# Cecilia Hăisan – traditional craftswoman from Piatra Neamț

> Cecilia Hăisan graduated from Școala Populară de Arte in Piatra Neamț, where she studied under Doina Dașchievici, and her artistic career is intertwined with her work as an educator and mentor to children.

2012-07-17, Crafts and traditions

Cecilia Hăisan graduated from Școala Populară de Arte in Piatra Neamț, where she studied under Doina Dașchievici, and her artistic career is intertwined with her work as an educator and mentor to children. Encouraged by the artist Dașchievici, she learnt the craft of painting icons on glass, continuing a folk art tradition practised almost exclusively in Transylvania. This craft reached Romania through Nicula Monastery; the icons are painted on the reverse of the glass, with naïve yet highly expressive drawings and simple, clear compositions that disregard anatomical proportions and perspective but balance their colours.

For over 14 years, traditional craftswoman Cecilia Hăisan has painted icons using 500-year-old techniques, preserving the beauty, tradition and value of old glass icons. The paintings follow designs first drawn on paper and transferred to glass that has been thoroughly cleaned of grease to ensure the durability of the paint layer.

Tempera colours are applied with very fine brushes, while gold leaf and powder are applied using her own method. The traditional style of the icons is enriched by the craftswoman’s artistic vision, and the wooden frames are handmade and painted in several coats. Her vividly coloured icons in the Transylvanian style carry forward the Christian tradition of the Romanian people and, beyond their artistic value, embody a sacred spiritual heritage.

### Craftswoman Cecilia Haisan, Neamț County

Traditional craftswoman Cecilia Hăisan has exhibited at “Lascăr Vorel” Art Galleries, has become a member of Fondul Plastic in Neamț and Asociația Meșterilor Populari din Moldova, and regularly takes part in folk art events and festivals. Over the years, she has painted icons depicting the Mother of God, the Christological cycle and the saints. Cecilia Hăisan’s naïve glass icons have been admired at solo and group exhibitions in Piatra Neamț and across Romania, with many now held in private collections.

**Workshop location:** the objects are made in the workshop at the craftswoman’s home, located at Piatra Neamț.

**Traditional craftswoman’s telephone: 0746833870** **E-mail:cecilia_haisan@yahoo.ro**

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