PYSANKY BASICS by MAGGIE
  • HOME
  • My Pysanky
  • Blog-Tips
  • My YouTube
  • Books
  • Photographing
  • Supplies
  • Guest Book

Teacher Tip-Demo for Showing How to Add Patterns to the Egg Shell

7/24/2014

0 Comments

 

I EXPLAIN TO THE CLASS THAT ADDING THE PATTERN ONTO THE EGG SHELL  IS NOT "ROCKET SCIENCE"!  
THE PATTERN IS REPEATED IN EACH QUADRANT. 
Using a large demonstration egg is most helpful for the visual learner.  
Picture
LOOK AT THE PHOTO OF ME ABOVE. I AM USING A DRY MARKER SHOWING HOW TO REPEAT THE PATTERN ONTO EACH QUADRANT. ASK IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS!
Picture
Picture
Picture
THE "STAR PATTERN" IS USED IN THE BEGINNER CLASS. THIS IMAGE SHOWS ADDITIONAL LINES AND A MOTIF IS ADDED TO EACH QUADRANT.
Picture
A SIMPLE EXAMPLE TO ADD SMALL LINES AROUND THE STAR.
Picture
THIS STUDENT IS BEGINNING TO PLAN A PATTERN ONTO A WORKSHEET. SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO PLAN, OTHERS PREFER TO GO STRAIGHT ONTO THE SHELL.
beginner_worksheets.pdf
File Size: 7438 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

0 Comments

Finishing Off an Egg at the End

7/24/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
photo #1 Removing the wax with a cut piece cloth, which hospital ORs throw away; these are good because they have a bite to the weave and pick up the wax.
Picture
#2 I remove any pencil line with a white eraser.
Picture
#3 Look at the white wolves teeth pattern-do you see some black bits? I scrape those away with a blade.
Picture
#4   You can see a red dot under the letter "e".
I used a black marker to cover it. 
PictureI use these pens to touch up colors on an egg. Staedtler 318 Lumocolor Pen Permanent Fine 0.6mm Assorted Ref 318WP8-buy at MICHAEL'S.
Yvonne's Tip: "Small uneven areas of the dye can sometimes be corrected with permanent markers. That the level of success can depend on the color in question, so experiment a little before doing it on your prize egg. Black markers are most useful (if your egg ends in black) for running around the white edge of the hole left behind after emptying the egg. "   Thanks, Yvonne!(social media)

Picture
I scratched the star into the egg at the end; using a Fiskars finger blade.
Picture
FISKARS FINGER BLADE Look for it in the scrapbook section of Michaels.
Picture
Will I Varnish the goose egg? I might leave this as is-it already has a nice bees wax patina.
0 Comments

Teacher Tip:  Photograph Each Class

3/24/2014

2 Comments

 
My advice is to Photograph Each Class That You Teach. 
 I like to start with a photo of the room set up and individual set up.  It is a visual reminder for the next time that you teach, and makes sure that you have all the supplies for that class.   For example, shoot a picture of the dye table, and the individual student place setting 
Picture
The dye table is set up far from the working tables.
Picture
This is a small table set up. Click on the photo to increase the size for viewing.

Create a Collage of the Class Photos

Always ask your audience if anyone would mind you taking photos during the class.  
2 Comments

Cleaning Soiled Farm Eggs and Stubborn Stains

10/22/2013

2 Comments

 
Picture
  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!  
Picture
A light scrub cleaned these eggs.

Picture
RECIPE FOR LIGHT STAINS 


Picture
Rinsing the eggs using a soft  brush or soft toothbrush. 

RECIPE FOR LIGHT STAINS
I place eggs in a  clear sink of water a few at a time. Watch for air bubbles, this will lead you to a stress cracked shell.
  Using a soft toothbrush wash the egg with a paste of Baking Soda and Ivory Liquid. I mix this on the edge of the sink. 
 Rinse the egg under clear running water. 
 Finally give the egg a quick dip in  a bath of white vinegar and water and then dry it again. 
I dry the eggs on a board, or a dish cloth, as you see in the header photo.

