 I advertise early in the spring, on craigslist or free-cycle and have been lucky to buy fresh goose eggs and turkey eggs(as you see here). 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 eggs. IMPORTANT: 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!
 My personal favorite, especially when I teach classes; 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. I find microbead pillows at yard sales and second-hand shops. Wash them in a cold water cycle and let them air-dry. I clean them this way after each class use. Students love the support that the pillow gives when writing on the egg with the kistka. “ I do think this idea of micro-bead pad is the greatest and I am going to try to find some and start hoarding them, so I can use them if and when I am able to teach this beautiful art.” Sheila the Egg Lady
When teaching a Beginner Class, I distribute a packet of "Pysanky Symbols and Meanings" as a take-away. I briefly discuss the idea of pysanky being a "talisman" with their traditional symbols. Along my pysanky travels on the internet, I came across charts that other teachers use. I plan to create some of my own for classes this year. I hope they inspire you too.
 TEACHER USES A TEMPORARY VISUAL AID-WHITE BOARD-Thanks to Tetyana Solotska for the photo and idea I use spring-loaded egg holders, that I purchased online at Alcraft Egg Artistry, LLC. You need to scroll way down on the page link to find the item! The website is not necessarily user-friendly. The spring-loaded egg holders keep the shell steady when you are spraying varnish. To dry, stand the holder in styrofoam as seen below. Drying time varies. Always, spray out-of-doors, and wear a mask/goggles.
 The one true Christian symbol, and not one adopted from an earlier pagan one, is "the church". You can see that the symbol is stylized. Church symbols can be found on pysanky from Western Ukraine, particularly those in the Hutsul regions and Bukovyna. Crosses are fairly common, many found on traditional pysanky are not Ukrainian Byzantine crosses. The crosses commonly depicted are the "cross-crosslet" type, with arms of equal lengths.   A "sieve motif" inside the church images shown above, symbolizes the church’s ability to separate good from evil. It is a most commonly used motif on pysanky.  “Driapanka by Rostyslav Kramar”
an extraordinary Ukrainian artist, who often uses a photo of a church and then stylizes the image onto his "dryapanki". Dryapanki-eggs are dyed a dark color, traditionally with a natural dye, such as onion skins; then the patterns are scratched with a sharp object (eg, a needle or awl). I was inspired to write the goose egg of my Grandfather's Church from seeing the church Driapanki writtten by Пан Крамар-Mr. Kramar. Here is the link to his brilliant Dryapanka Gallery. http://www.dryapanka.com/eng/gallery.htm?id_category=1 
A PAIR OF SCISSORS ARE INCLUDED IN THE BOX.
Once, while doing a demonstration on Lemko Drop-Pull style pysanky, I tipped over the small wax burner. The molten wax spilled onto my fingers and stuck to the skin causing a nasty burn.
I realized then, that having a first-aid for burns would be a good idea. I put this kit together and have it at every class that I teach.  A. FOLDER PACKET-each folder contains a laminated sheet that shows the Star Pattern, one of the oldest patterns. This sheet also shows a dozen sample star pattern pysanky, for students to see the possibilities for elaborating on a pattern. Also included is a sheet (to the right A) is suggested ways to elaborate on the Star Pattern. B. GLASS TRAY-includes a candle, rubber band, vinyl tape measure, non-photo blue pencil, white eraser, spaghetti wax and medium delrin kistka. See photo below for detail. C. PAPER PLATE-with basic pencilled motifs. This plate is used for writing/practicing on, using the kistka before waxing onto the egg. See photo below for detail. D. EXAMPLE PATTERN SHEET-that shows the student ideas for elaborating on the basic Star Pattern. E. GIANT LAMINATED EGG SHAPE WITH STAR PATTERN- F. PLASTIC EGG LATHE-used to show students how to gauge and measure basic divisions. G. PRE-MEASURED DOZEN EGGS-premeasured with Star Pattern, only on one(1) side of the egg.   photo-Facebook group: Pysanky Japan I found this clever idea on social media. The teacher of this pysanky class in Japan is not allowed to use any candle power, no flames allowed, during class.
Instead she mounts a hair dryer and is able to have students remove wax safely. |
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