Ukrainian Eggs -- Pysanky

This spring I got together with a group of ladies and made my first Pysanka (Pysanky is plural) egg. It was so much easier than you'd think to get started - all that's required is an egg, a candle, some beeswax, dyes, shellac, and a kistka (stylus) tool. You can opt for a pencil to sketch in your design...but you have to mark really lightly (or your markings might show through the dye). I don't know about you - but I'm one of those folks who constantly break lead in a mechanical pencil and on a good ol' fashioned wood pencil I'm resharpening it with every new paragraph. A less wordy version would be: I press too hard and the egg is uncooked...thus I skipped the pencil bit. Besides, I work better without a plan.

What a totally cool craft this is! I enjoyed it so much that I've ordered the basic supplies from All Things Ukrainian and look forward to doing lots of these. I think most folks do them primarily around Easter... but it's too enjoyable to not do year round. It's shamefully easy although definitely involves a learning curve and requires some practice. My hostess (who was Ukrainian) had some beautifully done eggs, some of them Ostrich, that were museum quality and stunning. It's interesting that although the art is two dimensional, it can exhibit some of the very same details and lovely intricacies accomplished with textiles. I think most quilters would go ape using this medium, a lot of the patterns and designs would cross pollinate beautifully.

My egg: Note this is my first attempt and knowing what I know now - I would have dyed my egg a color before I began. I didn't care for the lack of contrast that white gave against all the vibrant colors in the end. Live and learn...

If you're interested here's a terrific online Beginner Class I discovered that is very helpful and a great outline to get you going if you're a newbie.