Picture
STUBBORN STAINS

RECIPE FOR STUBBORN STAINS
Make a paste of Baking Soda, Ivory Liquid and Bleach PEN-Tablespoon of each.
When I have a few eggs with stubborn stains.  I leave  this paste on the stain, and soak the eggs overnight in water.  Do not agitate the eggs, but let them sit.  In the morning, using the soft tooth brush, give it a good over-all scrub, rinse, vinegar wash and Voilà!  the stain is gone!  
2 Comments

Supporting the Egg While Writing

10/22/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
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

Social Media Results: What Others Use
Stack of napkins in a paper plate- Old towel-Craft foam covered with plastic place mat-Pad made of blue towels-Comfort Memory Foam BathMat-CD storage box filled with beading foam-Stack of old Curity stretch gauze diapers-Folded pillow case-Stack of coffee filters...
Picture

LUBA’S 
Work Space (from 2009)-Costco Kirkland brand paper towels layered of towels has gotten thicker;saving the Viva towels for blotting off the dye and reuse.


PictureFran Beaupre's Egg Support
WORK ROOM at the PUSA Retreat  2013 

Picture
ANSLEY uses paper towels stacked with soft tissues on top; changing out the tissues as they get covered with pencil, dye or wax. 

Picture

LUBA'S Egg Carton holder for goose eggs-storing the eggs when not writing and good when I want to draw (e.g. circles) on the egg using templates. Cut carton with a scalpel or exacto. 


Picture
NINA'S BEAN BAGS-This bag holds a goose egg, you can vary the size according to the eggs you most work on. 

1 Comment

Using a Non-Photo Blue Pencil Instead of Standard Graphite for Measuring Out a Design 

6/30/2013

0 Comments

 
 I found a penciling tip on www.learnpysanky.com: 
"Oksana recommends using a non-repro blue pencil, available at most art shops (and many business supply stores). It stays on well without smudging, and comes off easily in the final stages of cleaning off the wax."
Picture
Picture
#1 Pilot Color Eno Soft Blue 0.7
#2 Pentel Blue 0.5
#3 Staedtler Non-Photo Blue Pencil

Picture







Leads used in each mechanical pencil. 

Recommedations
I started with using #3 the Staedtler Non-Photo Blue pencil and recommend having a good pencil sharpener on hand.  It does not smudge and is erasable with a white eraser.    However I prefer, The Pentel Blue 0.5  is the better lead, longer lasting, harder (rarely breaks) and best of all it's 0.5 my preferred size. The shade of blue is darker than the standard non-repro blue so it requires a lighter touch. 

The Pilot Color ENO Soft Blue 0.7 is the perfect shade of blue, but it is much softer (it easily and often breaks) and only comes in a 0.7 size. 

So the choice is yours - 0.7 / softer but great colour, or 0.5 / harder and a little dark.  
0 Comments

Eternity Bands-Meanders, Waves, Lines or Ribbons

6/18/2013

4 Comments

 
Picture
MY ETERNITY BANDS ARE A STANDARD 5mm Wide, on all my chicken and goose eggs.
Picture
Eternity Bands  and other dividing elements on pysanky are composed of meanders, waves, lines or ribbons. These eternal line motifs are most popular due to an interesting legend: the meander on a pysanka has no beginning and no end and thus an evil spirit, which happens to enter a house and land on the egg, is trapped forever and will never bother the residents again! Meanders symbolize harmony, motion, infinity and immortality. Lines and ribbons represent the thread of life or   eternity. Waves stand for wealth, because it was rain that ensured good crops.

Picture
Click on image to make larger

3 Part Video Clips on Eternity Bands

4 Comments

 Teacher Tip: Removing Wax with a Candle

4/14/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
Always use a short stub candle to remove the wax from your pysanky egg.   I am holding the egg adjacent to the candle and not into the flame.  This will allow the wax to melt and then you wipe it off. Holding the egg into the flame will cause it to scortch and leave a burn mark.

Some institutions may be cautious with 'open flames'.  You then need to be certain that the candles used are short and stubby, so that if they topple over there will be no catching fire.  Also, be careful about the table surface, some places like to cover the desks in paper!  
Picture
Tea lights may seem like a good idea, but they never get hot enough for removing the wax from your egg, or heating up a traditional kistka funnel while you are writing with wax...so don't use them.

