Pysanky Egg Decorating

 I was fortunate to learn this batik-like art of decorating eggs for Easter from a Laurel Ridge neighbor and good friend who has Ukrainian origins.  She taught a class of about ten people how to apply the pure beeswax with a traditional Kistka.  We followed a beginner's pysanka design of oval egg shapes, round tear drops, pine branches and a star, following Irena's step-by-step directions.  After each application of wax design with the Kistka, we used a different colored dye bath.

The last dye bath was black.

At the end, we heated the egg over a candle flame to remove the wax which covered much of the egg.

Our design appeared in full color and geometry.

Each color and design has a meaning.

The finished pysanky stands for life, hope, happiness, 

and rebirth.

The egg is not blown or hard-boiled.

It is not edible, but much more than decorative due to its symbolic meaning.

It is very fragile but the inside does dry out eventually.

It was awesome to participate in this workshop

using the traditional methods of Ukrainian pysanky.