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The Ancient Art of Pysanky is kept vital by constantly expanding its definition, while preserving its traditions. |
“Before beginning, a Ukrainian woman would cross herself and say, ‘God help me.’” Yara Surmach
A Woman's Artform
The process of writing pysanky (UA) pisanki (POL) was often considered a woman’s art form. It is my respite from the outside world and a powerful spiritual connection to both my Ukrainian and Polish grandmothers. When writing in the Drop-Pull style, I always feel a strong connection to my Lemko grandmother, Euphrosine, who emmigrated to America in 1897, age 16; while in the Drapanki style, I reflect on my Polish grandmother Franczeska, who came to America in 1899, age 15. Both women were weavers. Each began their new lives with little more than $4.00 in their pocket, upon arrival at the turn of the century.
How I Began
When I was 12 years old, my mother, Miecieslawa ‘Minnie’, brought me to our local Ukrainian Center to “see what pysanky was all about”. Amazed, I watched an older gentleman take a raw eggshell, and with a simple wooden kistka and wax, he wrote a perfect equator line, with the golden hands of a master Pysankar. My love for writing pysanky was born in that moment! My mom also taught me the skill set of paying attention to detail and finishing what you start; skills you need for writing pysanky. My own preference is to copy only traditional pysanky motifs. I am especially mindful to follow existing patterns carefully, not changing any symbols or traditional colors. To change anything would be as foolish as changing the words in a prayer. Pysankarstvo is so much more than ‘egg art’. It is challenging to write a pysanka, eyes are strained, fine motor skills are needed for measuring, writing with the kistka or creating a Drapanka, a Polish scratch method. All require the handling of a raw egg with exceptional care. Traditionally, women who wrote pysanky sourced their inspiration from the world of nature, depicting flowers, trees, fruits, leaves and whole plants. Such motifs symbolized the rebirth of spring after winter, with plant motifs written, as a guarantee of a good harvest.
I began experimenting with Drapanki years ago; but then the Ukrainian wax and kistka process stole my attention, and I let go the scratch method. However, for the past couple of years, Drapanki have taken a strong hold of my creative energy and I can’t seem to return to traditional batik pysanky.
Giving a pysanka as a Gift is a blessing for the Receiver. Great love has been imbued in each piece, keeping this ancient art vital and preserving its traditions.
Venues
As a folk egg artist and teacher, I have taught at Peters Valley Craft Center, Markeim Art Center, Appel Farm Arts & Music Center, and Triple Oaks, Blissful Yoga Studio, the Church of the Nativity, all in NJ. In addition, Fletcher Farm School in VT, River Arts School in NH and the PysankyUSA Retreats, in PA. I have demonstrated for Peters Valley Craft Center, the NJ State Fair and the NJ Burlington County Historical Society. My pysanky were shown at the Peters Valley Gallery in Leyton, NJ. and Morris Museum, in Morristown, NJ.
I started my website in 2009 www.pysankybasics.com Visit my YouTube Channel
A Woman's Artform
The process of writing pysanky (UA) pisanki (POL) was often considered a woman’s art form. It is my respite from the outside world and a powerful spiritual connection to both my Ukrainian and Polish grandmothers. When writing in the Drop-Pull style, I always feel a strong connection to my Lemko grandmother, Euphrosine, who emmigrated to America in 1897, age 16; while in the Drapanki style, I reflect on my Polish grandmother Franczeska, who came to America in 1899, age 15. Both women were weavers. Each began their new lives with little more than $4.00 in their pocket, upon arrival at the turn of the century.
How I Began
When I was 12 years old, my mother, Miecieslawa ‘Minnie’, brought me to our local Ukrainian Center to “see what pysanky was all about”. Amazed, I watched an older gentleman take a raw eggshell, and with a simple wooden kistka and wax, he wrote a perfect equator line, with the golden hands of a master Pysankar. My love for writing pysanky was born in that moment! My mom also taught me the skill set of paying attention to detail and finishing what you start; skills you need for writing pysanky. My own preference is to copy only traditional pysanky motifs. I am especially mindful to follow existing patterns carefully, not changing any symbols or traditional colors. To change anything would be as foolish as changing the words in a prayer. Pysankarstvo is so much more than ‘egg art’. It is challenging to write a pysanka, eyes are strained, fine motor skills are needed for measuring, writing with the kistka or creating a Drapanka, a Polish scratch method. All require the handling of a raw egg with exceptional care. Traditionally, women who wrote pysanky sourced their inspiration from the world of nature, depicting flowers, trees, fruits, leaves and whole plants. Such motifs symbolized the rebirth of spring after winter, with plant motifs written, as a guarantee of a good harvest.
I began experimenting with Drapanki years ago; but then the Ukrainian wax and kistka process stole my attention, and I let go the scratch method. However, for the past couple of years, Drapanki have taken a strong hold of my creative energy and I can’t seem to return to traditional batik pysanky.
Giving a pysanka as a Gift is a blessing for the Receiver. Great love has been imbued in each piece, keeping this ancient art vital and preserving its traditions.
Venues
As a folk egg artist and teacher, I have taught at Peters Valley Craft Center, Markeim Art Center, Appel Farm Arts & Music Center, and Triple Oaks, Blissful Yoga Studio, the Church of the Nativity, all in NJ. In addition, Fletcher Farm School in VT, River Arts School in NH and the PysankyUSA Retreats, in PA. I have demonstrated for Peters Valley Craft Center, the NJ State Fair and the NJ Burlington County Historical Society. My pysanky were shown at the Peters Valley Gallery in Leyton, NJ. and Morris Museum, in Morristown, NJ.
I started my website in 2009 www.pysankybasics.com Visit my YouTube Channel
Some History
A Carpathian woman is using a stylus that appears to be a straight needle to apply bees wax to an egg. Pysankas of the Ukrainian Carpathians by Solomchenko, 2002.
EARLIEST WRITING TOOLS Peasants often made a crude wooden tool with a pig-bristle fixed to the end. In earliest times, it would have been a thorn. Today pysanky writers use a copper, metal or electric" kistka". What is a kistka? A kistka or kystka is the name given to the stylus (tool) used in making pysanky in some areas of western Ukraine and in Poland. It is also referred to as a pysachok and pysaltse. It generally consists of a small metal reservoir with a fine tip/opening on a wooden or plastic handle. Wax is scooped into the reservoir, heated, and then this stylus is used to write with wax on an egg's shell.
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Cultic ceramic eggs have been
discovered in excavations near the village of Luka Vrublivets'ka, during excavations of a Trypillian site (5th to 3rd millennium BC). These eggs were ornamented, and in the form of торохкальці (torokhkal'tsi; rattles containing a small stone with which to scare evil spirits away). |
 This is the oldest Easter egg found by Lviv archaeologists to date.
500-year-old Easter egg was found during excavations in Lviv, the press service of the Rescue Archaeological Service of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has reported.According to the report, the pysanka (a Ukrainian ornate Easter egg) was found in a water collector dated to the 15th-16th centuries, on Shevska Street in the central part of the city at a depth of 5.5 meters. "Previously, Kyivan Rus pysankas dated to the 12th-13th centuries were found in Zhydachiv, Lviv region, and Khrinnyky in Volyn region, but these were ceramic eggs. This one is made on an egg shell, most likely from a goose egg. And it is very well preserved, almost 90%," a junior research officer of the Rescue Archaeological Service, Ostap Lazurko, said. |