Shakespeare Festival costumer and Ukrainian refugee to share her cultural heritage through doll-making workshop on Saturday at the Ashland library
By Sydney Seymour, Ashland.news
Oregon Shakespeare Festival costumer and Ukrainian refugee Lyudmila Sokol will host a free workshop for attendees to create a Ukrainian doll — a gift and protector for the home — from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, in the Guanajuato room of the Ashland Public Library.
Sokol, who describes herself as a “keeper of Ukrainian traditions,” invites anyone to join her in spreading and preserving Ukrainian culture — fabric, thread and ribbon provided.
The Motanka doll is a symbol of “care, harmony and comfort,” Sokol explained to Ashland.news in Ukrainian as her daughter Katya translated.
In Ukrainian culture, these dolls are often given to kids, owners of a new home, newlyweds, and any loved one to pass along safe and positive energy. Sokol gives her handmade dolls to people who have helped her over time.
Anyone can enjoy handcrafting a gift filled with love and “the light of your soul” according to Sokol, particularly as Christmas approaches.
“You can use old clothes and give them a new life,” Sokol said through her daughter’s translation. She welcomes those who want to attend the workshop to bring their own fabric, especially if they have a favorite.
Motanka doll symbolism
Showcasing two of her handmade Motanka dolls — one male and one female — Sokol said there’s no cutting or sewing or even knotting. Rather, dolls are made by wrapping fabric and winding thread around in circles, without needles or scissors.
In clockwise circles, Sokol motioned the wrapping of a thread with her hands, smiling. When making the dolls, Katya translated, “each wrap, clockwise like the sun, brings a burst of new energy.”
The Motonka doll comes from “our roots,” Sokol said. It dates back 7,000 years to the Trypillian civilization — an Eastern European civilization part of Ukraine’s ancient history.
The doll, according to Sokol, “comes alive in your hands, guiding you as you choose her ribbons, colors and patterns.” Every color, she explained, has a meaning. Red for life, yellow for warmth, blue for peace, green for hope.
The deets
Free Ukrainian doll workshop, 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Ashland Public Library (Guanajuato Room), contact organizer to register at sokollyuda78@gmail.com or 541-499-9457.
She chuckled as she revealed the doll she was holding didn’t like the first skirt. “The doll herself tells you what belongs to her. When you finish, you look at her and realize, this is not just a doll. It is a living piece of your soul, a bridge to your ancestors and a reminder that beauty and spirit always survive even in the darkest times.”
The first Motankas were simple: made of a piece of bread wrapped in cloth, made for children to play with or even to soothe hunger, Sokol said. Eventually, they evolved into “protectors” placed near the child to guard them from harm.
Sokol continued in Ukrainian as her daughter translated, “When you create a Motanka today, even far from home, you feel that same powerful connection to the land and the spirit of Ukraine. It fills you with energy, joy, and light — as if your heart starts glowing from within.”
‘An act of resistance and love’
Sokol and her family fled from the war in Ukraine in October 2022 to seek refuge in Ashland. She expressed her gratitude for the American people who supported her nationality and helped her stay together and not “fall into pieces,” she said.
“Russia wants to erase our culture, our nationality, our Ukrainian people to zero, nothing,” Katya translated. “That’s why we are trying to keep our culture and show everyone.”
Speaking for herself, Katya said, “I don’t really remember these things when I was kid. But now, because of the war, all of the Ukrainians are trying to remember everything they had before.”
Every Motanka helps keep Ukraine alive, Sokol said, which is why she shares Ukrainian traditions. “It’s like our protest against Russia, an act of resistance and love,” Katya translated.
Katya continued, “We’re living our lives for the future of our kids, for them to grow up with flowers not going to war.”
Sokol said “sorry” as she began to cry. “With this doll, we’re remembering our roots. It shows we are alive, we are here and we are not going to disappear. If you forget the thing, you’re forgetting the county.”
Email Ashland.news Snowden reporter Sydney Seymour at sydneyseymourr@gmail.com.
Related story: Ukrainian magic at the Shakespeare Festival (June 9, 2025)
