Vanja Ilic

Vanja came to the U.S. in 1999 with her husband and daughter. She moved to Lincoln with her family because her brother-in-law lived here. She has a beautiful collection of Bosnian lace made by her mother who still lives in Bosnia.

Throughout Vanja's childhood she was surrounded by beautiful Bosnian lace. The pieces range from small doilies to large table clothes. All are made in exquisite detail with lots of floral patterns. Vanja brings them out to decorate the home on special holidays like Easter and Christmas.

Pillows and curtains are some other things one might see in a traditional Bosnian home. Vanja says "they look best in the older Victorian homes. The older homes with the lace and other traditional decor are like a walk through history". Making the lace was an activity that women did while socializing and sitting together. Not as many women do it now as more women have jobs and are not at home as much. She is concerned it's becoming a lost art, fortunately she does know of someone in Lincoln who is learning to make lace so that the tradition can be preserved.

The lace pieces are starched white and are pristenely ironed. The types of washing machines used in Europe were different from ours in the way that they used boiling water to wash clothes. Traditionally there are a lot of white clothes and this washing process keeps them looking bright and crisp. This is how the lace is kept so beautiful. When cared for properly it lasts a long time.

Besides the lace collection, Vanja has in her home beautiful decorative objects from Bosnia and some paintings she has done. She works at the Heartland Refugee Resettlement Center as an office coordinator. She is one of the first people new immigrants and refugees come to see and she helps to start the process of finding housing and other services. She hopes to start finding the time again to pursue some of own art interests.

 Back to Multicultural Arts Initiative