Pittsburgh is home to the Cracow Creche Workshop, the only formal creche-construction class of its kind in North America. (Yes, Krakow also can be spelled with a "c").

Ironically, this folk art form is not formally taught in Krakow nor elsewhere in Poland, where it traditionally has been passed down from one generation to another, said workshop creator David Motak.

The Pittsburgh workshop, which he began in 2003, is the first effort to teach this craft, and interest in it is growing nationally and internationally, said Mr. Motak, 56, of Bethel Park, who also is director of alumni affairs at Point Park University.

In fact, the Polish Embassy has invited workshop participants to show their works at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center (www.jp2cc.org) in Washington D.C. Seven creches crafted in past years will be on display there from Nov. 30 through Jan. 31. The artists include Ron and Ernestine Jerosky, North Huntingdon; Joseph Borytsky, Fairchance; Karen Mathias and Natalie Luttinger, Pittsburgh; Charlotte Murray, Monroeville; and Mr. Motak.

Mr. Motak and a student group from Pittsburgh have been invited to Krakow next month for the annual Szopka competition and awards ceremony to be held at the city's history museum.

The group will present an award to a young Krakow creche artist there on Dec. 10 in an effort to promote creche-making among the younger generation. Mr. Motak said the museum's director has been intrigued with the workshop's efforts to teach the craft.

In Krakow, the craft is changing, said Mr. Motak, who got interested in the craft when he lived in the city for two years. The older generation put a level of detail in the grand creches not seen as much today. "There's not the level of sophistication," he said.

Locally, 33 students in the workshop -- ranging in age from preteens to retirees -- have created 23 creches this year. Most are made with cardboard, foil paper and ribbon. They will be on display at the fourth annual Cracow Creche Exhibition and Holiday Reception, 1 to 4 p.m. Dec. 16 at University of Pittsburgh's William Pitt Student Union.

And in 2007, the workshop project goes on the road. Classes are being scheduled in Chicago, Rochester, N.Y., Reading and Philadelphia, among others. The Polish Embassy also requested that classes be held in Washington at the Embassy School.

To find out more about the creche workshop, go to www.cracowcrafts.com.

The workshops were created by artist-educator David Motak in 2003. The Special Collections Gallery of the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center also has a display of szopkas.