Eggs

The elaborate eggs found at the artist’s studio are from an ancient
Ukrainian technique called Pysanka, which translated means “to
write on”. This method is a wax-resist method used with intensely
colored dyes. There are a variety of eggs that are available, such
as goose, brown, white and green chicken, duck and ostrich. Emu
eggs are also used, but require an acid-etching process to reveal
the natural color of the shell. The wax tool used for writing on the
egg with bees wax is called a kitska.

The eggs are emptied of their content and allowed to air dry. A
design is lightly drawn on with pencil and the first waxing is “painted”
on. Everything covered by the wax will resist the rest of the
sequential dye baths. The majority of the designs are worked from
lightest to darkest dye. When the final background color is
achieved, the wax is melted away to reveal the design. The egg is
then given several coats of an acrylic gloss spray with a Ultra-violet
inhibitor. (We still advise that the eggs not be displayed in direct
sunlight)