’t recommended due to attending religion classes. However, even while studying at the hotel academy, her love for wood never left her and flourished again during her maternity leave, spending days and nights carving.

Initially, she took over her father’s assortment, which towards the end of his career was predominantly in a natural style. She focused mainly on small zoomorphic sculptures, traditional central Slovak ladles, and nativity scenes. However, as her father aged and was less active in carving, she felt the need to take things in a different direction. The first thing she adjusted to her own style was the figurines in the nativity scene, and gradually, she modified other items from the assortment. However, to this day, she remains true to her father’s sheep and a specific small nativity scene.

Her artistic direction was further influenced by meetings with the ÚĽUV (Centre for Folk Art Production) artist Janka Menkynová, who, as a craftsperson at ÚĽUV, suggested painting her products. She agreed, which opened the doors to enriching the ornamental decoration, visible today mainly in variations of Kyjatice patterns. Traditional ornamentation – not only aesthetically, but also philosophically – is a strong source of inspiration for her. In this regard, she values the work of ethnologist Oľga Danglová and graphic designer Tomáš Kompaník.

Her assortment today includes, in addition to the mentioned animals and various types of nativity scenes, sculptures of saints (including larger sizes), ladles, guns, cutting boards, pendants, mirror frames, and various children’s toys, mostly carved from linden wood. She sources and processes the wood herself, from cutting to drying. After cutting the rough shape, she works on her pieces – as the old masters once did – with a traditional knife, supplemented with chisels when needed. She primarily decorates with line carving and notch carving, adds color through painting and staining, protects the surface with beeswax or linseed oil, and leaves products for the youngest children in their natural state.

Jan Majerská’s life revolves around wood. For many years, she has been a lecturer for carving courses for children and adults at ÚĽUV and other platforms. The public knows her from numerous craft events and solo exhibitions. Among them, we can mention the exhibition *Nativity Scenes* (2020) in Bratislava and *Lines in the Works of Jana Majerská* (2023) in Tatranská Lomnica. Her son Ján also follows in her footsteps, as his woodworking skills have held him since childhood. Thus, the long-standing desire of her father for a male successor has been fulfilled through generations but taken a step further by a woman.

In 2020, she was awarded the title of Master of Folk Art Production in the field of carving.

Further information about the craftsperson can be found in the articles *Inspired by Ornament* (RUD 3/2019), *Wood Blessing* (RUD 1/2021), and *Wooden Variations* (RUD 2/2021).