Natalie Brennan still remembers making Pysanky eggs when she was a little girl with her paternal grandmother, Anna Michaluk. Anna had emigrated from Ukraine in the early 1900s and brought with her the tradition of creating colorfully designed eggs.
Now, more than 50 years later, Brennan still is practicing the folk art, which is also deeply rooted in Easter. She will be teaching a workshop on the Ukrainian style Easter eggs beginning at 11:45 a.m. Sunday, March 2, at the Holy Protection Orthodox Church, in Dover.
The workshop is free to the public, and Brennan only asks that attendees bring one raw egg that has been soaked in warm water or vinegar for about 10 minutes. Brennan will supply all other materials.
“It is not very hard to learn; the technique is very simple,” Brennan said. “But, it does take practice to become good at it.”
And Brennan has had a lot of practice. When she worked alongside her grandmother many years ago, it was “quiet time.” Her grandmother often got lost in the intricate designs, leaving Brennan to experiment on her own.
Over the years, she went from mastering the basic colors like white, yellow, orange, red and black, to learning to work with pinks, blues and greens.
Now, Brennan has moved on to teaching. For about 40 years, she has traveled to churches, schools, libraries and more to teach. She got her start when her hometown high school teachers invited her to their art classes to share the cultural experience. Then she caught the eye of the U.S. Library of Congress American Folklife Center.
When they visited her church in Rhode Island to learn more about the folk art, they asked Brennan to do a video demonstration for the archives.
“In the 1970s and 1980s, folk art was big,” Brennan said. “They made it easy to document everything. I was privileged. I was humbled.”
Brennan also made eggs for the Library of Congress’ gift shop. From there, she received a National Endowment for the Arts Folk Art/Traveling Exhibition, “Hand to Hand, Heart to Heart,” and was featured at DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, Mass., and the Rhode Island Heritage Committee’s Folk Arts in Rhode Island Ethnic Festivals.
“The more you do it, the more you evolve, the better you get,” Brennan said.
Pysanky means “to write,” and the designs are written on the egg with wax, rather than painted. To create the designs, artists use the batik style, or wax-resist method. Beeswax must be used as candle wax flows too freely and will allow dye to seep through. The wax is melted in the kistka, a tool also used to apply wax to the egg. Artists then write the design on the egg with wax that acts as a sealant. The egg is then dyed a different color, and the process begins again.
Eggs are dyed from lightest to darkest. Before their were commercial dyes, families made their own dyes out of plants and food.
Pysanky is made during the last week of Lent, Holy Week in the Orthodox and Greek Catholic calendars. Brennan and many others display their eggs year-round. But, the eggs also are placed into baskets, along with Easter food to be blessed at the church.
“(My favorite part) is seeing the results,” Brennan said. “Sometimes, you really get surprised by the end result.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
IF YOU GO
Pysanky Eggs Workshop
WHEN: 11:45 a.m. Sunday, March 2
WHERE: Holy Protection Orthodox Church, 3820 Moores Lake Road, Dover
COST: Free
MATERIALS: Brennan asks attendees to bring one raw egg that has been soaked in warm water or vinegar for about 10 minutes. Brennan will supply all other materials.
CONTACT: (813) 719-6266
THEMES
Pysanky eggs are painted with symbols that convey a different theme.
Crown of Thorns: Worn by Jesus on the cross
Net: Suggests Christians as “Fishers of Men”
Crosses: Suffering, death and resurrection
Flowers: Beauty of nature, love, charity and good will
Evergreen Trees: Eternal youth
Roosters and Hens: Fertility, fulfillment of wishes
Deer, Horses and Rams: Wealth and prosperity
Wolf Teeth: Protection
Duck Feet: Soul or spirit
COLOR CODE
White: Purity
Yellow: Spirituality
Pink: Success
Orange: Attraction
Red: Love
Blue: Health
Green: Money
Brown: Happiness
Violet: High power
Black: Remembrance