Retired from the Ministry of the Interior Nikolai Karinsky has been working in applied arts for 34 years: he makes boxes and various shapes from wood. The correspondent of the Moscow Evening Newspaper met with Mr.
In Nikolai Alekseevich’s apartment, boxes of different sizes and styles were placed on the shelves. Not a single decoration is repeated.
“Here I have more than 150 pieces in my collection, and there are also dozens of wooden spoons in boxes,” says Nikolai Karinsky.
On the bedside table are wooden eggs and figurines of men and goblins. I wonder if you participated in a club as a child or graduated from a vocational school? But the interlocutor answers that in childhood he was an ordinary child, interested in technology, after graduating from a technical school and serving in the army, he worked as a driver, then, on a Komsomol ticket, he was sent to work in the police, in the State Traffic Inspectorate.
The artist says: “But in 1992, I was 41 years old at the time, I had a car accident, my leg was completely broken, and I was on sick leave for about a year. In the ward I was lying with a man who was carving figures out of wood. I also needed to develop my motor skills, and he taught me the wisdom of the craft.”
Nikolai Alekseevich asked his wife and sons to bring him to the hospital, cutting down the branches and twigs of trees that were constantly being pruned in the city. This is how masterpieces began to be born in the hospital bed.
“Sometimes you start making a box, try on the panels, glue them, then cut the pattern and forget about time, as if you find yourself somewhere else, as in a fairy tale. The drawings on the box are woven like patterns, depending on the mood, and maybe that’s why they are never repeated in my works,” says Nikolai Karinsky.
Initially, the master worked and made his products using a simple screwdriver and a knife. Then I started looking for specialized stores and bought cutters.
The man smiles, “And sometimes my relatives would give me new musical instruments for my birthday, because they saw how interested I was in applied arts. They even called him the carpenter.”
He equipped himself with a loggia in his apartment as a workshop, and everyone in the house was happy that the head of the family had found a hobby. But for several years no one knew about his hobby except his family. When his wife died, the social worker began to come to Nikolai Alekseevich, who saw the masterpieces. She insisted that her ward display his works in various competitions and exhibitions.
“Every year I participate in several competitions and constantly receive prizes: there has never been a time when I could not get into the top three,” says Nikolai.
Not without pride, he pulled out a file containing his awards and showed them his certificates. On the sideboard is a mug that says “Grand Prix.”
“Not a month goes by without me displaying my products somewhere.” Now two suites with my works are exhibited at the Bakhrushinsky Theater Museum in Zaraysk, continues Nikolai Karinsky. “For my fruitful work, I was accepted into the Creative Union of Artists of Russia, and now I am a member of the department “Monumental, decorative and applied arts.”
Nikolai Alekseevich gives a lot of products to his friends and acquaintances, but he does not sell them.
The artist believes that “art should bring joy.” Many neighbors or acquaintances come to visit him specifically to enjoy the master’s products.
His son once complained that he had no place to put his large documents. And Nikolai Alekseevich gave him a large box in which he could put A4 papers.
In April, the Ministry of Interior’s “The Good Word” competition will be launched, which includes the “Fine Arts and Applied Creativity” category. Just in time, Nikolai Karinsky prepares two new boxes that still need to be decorated. Symbols of internal affairs bodies may appear on it.
About this topic
The Cultural Center of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Interior of the City of Moscow annually holds creative competitions for law enforcement officers and members of their families. Police officers can submit their photographs, paintings, handiworks and book manuscripts. The most active participants are retirees, among whom are Pavel Pavuchkin, a member of the Creative Union of Artists, who paints landscapes, Yuri Sirotin, who creates wood sculptures, and Oleg Solovyov, the author of poetry collections.