Other Handcrafts The same plant motifs and realistic approach were seen in the decoration of Moldavian jugs, bowls, wine coolers, fireplace tiles, and other earthenware. Some of their pottery bore representations of human beings and animals. Large-scale varicolored painted decorations in green, blue, brown, and yellow tones on white or brown backgrounds were more common than applied details or incised designs. As well as glazed earthenware, smoked and burnished pots and jugs were made in Moldavia, with shiny geometric designs barely visible on their smoky-grey surfaces. Love for color was equally evident in Moldavian wooden objects. Simple ornaments were often incised on spoon handles and then colored with cinders. The same technique was used in the decoration of wooden mugs, plates, and dishes. The cheerful appearance of their typical houses is matched by the Moldavians' colorful, highly decorative national costumes, which include women's blouses and men's sleeveless jackets decorated with embroidery, col-ored braid, and beads, shepherds' belts with colored applique, and other items. They give their wearers a vivacity akin to that found in their fiery folk music and dance. A great many folk carvers, needlewomen, and weavers are active in Moldavia today, and even professional artists show loyalty to the traditions of folk art with its unfading local color.