Arlene Wright-Correll

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Ukrainian Egg Painting©                                           

By Arlene Wright-Correll

This past week I read how my Pen Pal Leonie, in Australia, had a miserable failure coloring her Easter eggs with a wax process.  Well, the Calvary has arrived, Leonie.  I decorate eggs using the Ukrainian Egg Painting method.  Now this is a lot of work, dear heart, so if you intend to do an egg, think twice or 102 times about doing it just to look nice, then crack off the shell and eat the egg!

Ukrainian Egg Painting is called, “Pysanky”.  The Ukrainian folk art of egg decorating which follows at tradition over 2000 years old.  In the craft, the artist begins with a raw white egg, symbol of life and rebirth.  Using heated beeswax, designs are drawn onto the shell, and the egg is placed in a series of dye baths.  The design is progressive with additions after each dye color.  When the design is completed, the wax is removed, polyurethane protection is added, and the raw egg is blown from the shell.

An egg can take many hours to complete and is a treasure for years to come.

Ukrainian Egg symbols and colors have special meanings.

Yellow denotes youth, happiness, love.

Light blue denotes sky with it’s life-giving air and good health.

Red indicates sun, happiness in life, hope and passion.

Orange is for the everlasting sun.

Brown represents mother earth bringing forth her bounty.

Pink indicates success.

Light green denotes breaking of shackles and freedom of bondage.

Dark red represents harvest, gathering fruit in the fall.

Purple is for faith, patience and trust.

The following symbol picture is from my first class and I am sharing it with you.  

First you need to protect your worktable with a few layers of newspapers. Keep some paper towel sheets in a small stack nearby.  Make sure you have a good light source so your eggs are not in the shadows.

When shopping for eggs suitable for Pysanky, the best source is to get unwashed eggs directly from an egg farm. Let just laid eggs stand 4 or 5 days before decorating.  If you buy your eggs from the store, they may not take the dye because they are washed in strong solutions.  What I do is get my eggs from the super market and let them stand for 3 hours in a solution of 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and one quart of tepid water. Do not use jumbo or extra large eggs as they tend to have weaker shells.

Work on eggs that are room temperature.

Some people blow their eggs prior to working on them. I prefer to complete the egg and then blow out the egg.

The tools needed are quite simple and inexpensive.

Beeswax seals the color of the surface it covers.  Pure beeswax is the only type of wax used in this egg dying process.  Regular light beeswax is used with kistky, which are heated in the candle flame.  This wax will gradually turn black from the carbon in the flame. I buy darkened beeswax, which I use in the electric kistky with the interchangeable tips, as it is needed to see the design and areas being filled in. One of the last steps in decorating Pysanky is to remove the wax, which allows the colors beneath it to reappear.

When one is not using an electric kistky, then a candle in a secure holder is need to heat the traditional or brass kistky.  Never use candle wax to decorate the egg.

A number 2 or 3 pencil is used when dividing the egg at the beginning.  These pencil lines will not show on the egg providing you have drawn them lightly. Do not erase your lines as the dye will not take to the shell in that area.

Use stainless steel spoons for dipping the eggs in and out of the dye.  I use a little Chinese wire egg “catcher/dipper” that is used in Manchurian Firepots and can be found in an oriental market for under $2.00.

A Q-tip or a small paintbrush is used to add dye to small areas.

The paper towels are used to pat the eggs dry when they come out of the dye.  The longer you leave the egg in the dye, the darker the color will be.

White vinegar is added to most of the dyes to keep them strong.

Varnish adds protection and luster and a clear fast, drying glossy varnish or polyurethane wood finish is what I use.   Do not use water-soluble varnish as it causes the dyes to run.

I keep waterless hand cleaner on hand to remove the varnish from my hands.

I have a drying rack, which is a small board with thin brad-like nails that hold up to 15 eggs. Some people use this for melting the wax off in the oven. I like the quicker “hands-on” method of holding my completed egg over a small Bunsen burner or small hand propane torch.  Just be careful not to burn your fingers.

One can buy an egg lathe to hold the egg. I do not own one. I just hold the egg in my left hand and work the design with my right.

The following steps are basically easy. Take your dry, clean egg and lay out your lines with light pencil marks. These will allow you to draw in your design.

Again these diagrams were given to me by my instructor to use again and again.  You will find similar diagrams in about any book you buy on Pysanky or Ukrainian Egg Painting. I will share mine with you.

Remember to keep you pencil lines light!

Don’t be nervous about your lines.

This is basically a very easy thing to do. It just takes practice.  I learned how to do this the in 1998 while wintering in Vero Beach FL.  I took a $12.00 class at the public library and learned in one day!

The instructor said he had done a couple of thousand over the years.  He supplied us with one egg and several photo copies of diagrams which I am including below.

Once you have your grid done, you can start sketching in your design and you can buy a book from the Ukrainian Gift Shop in Minneapolis, MN. Or go to your public library.  This egg I made is called the Trypillian and the white was done with a medium and fine kistky covering the egg with beeswax. . One can change the ends of the kistky.  The brick color was done with a heavy and medium kistky, covering the egg with beeswax and then dipping it into that color dye and black was put on for the final color.  Then I held it over my small propane tank flame and let the wax melt so I could wipe it off as it melted, thus allowing the colors to show through. Then I blew the egg out and finally I sealed it with the varnish or polyurethane.

Trypillian eggs are from an ancient tribe of people that lived and thrived in the area of the Ukraine 6000 years ago.  Pieces of their pottery were found near the little city of Trypillia only 40 miles from Kiev.  The pottery designs adapt beautifully to the egg. Designs are of 3 colors.  White, Black and Clay Red (brick).  The designs are spirals and meanders which signify eternity and the cycle of life.

Here are a few of the many eggs I did in the year 2000.

quite good at reproducing them.  The traditional designs are still my most favorite.

After awhile I discovered I could do my own designs and pictures.  I found I was making Christmas ornaments with my grandchildren’s names and the date on them.  One year I made up some for all the tellers at my local bank.  For my children I made up a dozen each and they loved them.

I hope this helps you Leonie.  This is a satisfying hobby and can be done in the evening or anytime.  It takes very little time except for the jars of dye. I have about 12 or 15 jars of colors now, so it is not something I can take with me. I have to do this at home.

Just email me with any questions and if you are in the area, just stop in and say hello.

“Tread the Earth Lightly” and in the meantime… may your day be filled with….Peace, light and love, 

Arlene Wright-Correll  

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