The detailed designs and vibrant colours on a pysanka egg are enough to turn heads, as theyB次元官网网址檙e more than just an Easter decoration B次元官网网址� theyB次元官网网址檙e a genuine art form.
Olga Lang, the Ukrainian Canadian Cultural Society of Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 pysanka expert, says the process for the pysanka maker should be a spiritual activity, too.
B次元官网网址淚t is an exercise on how to cope with recognizing that bad thoughts come into your mind, and staying in a prolonged state of grace,B次元官网网址� she says of being able to put your heart and mind into the art.
B次元官网网址淗opefully that state of grace will carry on throughout the year. You have that control over your thoughts; bad thoughts, you recognize them, but they donB次元官网网址檛 have to change your emotional state.B次元官网网址�
pysanka eggs date back to at least 988 AD when Ukraine adopted Christianity and pysanka became entrenched in the religious symbolism of Easter.
Making the decorative eggs is a repetitive process of melting wax onto the surface to preserve the colour underneath and then dyeing the egg.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a long process, but theyB次元官网网址檙e meant to be given away when theyB次元官网网址檙e done. ItB次元官网网址檚 altruistic, to write loving messages to each other in the form of symbols, colours and lines. I think thatB次元官网网址檚 why the activity perpetuated for thousands of years,B次元官网网址� Lang says.
B次元官网网址淭his is something thatB次元官网网址檚 really a wonderful gift from our ancestors B次元官网网址� to give ourselves the freedom of time to actually sit for several hours and create things.B次元官网网址�
The Ukrainian Canadian Cultural Society (3277 Douglas St.) hosts an Easter Traditions open house on Sunday (March 24) from noon to 4 p.m.
Participate in a pysanka making class, enjoy Ukrainian food, watch demonstrations on traditional Ukrainian crafts, and visit the gift shop to buy all the supplies you need to do pysanka at home.
kslavin@saanichnews.com
A step-by-step guide to pysanka eggs
1. Clean the surface of your egg using vinegar. A dirt and oil-free surface helps retain the dye.
2. Heat the copper end of the kistka (stylus) above a candle and scoop a little bit of beeswax into the top of the metal funnel. Reheat the tip of the kistka and, using paper towel, wipe away any excess wax that melted onto the wires holding the funnel to the handle.
3. Let the melted wax come out of the fine end of the kistka and draw on the eggB次元官网网址檚 surface. Use the wax to B次元官网网址渟ealB次元官网网址� the colour in on the egg. Any white spot you cover in wax will remain white on the finished product.
4. When youB次元官网网址檝e finished your white designs, carefully place the egg in the yellow dye bath. Let it soak and absorb the colour for a few minutes.
5. Repeat Step 3. Any melted wax that hardens on the now yellow surface will seal in the yellow and that colour will remain in those spots on the finished product.
6. Soak the egg in the red dye-bath, then use the wax to seal in your red designs. Then repeat this step using the black dye. (Since itB次元官网网址檚 your last colour, you donB次元官网网址檛 need to seal in your black spots with wax.) Once youB次元官网网址檝e gotten the hang of three colours, consider adding orange, green and blue.
7. Remove the wax by carefully holding your egg above the candle flame. Wipe the wax away using paper towel. B次元官网网址淜eep the clean end downward to avoid getting smoke on the exposed egg. Likewise, when wiping wax away, push the stroke away from the clean part of the egg,B次元官网网址� Lang advises.
8. Apply a coat of varnish to your egg to seal in your colours and make them more vibrant. B次元官网网址淧ysanka is meant to last 70 years or more,B次元官网网址� Lang says.
