(zemeunvalsts.lv introduction) A story full of joy about work and its fruits, which we can all enjoy. Looking at the situation somewhat philosophically, how many years must pass to accomplish the backlog, restore the collapsed, and ensure that the story of a building is no longer just seen in photographs or told in legends? An optimistic look at the future of the timber industry.
In less than 30 years, Arvīds Verza, head of the Wood Art and Metal Art department at the Riga School of Design and Art (RMMT), together with his students, has helped restore life to more than fifty devastated Latvian churches. He also considers his work an essential contribution to our country's timber industry.
Restorer of churches
When asked how many devastated churches Arvīds Verza and his students have restored over the years, he names the figure 55. These have been churches of all denominations present in Latvia – Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox. What happened in these buildings abandoned by congregations before? It depends on the place. Elsewhere, the wind whistled through walls without windows or doors. In other places, for example, the Valle Church, garages or mechanical workshops had been set up, and elsewhere – production facilities and warehouses.
The very first church to be restored was in Priekule. Priekule was followed by other Latvian churches. However, Arvīds Verza and his students have also prepared equipment for use beyond Latvia's borders – for the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Moscow. It is the bishop's seat and the main Lutheran church in Russia.
Initially, the church furnishings in the Gothic style were ordered from Kazan. However, once the pews were ready, it became clear to the client that the Russian masters did not have a real grasp of Gothic style. That was when Latvian craftsmen were sought out. An altar, pulpit, and everything else needed for the church were built at the school.
The latest project is the Īle Church. Once, conductor Ints Teterovskis and his youth choir “Balsis” saw an empty, forgotten church, went inside, and sang. It sounded wonderful, and the choristers fell in love with this church. They organized several clean-up campaigns until the locals also believed that something in their church could change for the better and came to help. And then the idea occurred to the RMMT youngsters: why not get involved as well? Arvīds Verza called conductor Ints Teterovskis and congregation representative Sintija Birule and offered to join the group to help restore the church. In the future, this building is intended to serve not only as a place of worship but also as a concert hall, so particular attention is being paid to the space for the choir. The most important task in furnishing this church is not to lose its wonderful acoustics.
The merits of the women of the congregation must not be forgotten
No matter what praise Arvīds Verza and his students – budding designers of period furniture – may deserve, the teacher emphasizes that, in reality, the greatest restorers of churches today are the women of the local congregations. Surely, no one would voluntarily, without the initiative of these women, try to restore lost values for no reason.
However, it has often been the case that they have the energy and desire to restore their church, to collect money for materials and paint, but lack the funds and practical ability to put it all to use. Their resource, like that of the work coordinator in Annenieki, for example, is goodwill and a bicycle. The lady lived nine kilometres from the church, and during the restoration work, she travelled daily by bicycle from home to the church and the municipality.
We can match the masters of old
Thinking about his work and, in a way, his mission, Arvīds Verza mentions luxurious editions about Latvian churches. In them, one can find out which baron donated how many gold thalers or rubles for their construction. However, one simple question remains unanswered: where did the baron get those thalers? It is clear that this was money that our ancestors earned for the baron while performing serfdom. Afterwards, the Latvians themselves used this money to build grand churches and equip them with masterfully crafted items – pews, altars, pulpits. These remain, in many places even today, examples of high craftsmanship.
The next question: are there craftsmen in Latvia after three hundred years who are capable of building something at the same level, or at least restoring the work of the masters of old to their former glory? And the answer is this: the young people studying period furniture modelling, together with their teachers, study the interiors of bygone eras and try out their apprentice hands, which, it goes without saying, are not yet as skilled as those of our ancestors. However, this is the path to the peaks of mastery.
Moreover, beyond practical knowledge, the work on church restoration helps these young people develop as individuals. Statistics show: in total, the number of graduates from the RMMT Wood Art and Metal Art department is approaching 1,200. Those who have worked on church restoration during their studies number just under 400.
Work will always have value
Many years ago, when the work on church restoration began, it was assumed that the school teachers who got involved in the restoration of church interiors were convinced Christians. It was also said that the goal of such activity was to lead RMMT students towards Christian values as well. However, Arvīds Verza responded to such claims: if God exists, He sees what we have accomplished by restoring churches. If God does not exist, even then, our work is not useless and aimless.
It is clear that in any place far from Riga, a church is, first and foremost, a building worthy of attention, a local pride, and also a cultural centre where music is played and services are held. Over time, gathering at church has been and continues to be the most important event of the week. Local people come there, dressed in their finest clothes, to meet one another. This is of great significance both in the Latvian border region of Kārsava, where Arvīds Verza and his students helped build a church, and elsewhere.
If old values have been preserved in a church, people are proud of them; if the church has been restored, it is a good opportunity to show what modern masters are capable of.
Shining eyes and the right hands for the job
Arvīds Verza reasons that, perhaps, there are people who are born with shining eyes and hands in the right place. However, more often than not, eyes need to be made to shine, and hands need to be trained. When teachers from other similar schools ask: what is the secret to RMMT having so many good students, he answers that the number of good students is the same in all schools. However, it depends on the teacher whether the number of these good students will grow or shrink during their studies.
When a young person has chosen a profession, they go to a school where it is taught. But if they do not see teachers whose eyes shine while teaching their subject, if the school does not provide the opportunity to fall in love with the chosen trade, and all the teachers are just properly detached – talking only as much as necessary, showing only what is required – love for the trade will not be born. After all, we have all attended sports and music classes in school, but no one has become an Olympic champion or a stage star just because of that. But how has it happened? Athletes have trained intensively, artists have gone to extra classes.