1 Comment

 Airtight Jars for Pysanky Dyes at $tore

2/26/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
The storage jars that I have been using for about 5 years are on sale at my local Dollar Tree Stores, for...$1.00 !  They are airtight and a large goose egg fits nicely in the jar as you can see in the photo.
Picture
I make up each dye according to the packet 
1   1/2 c water, a tsp. of vinegar.  When doing chicken eggs this liquid is sufficient.  When doing a goose egg, I top off the dye with extra water.  However, I always use two(2) packets of dye per jar.   I am using whole unblown eggs, so you see in the photo how nicely my goose egg sinks.

1 Comment

Un-Blown Pysanky Eggs

1/11/2013

0 Comments

 
Traditionally Pysanky eggs were undrained, the yolks and whites not blown out.
When pysanky are made with raw eggs, use care so they will eventually dry up inside,  allowing them to last a long time. But be sure to:
1.     Always start with fresh eggs that have no thin spots, hairline cracks or flaws, which might later crack.  An egg is sterile inside when the shell is intact. Only when bacteria enters through a crack, will the egg start to rot and smell. The moisture from the inside of the egg however, can escape through the porous shell as long as it is treated properly.  
2.     The gases that build up inside pass naturally through the permeable egg shell.
3.     When eggs are still liquid inside after decorating, store and display them properly and carefully to avoid accidentally cracking or “explosions” of the inside contents.  Eggs should not be allowed to hit each other if displayed in a container,  as this might cause tiny cracks which
may allow spoilage.
 4.     Undrained pysanky should never be placed or stored where they may get too hot, as in sunlight or too cold where they might freeze, both of which can cause expansion and cracking or exploding.
 5.     Un-drained  Pysanky should always be stored where there is adequate air circulation. Air is needed for the insides to dry out. DO NOT store eggs in styrofoam egg cartons (cardboard ones breathe), or in closed places such as decorative glass jars or containers, which are sealed, covered or in a tightly closed china cabinet. These places can store up heat and cause your eggs to expand, crack or explode.

Picture
FREQUENTLY ROTATE THE UN-DRAINED EGGS
6.  Undrained eggs should be rotated to allow for more even drying out. This  picture shows
Lemko style pysanky I wrote almost a
year ago...all undrained eggs. The metal stand, reminds me to rotate the eggs once a month (or whenever I think about it). You can see they are all presently standing on their ‘heads” (except for the bird motif egg). 
7.  IMPORTANT: I only apply one coat of
varnish to undrained eggs!  allowing the permeable shell to breathe through the thin coat.  Some Ukrainian pysankars rub a coat of vasaline instead of applying varnish!
8.  Even when the eggs appear to have dried out completely, continue to store pysanky in a well ventilated, cool (not cold), dry space.
Moisture may seep back through the pores of the eggs and sunlight could fade colors-both which can ruin your pysanky.


