This is my last blogpost about Ukrainian egg decorating for 2013. Next year I'm going to make even more complicated designs and share them. It's an addictive, relaxing, and creative process that's unlike any other medium. Here are some interesting facts that I recently learned thanks to the world wide web!
It's an ancient art form, dating back to the 3rd millenium BC.
In it's history, it is typical to create these eggs and give them to family members. The youngest of the family would receive the brightly colored eggs and the older family members received darker colored eggs. In addition, pysanky designs are chosen to match the character of the person whom the pysanka is to be given.
The oldest preserved pysanky egg ever found was discovered only 4 years ago, and dates back to the early Renaissance.
Most European ethnic groups make these eggs around Easter, and in some cultures, the woman of the house must make up to 60 eggs by Holy Thursday.
The Vegreville egg is a giant sculpture of a pysanka egg. It is the largest pysanka in the world, located in Alberta, Canada. The software created to guide the lasers which cut the Pysanka's tiles was purchased and used for the cutting of the exterior tiles of the space shuttle.
Ukrainian women would meditate for an entire day before making one and the patterns and colors would be carefully thought out in order to bear wishes for things such as health in the coming year, hopes for a good harvest and religious blessings.
I hope you have a wonderful Easter, and I look forward to possibly teaching some Pysanky classes next year at a community college or a Michaels/AC Moore in the Ocean County area. It's a wonderful art form to work with and I can't wait to share that next year.
