- Apr 29, 2024
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Pysanky is the art of Ukrainian Easter egg decorating.
This thread will have explanations of the process, pictures of pysanky, and links to pysanky-related resources. It is also the place for egg artists of all kinds to share their work!
To create a pysanka, beeswax lines are applied to the eggshell with a tool called a kistka. The egg is dipped in dye, and more wax is applied over the new color. This is repeated until the design is finished, and then the wax is melted off by holding the egg near a candle flame and wiping away the wax with a paper towel.
On the blue egg above, I drew the white outlines of the scales in wax, then dipped the egg in blue and rinsed it to lighten the color. Next, I filled in the bottom of the scales with wax and drew the vertical lines. After this, I dipped the egg in its final colors of blue and black.
Pysanky is more like watercolor than oil paint- each color shows through the one above it. Once you have dyed your egg blue, you cannot dye it yellow; it will turn green. You must work from light to dark, and avoid layering incompatible colors.
Traditionally the eggs were left full and allowed to dry, now they are more commonly blown out.
The old natural dyes, made of plants, minerals, and insects, have been replaced with chemical dyes.
Here, I experimented with red cabbage dyes while I waited for my supplies to arrive.
This one sadly broke after sitting in the dye for too long:
The modern chemical dyes work in seconds instead of hours, and the colors are much more vibrant. However, the old dyes, when mixed by someone who knows how, can be very beautiful.
This website is an excellent encyclopedia of all things pysanky: pysanky.info
This is the lovely little shop from which I ordered my supplies (I would highly recommend!): Ukrainian Gift Shop
I hope that you are inspired to try pysanky, or even just to mess around with some Paas dyes and a crayon next Easter!
This thread will have explanations of the process, pictures of pysanky, and links to pysanky-related resources. It is also the place for egg artists of all kinds to share their work!
To create a pysanka, beeswax lines are applied to the eggshell with a tool called a kistka. The egg is dipped in dye, and more wax is applied over the new color. This is repeated until the design is finished, and then the wax is melted off by holding the egg near a candle flame and wiping away the wax with a paper towel.
On the blue egg above, I drew the white outlines of the scales in wax, then dipped the egg in blue and rinsed it to lighten the color. Next, I filled in the bottom of the scales with wax and drew the vertical lines. After this, I dipped the egg in its final colors of blue and black.
Pysanky is more like watercolor than oil paint- each color shows through the one above it. Once you have dyed your egg blue, you cannot dye it yellow; it will turn green. You must work from light to dark, and avoid layering incompatible colors.
Traditionally the eggs were left full and allowed to dry, now they are more commonly blown out.
The old natural dyes, made of plants, minerals, and insects, have been replaced with chemical dyes.
Here, I experimented with red cabbage dyes while I waited for my supplies to arrive.
This one sadly broke after sitting in the dye for too long:
The modern chemical dyes work in seconds instead of hours, and the colors are much more vibrant. However, the old dyes, when mixed by someone who knows how, can be very beautiful.
This website is an excellent encyclopedia of all things pysanky: pysanky.info
This is the lovely little shop from which I ordered my supplies (I would highly recommend!): Ukrainian Gift Shop
I hope that you are inspired to try pysanky, or even just to mess around with some Paas dyes and a crayon next Easter!
