Support the Student Cooperative “Lovreki” in the further work and renovation of the art space!

Glass fusion, working on a wheel and with clay, cyanotype – these are just some of the activities that the children of the cooperative “Lovreki” are engaged in, and to continue developing their skills, they need our support!

The student cooperative “Lovreki” was founded in 2007 at the Primary School of Mate Lovrak from Petrinja. The head of the cooperative is art teacher Ivana Švragulja, who teaches children to make decorative products from clay and glass in the cooperative’s small space. Due to space and tool limitations, the activities of the cooperative take place in cells. The current space of the cooperative is an old teacher’s apartment, which has a lot of problems. The cooperative members want to change a lot of things: from drains that don’t work so they have to throw the water out the window with a bucket after washing, floors that are crumbling, procurement of additional tables and chairs, painting and patching of walls, to procurement of additional tools for work.

In order to succeed in this as part of the DIGICEDA project, a donor campaign was launched with the aim of providing funds for equipping and decorating the premises of the student cooperative “Lovreki”. The donation campaign will last from November 12 to December 6, and you can donate:

By payment to the dedicated account of the SOLIDARNA Foundation:                                            

IBAN: HR2424020061500078406

Purpose: „Za Lovreke“

Model: 00

Call number: 11-2023

Bank: Erste bank

or by scanning the barcode:

Petrinja is a city that lies on rich clay resources, so the production of clay products has always been present in this area.

“The student cooperative “Lovreki” continues this rich tradition and makes clay products by hand, with an emphasis on student creativity, and that makes our school more special than others. In addition to working with clay, students are educated and work with glass. By equipping the premises of the student cooperative, the students would have the opportunity to design and develop new products, souvenirs, and jewelry that they would offer to visitors to the school and Petrinja, and by working in the cooperative, they would be actively involved in the world of entrepreneurship: from product development, marketing, sales, financial management of the cooperative… At the same time, they would learn about the value of work as a means to meet life’s needs“, emphasizes the importance of the cooperative and the campaign, Ankica Krnjajić Magdić, principal of Mate Lovrak Petrinja Elementary School.

Great interest of children in membership in the cooperative

The number of cooperative members is increasing every day, which is not surprising because interesting extracurricular groups are included in the work of the cooperative: Ceramicists, Glass Fusion, and Visual – multimedia group.

“At the beginning of each school year, about 50 of them apply, and unfortunately they do not physically fit into the group. I always remember a colleague who used to lock the classroom when she had her workshops, not so that the children wouldn’t run away, but because she had no more space. The cooperative is really something that children love and enjoy, and it seems to me that I will soon have to start locking up too,” says the cooperative’s manager, Ivana Švragulja, with a laugh.

The student cooperative “Lovreki” is an ideational, driving, and creative force, so students are involved in setting up and organizing exhibitions where they present their work. Through the cooperative, they cooperate with parents and the local community and participate in many local and county events and exhibitions with their glass and ceramic works, as well as painting with acrylic on canvas and cyanotype – an old photographic technique.

The pedagogical benefits of children being members of a student cooperative are great, and only one of them is the development of hand fine motor skills, which many children today have problems with.

“It is very important for children to create with their hands, to develop fine motor skills, to develop creativity, to learn discipline and attention through, for example, working with glass, but also to see the creation of a product that they worked on from start to finish,” points out head of the cooperative.

In addition to developing motor skills, the members of the student cooperative make various objects from clay and glass that are sold at symbolic prices, and many of them enjoy not only the dirty fingers from work but also the sale of products that allow them to replenish the supply of necessary materials for further work: from brushes, acrylic paints, canvas, cyanotype chemicals, etc.

Mate Švragulja is an 8th-grade student and cooperative member, and his favorite is glass fusion: “That’s the best for me because I can cut with glass and make all kinds of shapes. Until now, I have done cross-stitches, I have made a picture out of glass, for example, a boat in A4 format”.

Both Mate and numerous cooperative members enjoy making and selling products, but also in trips, socializing with cooperative members from other schools, and sharing knowledge. They currently have a ceramic kiln, a ceramic wheel, a glass fusion furnace, and a graphic press. Among the children, there is the greatest interest in working on the pottery wheel, and they hope that one day they will have more of them, and that the wait for the turn of who will be on the wheel will be reduced.

However, they all agree on one thing – in order to improve their work, the main thing for them is the arrangement of the space, and then, like true cooperatives, they will earn money for everything they need by selling products. Therefore, support the campaign and donate at www.solidarna.hr.

The project was co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund
The content of the text is the sole responsibility of the Croatian Association of Societies for Market Communication