Can you imagine the beauty of Pysanky (pie-SAHN-key) Eggs on your fireplace mantle? Emily Blakely, owner and artisan of Baba's Eggs, has been making Pysanky Eggs for about three years, and she does some absolutely stunning work!
Pysanky Eggs are Easter eggs that are decorated with traditional Ukrainian folk art using a wax-resist/dye method. The word "pysanka" comes from the verb "pysaty," which means "to write" or "to inscribe." These eggs are not painted on, but rather written on (inscribed) onto the egg using a stylus and beeswax. This method has been used for centuries in the Ukraine.
Emily uses a traditional wood and copper stylus, called a "kistka," to write a design on an egg in melted beeswax. Once the egg is complete (typically after two to four dyes), she melts off the wax, revealing the design, and varnishes the egg.
A traditional Pysanka is a whole egg, but Emily empties and cleans hers, so there is no danger of the egg rotting and exploding. She most commonly uses chicken eggs, but she has also done duck eggs, goose eggs, and peewee eggs (the first small, yolkless eggs lain by a juvenile hen).
Each egg takes her between three and six hours from start to finish!
Here are some more of the beautiful Pysanky Eggs Emily has made:
If you would like to learn more about the process of making these eggs, you can watch a video at this link: https://youtu.be/_a8KHwp5VZk
We are so blessed to have Emily at the show this year. Be sure and come see the beautiful eggs she makes!