Pysanky
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Pysanky is the Ukrainian art of decorating Easter eggs. You don't need to be Ukrainian, or celebrate Easter, to do it properly, but you do need to have a certain artistic talent, and a supply of eggs. Ordinary white chicken eggs are best, though almost any white egg will do.
An ancient legend says that there is a dark monster, larger than the Earth itself. who has been chained for centuries. When pysanky are made each year at Easter, they strengthen the chains. If the art is forgotten and no pysanky are made, the chains will break, setting the monster free to devour the world. As a major worry, this doesn't measure up to the hole in the ozone layer, but it is something to be concerned about.
For people who wish to do their part making pysanky and re-forging the monster's chains, you must start with an egg. The Ukrainians use raw eggs; after several months, the yolk congeals and then dries out. If you have pets and/or young children, this method is not advisable -- the raw eggs will be broken long before they reach the congealing stage. A "blown-out" eggshell can be used instead. (To "blow out" an egg, puncture one end with a pinhole and the other end with a slightly larger hole, a bit smaller than a pencil eraser. Then hold the egg in a saucer, place your mouth over the smaller hole, and blow into the egg as hard as you can. The contents of the egg will slowly ooze out of the hole at the bottom, until the saucer is filled with yellow goo. At this point, you have two options: French toast or scrambled eggs.)
In addition to the egg or hollow eggshell, you will need a lighted candle, a piece of beeswax (which can be bought as most craft or hobby shops), some vinegar-based egg dye, and a kistka. A kistka is a tool that looks like a tiny brass funnel on the end of a stick. If you can't buy a kistka, you can make your own by pushing a pin through the end of a tongue depressor (Popsicle stick).
Line up your dyes in a row from lightest to darkest: first yellow, then orange, then green, then red or blue, then black. A pysanka (Easter egg) usually uses only one or two colors in addition to black, but black is always last. If you don't want to make aritifical dyes from pellets, some natural dyes include beets (red), spinach (green), onionskin (yellow-brown), and tea (brown). If you mix these with vinegar, make sure no one tries to drink your dye. The beet mixture, in particular, looks like cherry Kool-Aid or something else good to drink.
Take your kistka and melt some beeswax in it. For the funnel type of kistka, scrape the wax into the wide end of the funnel, then heat the tip of the funnel in your candle flame. For the pin-tipped homemade kind, heat the pin's tip first, then scrape it across the wax. Some will melt and cling to the tip.
Decide what parts of your design should remain white. Using your kistka, draw the vertical and horizontal borderlines on your egg (like latitudes and longitudes of a globe), then the designs that should be white. Traditional pysanky symbols include baskets, deer, birds, trees, eight-pointed stars, crosses, triangles, "wolf's teeth" (tiny straight lines that make a sort of fringe around other designs), fish, flowers, leaves,dots, circles, wheat sheaves, and pine branches. Most of these symbols represent wealth, fertility, purity, and joy.
You now have a white egg with black wax designs on it. Dip it in the lightest dye (usually yellow). The portions that are covered in wax will not "take" the dye, but the rest of the shell will now be yellow. Draw the designs that should remain yellow, and color in any shapes that should be filled with yellow (suns, daisies, birds, etc.) Dip it in the next dye and draw your next set of designs. Repeat as necessary.
You will need to refill your kistka with wax constantly; the process is similar to drawing with a quill and an inkwell (dip, draw, dip, draw ... one line at a time).
After the last dye bath, the egg will be completely black. Now comes the fun part. Hold your pysanka near the candle flame. ( Don't hold it in the flame itself, or smoke will ruin your design.) As the black wax softens and melts, wipe it away with a tissue. The bright colors of your design will appear on the black egg.
Pysanky make great gifts or keepsakes. They are fragile, but incredibly beautiful.
An ancient legend says that there is a dark monster, larger than the Earth itself. who has been chained for centuries. When pysanky are made each year at Easter, they strengthen the chains. If the art is forgotten and no pysanky are made, the chains will break, setting the monster free to devour the world. As a major worry, this doesn't measure up to the hole in the ozone layer, but it is something to be concerned about.
For people who wish to do their part making pysanky and re-forging the monster's chains, you must start with an egg. The Ukrainians use raw eggs; after several months, the yolk congeals and then dries out. If you have pets and/or young children, this method is not advisable -- the raw eggs will be broken long before they reach the congealing stage. A "blown-out" eggshell can be used instead. (To "blow out" an egg, puncture one end with a pinhole and the other end with a slightly larger hole, a bit smaller than a pencil eraser. Then hold the egg in a saucer, place your mouth over the smaller hole, and blow into the egg as hard as you can. The contents of the egg will slowly ooze out of the hole at the bottom, until the saucer is filled with yellow goo. At this point, you have two options: French toast or scrambled eggs.)
In addition to the egg or hollow eggshell, you will need a lighted candle, a piece of beeswax (which can be bought as most craft or hobby shops), some vinegar-based egg dye, and a kistka. A kistka is a tool that looks like a tiny brass funnel on the end of a stick. If you can't buy a kistka, you can make your own by pushing a pin through the end of a tongue depressor (Popsicle stick).
Line up your dyes in a row from lightest to darkest: first yellow, then orange, then green, then red or blue, then black. A pysanka (Easter egg) usually uses only one or two colors in addition to black, but black is always last. If you don't want to make aritifical dyes from pellets, some natural dyes include beets (red), spinach (green), onionskin (yellow-brown), and tea (brown). If you mix these with vinegar, make sure no one tries to drink your dye. The beet mixture, in particular, looks like cherry Kool-Aid or something else good to drink.
Take your kistka and melt some beeswax in it. For the funnel type of kistka, scrape the wax into the wide end of the funnel, then heat the tip of the funnel in your candle flame. For the pin-tipped homemade kind, heat the pin's tip first, then scrape it across the wax. Some will melt and cling to the tip.
Decide what parts of your design should remain white. Using your kistka, draw the vertical and horizontal borderlines on your egg (like latitudes and longitudes of a globe), then the designs that should be white. Traditional pysanky symbols include baskets, deer, birds, trees, eight-pointed stars, crosses, triangles, "wolf's teeth" (tiny straight lines that make a sort of fringe around other designs), fish, flowers, leaves,dots, circles, wheat sheaves, and pine branches. Most of these symbols represent wealth, fertility, purity, and joy.
You now have a white egg with black wax designs on it. Dip it in the lightest dye (usually yellow). The portions that are covered in wax will not "take" the dye, but the rest of the shell will now be yellow. Draw the designs that should remain yellow, and color in any shapes that should be filled with yellow (suns, daisies, birds, etc.) Dip it in the next dye and draw your next set of designs. Repeat as necessary.
You will need to refill your kistka with wax constantly; the process is similar to drawing with a quill and an inkwell (dip, draw, dip, draw ... one line at a time).
After the last dye bath, the egg will be completely black. Now comes the fun part. Hold your pysanka near the candle flame. ( Don't hold it in the flame itself, or smoke will ruin your design.) As the black wax softens and melts, wipe it away with a tissue. The bright colors of your design will appear on the black egg.
Pysanky make great gifts or keepsakes. They are fragile, but incredibly beautiful.
