Pysanky Egg-Dying!

On Friday Morning, April 16, folks gathered for workshop on the art of Ukrainian, or pysanky, egg-dying, led by Bernadette Jones. The group learned both the Ukrainian and the American form of egg decoration in which the eggs are “dyed” by cooking them in onion skins or cabbage leaves, then scratching a design on them.

Onion skins were used to create the warm amber color of the naturally dyed eggs. Designs were scratched on to the eggs with a needle (or other sharp objects) after they were cooked with the onions.

Layers of melted beeswax and dye were applied to raw eggs to get the brilliantly colored pysanky. After they dried, a small hole was drilled into the bottom of the eggs and the insides blown out. The technique for these eggs was more difficult to master, but the results?  Spectacular!