Large projects – in this case, church restoration – are not included in the curricula. They require the teachers' extra time, care, and skills. It is not enough to simply carve a geometric ornament into wood; one must know how to create a wooden sculpture, for example. That, in turn, requires additional study of anatomy. While both this and many other useful things are already included in the curricula, it is up to the teacher to give meaning to this knowledge. If first-year students draw human muscles and bones in class, study mathematics and geometry, one must show how exactly this knowledge will later be useful to them when creating sculptures, or helping to calculate the areas and volumes for an item to be manufactured. Then, mastering these subjects becomes much more meaningful.
We feel a connection to the timber industry
“It is not so important what kind of wood – coniferous or deciduous – is used to make a church altar. What is important is the required volume of timber, but the prices for it rise every year and are becoming quite unbearable. Here, the support of those who hold these resources in their hands is crucial,” emphasizes Arvīds Verza.
He mentions the years-long collaboration with Andrejs Domkins, head of the Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Institute, whose support, regardless of what positions he has held during this time, has been invaluable to the school. He has always reached out to his former students, now entrepreneurs, who work in timber processing and export. They, in turn, have supported Arvīds Verza’s church restoration projects with materials, even in large volumes. That was also the case when the Kārsava Church was being furnished. In this regard, a special thank you must go to entrepreneur Anatolijs Plešavnieks from Malta.
Andrejs Domkins, together with professors Ojārs Spārītis and Vilnis Kazāks, is on the school's examination committee. They see and evaluate the students' professional level and can judge how it is developing.
Currently, good cooperation has developed with Artūrs Bukonts, Executive Director of the Latvian Timber Producers and Exporters Association. It is through the industry that we get to know entrepreneurs working in the regions. This spring, it was entrepreneurs from the Alūksne area: Druvis Paeglis from SIA “4Plus”, Miks Valdens from SIA “Hansa Timber Trade”, Atis Punkstiņš from SIA “ERTE grupa”, and Artis Sūniņš from SIA “Stils”.
The “Chair” competition is approaching its 30th anniversary
Arvīds Verza emphasizes that the connection to the timber industry is the “Chair” competition. It is taking place even during this time of the pandemic and is approaching its 30th anniversary. The best vocational school students take part in the competition. It is not even that important what place they take while competing against each other. The most important thing is that these young people eventually flow into the timber industry. Therefore, the industry can consider the competition its own, and one would like to hope that in the future, the industry will support the competition both in evaluating the works and in organizing the event. Participating in the “Chair” competition and taking part in church restoration is equally valuable for young craftsmen – it helps them fall in love with the profession and opens up its beauty. In turn, it is important for the industry to have successful individuals who help it develop and move forward.
Progress, authenticity, and repetition
During the time when the House of the Blackheads was being restored, society expressed various opinions. One of them: should that building have been restored if it had already been destroyed? Even so, there won't be anything authentic there, just copies. However, what is currently being created is also authentic. And if it is a professional execution, everything is fine, believes Arvīds Verza.
Be that as it may, the House of the Blackheads, also with the help of RMMT students' hands, has been reborn and brings joy to people. It is the same with the restored churches in the regions. Those who find it all unnecessary usually speak of bad things. If the House of the Blackheads is the jewel of Riga, a restored church highlights a parish or a municipality. And jewellery, after all, must both be repaired and polished. If they go missing, one can walk without, but one can also restore them.
And here we come to what period furniture modellers do. Arvīds Verza explains that there are no longer large furniture manufacturers in Latvia in the niche that was filled by companies like “Zīle”, “Zunda”, as well as the large chair manufacturers. Currently, small firms or individual enterprises dominate, similar to those that, for example, have been making Louis XVI style furniture in France for 300 years. Our firms' furniture with high added value is also successfully sold all over the world. But then one must also mention the successes of young people in other sectors. It is clear that only successful individuals, who have earned money through their work and want to show others what they can afford with their house, manor, or castle, can afford period furniture.
In turn, for craftsmen to manufacture luxurious furniture corresponding to the styles of bygone eras, they need both the skills that were used throughout the ages, and they must be familiar with the construction and ornaments of these styles, as well as the timber materials to be used. However, is this just sticking to traditions, or is it also development?
Several years ago, a first-year student, who is now a teacher right here at RMMT, asked Arvīds Verza: “Teacher, will we also be working with CNC machine tools?” The teacher answered that we will, if we are ready for it. Only then, one will need to know mathematics and other disciplines, so that they don't have to be mastered only at the moment when we are already standing at a CNC machine tool. The person asking understood that.
Less than 30 years ago, when starting the “Chair” competition, only products made using non-electric hand tools were evaluated. After the first five years, another category was created, in which chairs made using electric hand tools were evaluated. After another ten years, the next category arose, in which one could work with woodworking machine tools to create the products. Ten years ago, a category was opened in which competition participants work with CNC machine tools. This category was helped to be introduced by businessman Laimonis Onzuls, owner of SIA “Latvāņi” from the Gaiziņkalns area. However, it would be good if vocational schools that have CNC machine tools would participate more actively in this category. So far, only one person at a time takes part in the CNC category of the “Chair” competition, and sometimes there is no contestant at all. Then one is left to ask what has happened: has a teacher fallen ill, or students, or has the electricity gone out during the process? Arvīds Verza emphasizes that it is important not to “deify” modern machine tools, including CNC, but to keep up with the times and learn to work with them.
Article first published in the December 2021 issue of “Baltijas Koks” magazine.
Used photographs from the Riga School of Design and Art