Folklore Workshop – Baba Yaga

Each Tuesday afternoon workshop will centre around the myth or folklore topic of that week. The aim will be to discuss ideas surrounding that belief or narrative and to come up with a finished piece using any of the methods and materials that are available. You will have access to paper/card, printing materials (linocut, block, mono or collagraph), paints, drawing materials, 3D resources (clay, paper mache, wire, wool), paints and other bits and pieces. You will have an experienced artist to help you develop your ideas and produce your artwork.

Baba Yaga is a prominent, paradoxical figure in Slavic folklore—often depicted as a fearsome, cannibalistic witch who flies in a mortar and lives in a dense forest in a walking hut on giant chicken legs. Her name roughly translates to “grandmother” or “old woman” combined with a name for a witch or pain. She is typically described as a gaunt old woman with a terrifying nose, iron teeth, and occasionally a literal bony leg. Her hut spins endlessly until commanded to stop. To approach it, a hero must speak a specific ritual phrase. Instead of a broom, Baba Yaga travels through the sky in an iron mortar, steering with a pestle and using a broom to sweep away her tracks. Scholars note that Baba Yaga’s character is wildly contradictory, she is an ogress who steals and roasts children in her magical oven. She serves as a chaotic neutral gatekeeper or guardian between the worlds of the living and the dead and in many tales, she tests heroes who wander into her domain. If the protagonist acts with respect and bravery, she offers magical items, guidance, or wisdom.