More pysanky

A few weeks back I blogged about my first pysanky (Ukrainian Easter egg) attempt in years. It had turned out to be harder than I remembered and the first two eggs didn't come out as I'd wanted, but I assumed after the first few practice eggs I'd get the hang of it. Well, it seems that all my eggs this year were practice eggs, and I think it'll be a few more years until I'm happy with my pysanky.

One of the problems was the new-style kistka (stylus) I ordered had too fine a tip. It was too late to order a coarser one so I set about trying to make a traditional kistka myself, figuring thicker lines would be easier than very thin ones.

This is what I came up with (and this, first picture from top, is what an old-fashioned of kistka is supposed to look like). I whittled a hole in a dowel, inserted a small steel funnel, and fastened it with copper wire. I was going to buy a small piece of copper sheeting and roll it into a funnel shape but at Yuzawaya, a large craft supply store, I found a small leather punch that looked like it would do the job. It did, kind of: the opening at the bottom make a nice thick line, but it let so much wax through that it was a little hard to control. Still, not bad for a complete improvisation.

The coarse kistka allowed me to try a very simple traditional pysanky design, using just yellow, red and black dye. Pysanky uses a resist wax dying process similar to batik: drawing on a white egg with melted wax and soaking the egg in a dye bath will keep the covered sections of the egg white, and the process is repeated through several different colours of dye, with each new colour being covered up with more wax. When the design is complete, the wax is gently melted and wiped off the egg to reveal the colours that were trapped under the wax.

Realizing traditional pysanky might be a bit too difficult I tried some non-traditional designs, like the pink ume (Japanese apricot) above.

This very simple design of red ume on a black background was my favourite.

I also like this fish egg, and it was the most fun to do. On the front is a big scaly fish, and on the back:

The big fish is chasing (or is being chased by?) a school of tiny fish.

A close-up of the scales.

Almost all of the eggs, which had been boiled before I started, cracked in the oven while I was trying to melt off the wax, so they will be thrown away soon (before they start to stink). I'll be kind of sad to part with the ume and fish eggs, but it's a good thing the others were duds or I'd be pretty bummed.

Oh well, I have a whole year to practice. Hopefully by next Easter I will have gotten the hang of it!

Comments

[JoeInVegas]

These are very nice.
My mother used to make them, but with just the head of a pin stuck into a stick, not a tool like you had. She did not heat the eggs for wax removal, just used a warm cloth to rub. Sometimes she used to empty the eggs - make a small hole top and bottom and blow out the insides and washed out - so that the shells would then last a long time without the interrior to go bad, but easier to break when working with.

[kat]

wow! these are beautiful! Happy Easter!

[bunny]

You did a great job. The fishes are especially cool & the ume is gorgeous.

I was told way back when I started to either color raw eggs or blown eggs, but never boiled, because they would crack and/or rot and that they never last.
I have done hundreds of eggs and haven't had an issue with raw eggs. I have some that are pretty old, 15 years or more, that long-ago dried out and are now heavier-than-blown, but no longer liquid-y.
I turn my raw eggs periodically and the raw egg eventually dry out to coat the inside, which I was told makes them stronger and less likely to break.

[margo]

Hello again; I looove the fish egg and the japanese flower egg - so pretty!

I too, have always done pysanky with raw eggs. And I melt the wax off by holding the egg *very* carefully near the flame of the candle (not IN the flame but kind of near it), close enough for the wax to melt. Then I wipe that bit, rotate and do again.

Just another suggestion. It's a shame to have so much work crack!

[Gina]

WOW these are incredible...I esp love the fishy and purple egg. Well Done! :O)

[Hayley]

These are great! I am super impressed with the patience involved as much as the artistry :)

[mina]

I love the eggs you did, especially the "fish egg", so lovely!

[ioyces]

these eggs are beautiful!!! Love the fish one!! it looks like a
Mommy fish with all her new borns...

[Nate]

Nice! Real nice!

[Amy]

Thanks for the tips and compliments!

JoeInVegas, that must have been really time-consuming! I'd love to see her designs.

Bunny and Margo, I used to use raw eggs and blow them out but since it's been so long I was afraid that I'd accidentally break them when piercing the little holes. I'd totally forgotten that boiled eggs are easier to crack.

I also remember ruining a few eggs by melting the wax off with a candle-- I think I held them too close and they got sooty.

I guess I still have lots to learn. I can't wait until next year!

[Elle]

These eggs are beautiful.

[baboo]

Yo psankygal,

Excellent eggs!!! Like most of your correspondents I really liked the fish one and also the black-red one. While Easter came and went, we still have had more snow here. The willows are showing faint signs of life, but that might only be self-deception induced by our Little Ice Age this year. Certainly no daffodils or even crocus yet. Did you keep any of the shell shards from those eggs??

Baboo

[Amy]

Thank you Elle!

Thanks Babs. The eggs didn't completely break into pieces, they just have a few cracks. But I'll be throwing them away soon before they start to smell.

I sometimes check the Toronto Star website for news from home, and discovered a little gallery called "Signs of Spring" faturing readers' pictures. If you have a minute or two to check it out it might cheer you up-- there are more than a few crocuses (possums too): http://www.thestar.com/fpLarge/photo/350239

[Sarah]

Hi- When you do pysanky - you should never do it on a boiled egg. Use a raw egg or one that you have already blown.
If you blow the egg first, plug the hole with a bit of bees wax and then seal around the plug with your hot kitska.
To hold the blown egg under the dye, keep you spoon in the dye with the egg and then set a book or filled jar on top of the spoon on the top of hte jar