The Traditional Designs of Ukrainian Egg Decorating
From a 1968 book, a collection of illustrations of regional patterns & designs of the art of Ukrainian pysanky, or egg decorating. From the Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies at the University of Kansas:
Pysanky are raw eggs that are decorated using an ancient wax-resistance method. The word pysanky comes from the Ukrainian word pysaty (писати), “to write.” Pysanka is the singular and pysanky is the plural. The art of making pysanky is called pysankarstvo (писанкарство).
The designs are “written” in hot wax with a special tool called a kistka (кістка) which has a small funnel attached to hold a small amount of liquid wax. The wax protects the pores of the shell from the dye. The artist, known as a pysankarka (писанкарка) writes parts of the design, dyes the egg one color, and writes more until the end, when all the layers of wax are melted off to reveal the final design.
Pysanky are an ancient art, made in Ukraine and other Slavic countries for centuries. Though many people call them Easter eggs, pysanky were made long before Ukraine adopted Christianity. The ancient symbols were then reinterpreted through the lens of Christianity later on.
From more on the regional patterns of Ukrainian pysanky and some images of actual decorated eggs, check out this page. And for a look at how these intricate patterns are made, here’s a video:
(via present & correct)
Comments 3
I recently came across this on Instagram and was obsessed for a few days! The precision of the patterns some people can do is really impressive. Humans make awesome stuff, part 2747392023447.
Black wax! That makes so much sense but I wouldn't have thought of it. Also, the amount of planning and thought to get all those colours in the right order puts my family well to shame.
One fond childhood memory of mine was being taught to make these by a schoolmate's mother. It's remarkable to me such precise symmetric patterns can be drawn freehand!
If you lack such a steady hand, one of Evil Mad Scientist's first products was the EggBot. A computer-driven plotter that could draw on an egg, including with hot wax.
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