 When I started to make pysanky seriously, I bought Pysanky Master, Helen Badulak’s book, Pysanky in the 21st Century. In it she describes using up to nine coats of VARATHANE (Polyurethane Oil based) varnish on her pysanky. I ordered a box of six small cans of Varathane from Home Depot. To avoid wasting any of the varnish, I distribute one can at a time, into small plastic bottles(as you see in the picture). You are working with flammable and noxious vapors. Read the precautions on the can of the Polyurethane before you start. Consider finding a room with no open flames, good ventilation and a low dust environment.  Use Disposable Gloves to apply the varnish-pour about a teaspoon of varnish onto one hand, rub the hands together…pick up your pysanka and roll it around in the varnish on the gloves. Next stand the pysanka on a drying board(see the next picture below). Let the pysanky dry for the next 24 hours. I think of this time as “curing” the varnished egg.  The Pysanky in the Photo Are Drying on a Board for 24 Hours For an Unblown Egg-Your could varnish eggs that are unblown, but you would only apply one coat of varnish; this would allow the egg to breathe, avoiding an explosion while the liquid egg is drying out, over time. For a Blown Egg-I like to apply up to 6 coats of varnish for each pysanka. First, I drain the egg after the wax is removed and the pysanka design and dyeing is completed. I let each coat of varnish dry inbetween, allowing for a minimum of 24 hours per coat. I think of this time as “curing” the varnish on the pysanka. Most of the time, I wait until I complete about five pysanky and then varnish them all at once, as you see here. Fresh Eggs for Writing Pysanky  I prefer to use fresh eggs when I am writing pysanky, because they sink in the aniline dyes. Ready-blown eggs will float, and need to be submerged with a shot glass, or a heavy spoon. This can cause un-even dying, and worse, marks on the dyed egg. Because I take so much time to measure out the designs, I do not want to ruin the pysanka with spotty, marked or un-even colors.
I advertise early in the spring, on craigslist or free-cycle and have been lucky to buy fresh goose eggs(as you see here) and turkey eggs, from under an hour away from my home. You can negotiate with the seller what price you will pay for a dozen eggs. Once you have established the contact, it is easy to make arrangements year after year for purchasing their unwanted eggs. I also buy fresh "double-yolk" chicken eggs from the local Amish market; and I have purchased ostrich eggs from a local farm auction. I ask the sellers to simply rinse and store the eggs in the fridge until I arrive. One time a seller scrubbed the eggs clean with a brillo pad! This could damage the cuticle of the egg and scratch the surface, spoiling it. So a gentle note to the seller is all that is needed. DISCLAIMER: AS ALWAYS BE CAREFUL/CAUTIOUS WHEN BUYING OR TRADING ITEMS FROM CRAIGSLIST! MICROBEAD PILLOWS  When teaching, students I place a microbead pillow at each station. The pillow supports the wrists and keeps the egg secure in the nest created by the microbeads. It prevents the egg from rolling or if the egg slips it lands on the pillow(phew!) and not on the table(crack!).
I get the microbead pillows cheap at yard sales and at second-hand shops. They are generally one or two dollars...then I wash them in a cold water cycle and let them air-dry. I clean them this way after every class use. Students love the support that the pillows give when writing on the egg with the kistka.  Cleaning a Traditional Kistka-if you are using a traditional
kistka, you should cleanout the point before each major use. The carbon from the candle can build up and clog the point. Heat up the kistka, then let the wax fall onto a paper towel to remove most of the wax that may have been left behind. Next pour some Mineral Spirits into a small container and then submerge the kistka point. It will dissolve the remainder of the wax. If you still have a block, Luba Petrusha has a great idea-"I've been experimenting with cleaning wires, and one suggestion given me that really works for fines tips is to use a needlethreader. Simply cut the wire loop at the base on one side, straighten out the wire, and use. The built in handel is a plus." Thanks Luba-this works well because the wire is very thin and fits those XF tips. Cleaning an Electric Kistka-I take all the points and drop them into a container of Mineral Spirits, then remove them and let them drain on a paper towel.  Kistka points come in many different sizes from X fine, fine, medium, heavy to #00 and #000...and the tips are not marked. I like to cut off the label when I buy a new tip and tape it onto a dollar store pill container for easy identification and storage.
I've had a pysanky site for a couple of years now, but under the domain name, www.pysankarstvo.com
The word "pysankarstvo" is Ukrainian for the process of making Ukrainian pysanky. When I first started the site, I thought it was a great name...but as time went by, it was much too difficult to share with others who wanted to visit my site. So I spent about six hours rebuilding a site under my new easier to remember domain name: www.pysankybasics.com I am hoping to create videos to post and blog some great tips for beginning pysanky writers. |
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