Πέμπτη 14 Απριλίου 2016


The wooden-creation workshop as well as the exhibition is housed in a neoclassical building in the central square of Othos village, Karpathos.


George Kostetsos creates wood carving works, in turning lathe and by hand, such as: vases, boxes, bowls, pens, strings of beads, and many more ornamental along with useable wooden artifacts.


For the construction of his wooden creations he uses mostly local wood (olive tree, mulberry, lentisk, eucalyptus, and other wild Karpathian wood), as well as wood of good quality available on the market (ebony, walnut etc).
He is also a "lyra" maker, the traditional musical instrument of Karpathos Island.
GALLERY OF WOOD WORK


The Karpathian Lyra, a tri-chord, pear-shaped fiddle, is the basic musical instrument of the Karpathian traditional music.


The Karpathian lyra consists of three chords that are tuned by a fifth. Lyra is played set against the left thigh and the music comes mostly from the first chord. The musician produces notes by touching the chords from the side with his nails without pressing them as in the violin. The fiddle bow always touches two chords simultaneously. Laouto (string-instrument) always accompanies lyra, enriching its melody and tempo. Also, lyra is played along with tsambouna (wind instrument) that completes the traditional Karpathian musical instruments, and it is often found at the Northern villages of Karpathos accompanying local songs and dances.

The Karpathian lyra is not simply a musical instrument, but at the same time it is an integral part of the interior decoration of every Karpathian house showing the deep devotion of the Karathians to the folklore of their land.


The lyra is part of every social gathering such as, engagements, marriages, christenings, festivals, feasts etc. Each lyra is unique, taking into account that the majority of lyra-makers are self-taught and there's no typical model of its construction. The dimensions, curves and details of each Lyra vary from village to village and from lyra-maker to lyra-maker.
Thus, we encounter lyras that have the traditional wooden keys (called "striftaria" - twisters), violin-type, or contemporary metal keys mandolin-type, with or without "glossa" (fingerboard), with or without the spiral end of the violin, known in Karpathos as "kalaouras" (snail-like).


 For its construction wood of cypress, mulberry, walnut or askelino (wood similar to cedar) are used. Its cover is made of katrani (a kind of black pine-tree) or fir, the fingerboard and the keys are made of hard wood.