0 Comments
<<Previous

    Categories

    All
    Alcohol Lamp
    Aloe Vera
    Band Patterns
    Beginner Books
    Beginner Tip
    Beginner Worksheets
    Berehynia The Goddess
    Blue Mechanical Pencil
    Brushes
    Business Cards
    Candle
    Card Holder
    Church Symbols
    Class Drop Pull
    Class Photos
    Class Prep
    Class Set Up
    Clean Delrin Kistka
    Cleaning Eggs
    Cleaning Kistka Tips
    Color Combining
    Color Dye Samples
    Complex Patterns
    Cotton Gloves
    Cover Dye Mistakes
    Craigslist
    Craigslist Farm Eggs
    Cross Symbols
    Deer Patterns
    Demonstrate Patterns
    Demonstrating Pysanky
    Demonstration Set-up
    Designs
    Digital Frame
    Dirty Eggs
    Displaying Pysanky
    Dividing An Egg
    DIY
    DIY-Alcohol Burner
    Double Star Motif
    Double Wedding Ring Pattern
    Draining Egg
    Driapanka_scratch Eggs
    Drop Pull Prep
    Drop Pull Pysanky
    Drop Pull Stylus
    Drying Board
    Drying Varnish
    Drying With Silicone
    Dye Eggs
    Dyes
    Dyes In Ziploc Baggie
    Dye Storage Jars
    Egg Freshness
    Egg Ornaments
    Eggs
    Egg Sizes
    Egg Supports
    Egg Varieties
    Email Signup Sheet
    Ends Of Shell
    Erase Pencil Marks
    Eternity Bands
    Eternity Ribbons
    Farm Eggs Cleaning
    Fashion
    Filter Dyes
    Finger Blade Fiskar
    Finger Blade-Fiskar
    Finishing
    First Time Teachers
    Fiskars Finger Blade
    Fixing Mistakes
    Flower Motifs
    Flower Patterns
    Flyer For Class
    Funeral Pysanky
    Goddess Print Out
    Goddess Worksheet
    Goof Off Wipes
    Goo-gone
    Heat Gun
    Horodetsky Pattern
    How-to
    How To Make Drying Board
    Hungarian Motifs
    Images
    Instructions
    Japanese Washi Eggs
    Kista
    Kistka
    Kistka Case
    Kistka Stand
    Lathe
    Lathes Advanced
    Lemko Colors
    Lemko Pysanky
    Magnifier
    Manual Kistka
    Marking Dates On Eggs
    Meanders
    Measuring
    Measuring Tape
    Medallion Patterns
    Microbead Pillow
    Micro-brush
    Mixing Dyes
    Mop Brush
    Motifs-hungarian
    Newbie Tip
    New Url Address
    Non Photo Blue Pencil
    Non-photo Blue Pencil
    Old Kistka
    Packaging An Egg
    Paper Plate Practice
    Patterns
    Patterns-deer
    Patterns Wheat
    Pattern Wolves Teeth
    Pdf Files
    Pencil
    Pencil Marks
    Polish Floral Motifs_pdf
    Polish Pattern Books
    Practice Strokes
    Preparing For A Demonstration
    Proposal For Teaching
    Pysanky Books
    Pysanky Display
    Pysanky Ornaments
    Pysanky Table Cloth
    Raw Eggs
    Remove Dye
    Removing Wax
    Removing Wax In Oven
    Repeated Patterns
    Sanding Egg
    Scorched Egg
    Scratch Eggs
    Scratch Eggs Driapanka
    Scratch Eggs-driapanka
    Scratch Tools
    Seeping Contents
    Shipping An Egg
    Signature
    Silicone Suction Cups
    Smelly Eggs
    Sorbian Eggs
    Spots On Dyed Eggs
    Spray Varnish
    Spring Loaded Egg Holders
    Star Motif
    Storage
    Storing Replacement Tips
    Storing Supplies
    Storing Un Blown Eggs
    Storing Un-blown Eggs
    Stubborn Stains
    Stylus
    Supplies
    Symbols
    Teach Drop Pull
    Teach Drop-pull
    Teacher Tips
    Teach Pysanky?
    Templates
    Tips
    Tracing Circles
    Traditional Kistkas
    Transfer A Motif
    Trypillian Pattern
    Un-blown Eggs
    Using Older Eggs
    Varnish
    Varnishing Egg
    Video Frame
    Video Varnishing
    Vinyl Tape Measure
    Wash Back Color
    Washi Eggs
    Washing Back Color
    Wax Candle
    Wax Drip
    Wax Melter
    Wear Glove
    White Eraser
    Wicks
    Xacto
    Youtube
    Youtube Video

    Picture
    Picture




    On occasion I share images that come from other sources and do my best to provided artist credit and a link to them whenever possible. Should you use an image I've re-posted from another source, then please follow the "Terms of Use" from that image's creator/owner and give credit to the image's  originator.

    BLOG-TIPS
    by Maggie Tarris Bauer

    I am of Ukrainian and Polish ancestry, 2nd generation American, who grew up in an ethnic household and neighborhood in Passaic, NJ.   Keeping with tradition, I learned to write pysanky as a young girl and continue to work on my passion for pysanky.  I teach classes and demonstrate the art year-round.

    Archives

    December 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    July 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    August 2016
    February 2016
    April 2015
    September 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    August 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011

    RSS Feed

©2009-2019.    Content and all photographs are copyrighted and cannot be reproduced without prior permission of Maggie. Be advised all content is my work, except where noted.