The Cooper's Workshop from Nereju, Vrancea County

       Pavel Lupașc and Șerban Terțiu are our contemporaries. In their workshops they make masks for the winter holidays and for the Chipăruș dance. The mask's protective role, multiple meanings and artistic value have made it a highly sought-after decorative object. 

       Pavel Lupașc also makes other wooden objects, such as musical instruments, cheese molds, merindare (food boxes) and spoons. His workshop is actually divided into several rooms, to protect the masks from the dust resulting from finishing the other wooden objects. His wife, Tudorița, decorates and paints traditional objects.

       Șerban Terțiu is a living human treasure. The craftsman passionately works and talks about rituals and carols, vigils and frightening encounters. Next to him, his wife Ileana weaves at her loom. The cloths are woven with cotton yarn dyed with natural pigments, which she prepares herself.