The Art Of (Pysanky) Ukrainian Eggs

INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND:

Many of us have at one time in our lives made Easter eggs as children.  Ukrainian Easter eggs are called Pysanky.  How many of you have seen a Ukrainian Egg, and thought it was painted?  I did.  It is actually a resist process, similar to Batik. The egg goes through multiple die baths, starting with the lightest color and ending with the darkest color.  Before each color step you place melted wax on the egg where you do not want the color to be applied.

I learned from a woman (who herself had seven years experience), and I have been creating Ukrainian Eggs for about six years now.  I have even won a blue ribbon for one that I placed in a local fair.  I have given most away as gifts. :)
   
What will you learn about today?  In this guide you will be introduced to a brief background of the two different kinds of Ukrainian eggs, you will learn about the tools, Kistka (stylus) & Beeswax, used in the process, and finally you will learn the major Steps for finishing the egg.

History:
The two different kinds of eggs are the Krashanka and the Pysanky.  The Krashanka is dyed in one brilliant color, it is boiled, and it’s edible.  On the other hand the, Pysanky (plural) / Pysanka (singular) is raw, and is not eaten.  The dyes used in the process are toxic!  Pysaty means to write.  The eggs are multi-colored.  They are used as ornaments and meant to be kept indefinitely.

Tools:
The Kistka (stylus) is a tool used to write on the egg, it comes in three different sizes.  The sizes vary the thickness of the line from fine to thick depending on the detail needed.  To use the Kistka you first hold it next to candle -- not in the flame (a picture can be found in the section labeled Process).   The wax lines should be smooth and shiny.  In addition to stylus sizes giving you thick or thin lines, you use speed to vary the thickness as well: slower = wider, thicker lines and faster = narrow, thinner lines.

The Beeswax comes in two colors.  They are black and natural.  They come in blocks which you need to shave into smaller pieces (I use an old cheese grater).  Once you have shaved off pieces you then roll the pieces into bb size pellets.  The pellets must not be bigger than the Kistka bowl.  The temperature of wax is very important.  You do not want the wax to blob or spread out all over, this occurs when the wax is too hot.  On the other hand, you do not want the wax to be too cold or you will end up with thin, flaky and uneven coverage.  It is also important to note that once the wax has been applied to the egg – it cannot be removed.  Eggs are porous and the wax will adhere to the surface and grab onto the pores, even if you scrape the wax off it will be embedded into the pores and will leave a film where dye cannot then read the egg.

PROCESS

Eggs
Use white or brown eggs (I prefer brown organic, they come out with a nice natural look, and the organic tend to be a tougher shell).

It is important to examine your egg before you begin to ensure there are no flaws, cracks or holes, which will weaken the egg and may cause it to break during the process (flaws like extra lumps in the shell cause the wax to not apply evenly as well or shiny spots that prevent the color from adhering).  Next, wash the egg thoroughly or rinse well, and let it dry.  The egg needs to be at room temperature.  Wax does not stick to moist surfaces and refrigerated eggs perspire.

Design
First draw the design....

Next, heat the stylus...

Now it’s time to color the egg.  The first step will be to put wax on the areas that are to remain uncolored.

The first waxing will leave the color of the egg show through.  Always work from the lightest color to the darkest color.  Each step will add more wax and the egg will be dipped into another color, so it must be the lightest of colors first or you will get a muddy egg.

Now gently place the egg into the die bath, by Tilting the canning jar sideways.

Let the egg stand in the die bath five minutes or until desired color intensity.  Remove the egg from the die using several napkins, grab egg and pat dry - don’t rub

This is what it looks like after the first round of color...

Repeat the wax and dye process.

More wax on it...

After the second bath of color...

Finally, the wax must be removed from the egg.  You do not want to leave any traces of wax on, so this takes a while and a lot of feeling around as well. :) You must hold egg next to, not in candle or it will scorch.

Some will seal their egg now with varnish some wait until after the next step.  Sealing the egg before blowing protects the colors from fading when you blow out the insides and rinse, but if you seal an egg – you MUST ensure that you do drill and remove the interior or it will explode as the varnish prevents the egg from breathing and gasses build up inside.

After  you are sure all the wax is gone, pierce both ends and remove the innards (yuck - one of them necessary evils).... You must pierce & blow thoroughly to remove all traces of egg. 

Then RINSE WELL.  Let it sit 1-2 days until drained and completely dry.

If not already done, protect it with a varnish, then add a finding, and....tada!  All done!!! ...And also a more traditional egg...

My daughter and I try to make at least one a year, although sometimes it gets hectic and we miss. :(  We have both won blue ribbons for our eggs at the local fair.  My hubby even tried one year. :)  He did pretty good too!

CONCLUSION:

Do you want to try something fun next Easter that will last longer than the holiday?  Pysanky eggs are not hard and they are a lot of fun.  Even children (as young as 10-years-old) can even make these eggs, with adult supervision of course -- that and a lot of assistance. 

To learn more about Pysanky eggs there are some good web sites to try.  Type in Pysanky or Ukrainian Eggs and you will find lots of good things.

A good book is Eggs Beautiful: How to Make Ukrainian Easter Eggs. Gopher State Litho, 2001 by Luciow, Johanna, Ann Kmit, and Loretta Luciow.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Morash, Ann.  Symbols & Colours. [http://www3.ns.simpatico.ca/amorash/symbols.html] (29 March 2002)

(Last name unknown), Adriana. Pysanka: Ukrainian Eggs. [http://www.pysanka.com/] (29 March 2002)

Yakowenko, Bill. Pysanky - Ukrainian Easter Eggs. [http://www.cs.unc.edu/~yakowenk/pysanky.html] (29 September 2002)