THE ART OF TRADITIONAL STICKING AND ITS LAST REPRESENTATIVES IN SİVAS

Abstract

Carving, processing and ornamentation of wood, which is a material suitable for use with its strength and texture since prehistoric times, and is called woodworking. Stick making, is one of the traditional handicrafts of Sivas province and dates back to the 18th century, is one of the types of woodworking. Stick making, also known as mouthpiece maker, is a branch of art in which items such as mouthpieces, pens, nameplates, crochet handles, candlesticks, and ballpoint pens are prepared by embroidering on wooden materials. The main material traditionally used in stick making is obtained from the "germişek" tree grown in Sivas, Tokat, Erzincan, Kars and Ağrı. The reason for choosing this tree is that its branches are suitable for carving and absorb toxic substances into it. The tree has been taken under protection due to its decline in nature, and today poplar and hornbeam trees are used instead. The sticks, bark is peeled off in the logging machine, are cut and shaped according to the product to be made than the painting and polishing processes, ornaments are made with silk and wheat stalks. Today, there are only a few masters and workshops dealing with stick making in Sivas. In this study, a research has been made about this art and its current status by visiting the masters' workshops. One of these masters, Abdulkaya Yazarlı and his brothers are trying to keep this art alive, they learned and inherited from their father. They learned art from their father Ferit Usta. His master is Sheikh Aziz Baba who is also known as "Çubukçu Baba" is one of the spiritual personalities of the city and he is the most important representative of art in Sivas in the last century. Ferit Usta, by working on Sivas mouthpieces as an alternative to the painted mouthpieces made in Bilecik, developed the work of embroidery with thread and stems and created a style unique to Sivas. Since embroidering with thread is a laborious and time-consuming process, there are almost no people who do this work today. Nowadays craftsmen, who try to survive by working in difficult conditions in narrow spaces, cannot find apprentices who will teach and sustain their profession. In order for art to survive and be passed on to future generations, it is necessary to support people who set their heart on this work and to provide suitable conditions.