pysanky

Well, I've returned to Pysanky.

I was cleaning out a box of stuff (finally) when I came across a carton of my Ukrainian eggs. They re-inspired me to try the art again, and since all my dyes were still sitting on the shelf, I dove right in. 

My first egg was admittedly pretty horrible. But my second attempt came out well!

the bottom:

a side view:

 :)

Ukrainian eggs

My kind sister used her amazing photography skills,
(see her blog here for even more amazing photos)
to take pics of my eggs!

Here they all are:

~

Now separately, in order of creation:

 This was my first one...

...which after making, I startled my family greatly by skipping through the house exclaiming how well the kistky worked.

:P

 ~

Next, a bird on one side...

And a flower on the other.

And yes, the leaves are blue.

*sigh*

Still learning...

;)

~

Then I decided to make an untraditional egg.

Traditional eggs mostly have geometric patterns, very even and uniform.

Untraditional eggs are...

ungeometric.

:P

So I made a peacock, 

 with it's tail flowing almost all the way around the egg.

I like the effect..

~

Then we have a very traditional egg.

An eight pointed star, which symbolizes the sun.

Actually, I didn't know that until after I made the egg. 

:P

~

Lastly, my latest egg.

I liked the way this one turned out. 

By now most of the lines are looking fairly straight!

~

And here are the eggs all together.

Well, five is all the eggs I have made so far, but I'm pretty sure I will make some more when I get time.

Phew.

Quite a few photos.

 Of course, I had around 70 pics, just of the finished eggs to sort through. 

:P

I'll do one more post on Ukrainian egg/Pysanky history sometime soon!

Ukrainian eggs - wax & kistky

Now on to the actual process.

First you need eggs.

Blown.

That is the part I like least...

:P

Takes a long time. 

After you have an empty, clean, dry eggshell, you can really start.

I draw lines dividing my eggs into eights, usually, and work from that.

 

After you have a design you like sketched onto the egg, you use the kistka 

(which is heated over a candle)

to coat with wax any areas you want left white.

 

 I was thrilled with how well store bought kistky work compared to homemade.

They draw MUCH thinner, smoother lines, and almost never drip wax.

I got my kit here.

Kistky are hard to use in that you hold them differently than you hold pencils, since the tip is pointing downward, not straight.

After coating certain areas, you dip the egg into the lightest dye you are using.

In my case, this was yellow.

When your egg is blown, you have to continually press it down into the dye, otherwise it would bob to the top, and dye only the bottom bit of the egg.

Thus, my brightly colored fingers.

 (sorry, no photos...:P)

I was awfully worried my fingers would be black for the concert last week...

Thankfully the dye came off just in time. With much scrubbing.

Anyway.

Take the egg out of the dye when you like the color.

Keep in mind, that (at least in my case,) the dye is lighter after/if you pat it dry.

Pat the egg dry.

If you want.

You can also let it dry by itself, if you aren't in a rush.

I was.

;P

 

Then cover the areas you want yellow with wax.

Dip it into the next color.

Red.

  Leave it in until you like the shade of red.

I found that the order of colors is basically:

-Yellow

-Light Green

-Light Blue

-Turquoise

-Orange

-Pink

-Scarlet

-Red

-Brown

-Brick

-Dark Red

Then the final colors are:

Black, Purple, Royal Blue, and Dark Green.

Ok. Not so basic.

Continue covering areas with wax and dyeing until you are happy.

Then, the really fun part is taking an old rag and a hair drier and melting and wiping off all the wax!

My favorite part.

:)

I wasn't quite pleased with my first eggs, as I forgot the order the colors should go in.

I dipped one egg into green, and forgot the yellow.

Then I tried to dye yellow on top of the green.

:/

Thus I found that there really is a reason you have to dye in order of color.

:P

Next post I'll just show you some pics of the eggs themselves.

(sorry this took so long to post...)

Ukrainian eggs

*clears throat*

Well, I'm back again.

Let us not look at the date...

I have a NEW hobby!!

Surprise.
*sarcasm*

Ukrainian Easter Eggs!
or Pysanky, for any Ukrainian natives...
(finally, a craft in time for a holiday!)

Please don't ask how I came to try it.

I have no clue.

Anyway,I found an inspiring website here.

I realized to my dismay that several essential items are required for this beautiful craft.

-A kistka
-Pysanky Dyes
-Beeswax

The kistka is a tool used to apply wax onto the egg.

How to MAKE one....

I googled.

But alas, no instructions for a kistka...
I did find website explaining that a pin will work just as well.

Hm...

Pins don't work.

Don't even bother trying.

I had to make my own kistka.

After a frantic several minutes of digging around, I found a tip of an old pen.

Perfect.

To finish of the homemade kistka, I twisted a strip of tinfoil into a handle.


Now, just hope it doesn't melt...


I used some hardened waxed to fill the kistka, and dived in.

After patiently running the kistka over the egg design,
(which I simplified drastically as time progressed...)

I came up with this:

I'll admit,
not what I was going for.

Despite that, I was thrilled.
I had made a kistka that actually drew wax onto an egg!

Time for the first dye bath.

Now what to use for dye...

I fell back on the faithful food dye option.

For my first egg I had only two colors:

Green and Blue.

First into the green, for a great rule in Pysanky is:

"dye from lightest to darkest"

Then the tedious process of waxing all areas of the egg that are destined to be green in the final design.

Then into the blue dye bath.

Next I scraped off all the wax and TA DA!

A genuine Ukrainian Easter egg using NONE of those hard-to-find items required!

The last one on the left is my first egg.

As the line progresses the eggs are more recent, so that the one on the right I made just today.

As I made the next eggs, I found several helpful bits of advice.

Such as:

Raw eggs are suggested for Pysanky, but I found that a blown egg works best for me,
for several reasons, the top being that when I blew the first egg after it was dry, the dye ran... :C

Prick a hole on both the top and bottom of a clean egg.

Then blow through one end and watch in amazement as the egg streams out the opposite hole.

also,

when I had finished my most beautiful egg and was scraping off the wax, tragically, the egg shell cracked.

Yes, I should have known that could happen.

But it was devastating all the same.

My next egg,
(with a similar design)

I used a blow drier to melt all the wax off. It is much faster and safer to the eggshell.

I have now grown much more proficient with my rough, homemade kistka and some lines actully turn out looking straight!

I have greatly enjoyed creating the eggs, and (joy of joys!) I am getting a real kistka, beeswax and Pysanky dyes for an art class in school next year!

Ah....

can't wait till next year.
;P