Tanarul mester popular ce vine din preajma Chisinaului a invatat tainele mestesugului
relativ tarziu, la varsta de 24 de ani incepandu-si ucenicia pe langa parintii sai. De
atunci incoace si-a constituit o colectie personala valoroasa, apropiindu-si o clientela
ce rezoneaza cu stilul sau aparte de sculptura. Este prezent in fiecare an la cele mai
importante targuri din Republica Moldova; de curand a patruns si in Romania (la Sibiu si
Iasi).
Mesterul Balan are o inclinatie deosebita spre
pragmatism; astfel, Dumnezeu l-a inzestrat cu o energie ce poate fi pusa in slujba
sustinerii si promovarii mestesugurilor. Drept urmare, activitatea mestesugareasca o
impleteste fericit cu aceea de distributie a propriilor produse in magazine de suveniruri,
galerii de arta si pensiuni turistice; pe viitor si-ar dori extinderea distributiei si in
principalele mari orase ale Romaniei. Toate acestea ne indreptatesc sa-l socotim pe Eduard
Balan si un intreprinzator privat care si-a centrat mica afacere personala pe ceea ce stie
cel mai bine sa faca, anume pe prelucrarea artistica a lemnului. Implicarea sotiei,
angajarea a inca doua persoane si investitiile in utilaje specializate sunt premize
serioase pentru extinderea afacerii.
In acest context, afirmatiile lui nu mai par atat de
hazardate: „Speram ca peste 20 de ani sa producem artizanat pentru export in UE si sa
avem o minifabrica de artizanat cu cel putin 50 de angajati”. Ne dorim ca
intreprinzatorul de succes de maine sa nu uite de mesterul popular de azi, de traditia
mestesugareasca de la care a plecat. Asta cu atat mai mult cu cat mesterul Balan stie azi
sa imbine armonios tehnologiile vechi de prelucrare a lemnului (cioplirea manuala,
tratarea cu ceara s.a) cu metodele moderne de marketing, distribuirea majoritatii
produselor sale facandu-se in domeniile turistic si comercial. E de inteles atunci de ce
temele decorative sunt aproape naturiste, iar personajele inchipuie prototipuri umane si
obiecte oarecum specifice Moldovei (lautari, mosnegi, bautori veseli, butoaie, radacini
s.a).
In concluzie, putem afirma ca prin Eduard Balan vedem
noul val de mesteri si creatori populari, mai dinamici si mai eficienti atunci cand vine
vorba despre mestesugul lor, mai flexibili si mai adaptati la cerintele lumii de azi. |
The
young artisan who is born near Chisinau has learned the trade secrets relatively late, at
24 yeas old beginning his apprenticeship next to his parents. From that time on, he has
gathered a valuable personal collection, managing to create a clientele which reasons with
his peculiar sculpture style. He participates every year in the most important fairs from
the Republic of Moldavia; he has newly entered the Romanian market (Sibiu and Iasi).
Balan has a strong inclination towards pragmatism;
God has endowed him with an energy which can be employed in order to sustain and promote
crafts. Consequently, he mingles in a fortunate way the artisan activity with that of
product distributor, distributing his own products in souvenir shops, art galleries and
board houses; in the future, he plans to extend the distribution of his products also to
the main Romanian cities. All these give us the right to consider Eduard Balan also a
private enterpriser who has centered his small personal business around what he knows to
do best that is the artistic wood working. His wife’s support and the fact that he
employed another two persons as well as the investments made in specialized tools are
sufficient premises for the development of his business.
Within this context, his allegations no longer seem
so hazardous:”20 years from now we hope to export handicraft in the E.U and have a small
handicraft factory with at least 50 employees”. We hope that the successful enterpriser
to be, will not forget the today artisan, the artisan tradition which was his starting
point. This so much the more as Balan knows today to combine in a harmonious manner the
old wood working technologies (hand carving, wax treatment and so on) with the modern
marketing methods, his products being mainly distributed in the tourist and commercial
field. It is understandable why his decorative themes are almost naturalistic and his
characters embody human prototypes and objects somehow specific to Moldavia (fiddlers, old
men, merry drinkers, barrels, roots and so on).
To conclude with, we could say that Eduard Balan
represents the new wave of artisans and creators who are more dynamic when it comes to
their trade, more flexible and more adjusted to the requirements of the world today. |
