Pysanky is a traditional Easter egg craft in Ukraine, where patterns are drawn on eggs with wax, and the egg is dipped and dyed in different colours. The term Pysanky comes from the Ukrainian verb “pysaty” which means “to write.” Actually there are many different types of egg decorating that happens in Ukraine in addition to Pysanky Krashanky, Krapanky, Malyovanky, Nakleyanky, and Lystovky just to name a few
(you can learn about them HERE!)
Ukrainians have been making Pysanky for generations. Traditionally, they were created to call out to the gods for good crops, health, wealth, and love. The symbols and colours on Pysanky are very important, and have special meanings. Traditional dyes were made using natural plant ingredients found in the different regions of Ukraine. Check out some of these beautiful examples of traditional Pysanky.
Watch these video clips to see a couple of Pysanky Artists in Action!!!
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Reschenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacco Old Babushka, known throughout all of Moskva for her beautifully painted eggs, is preparing her eggs for the Easter Festival when she takes in an injured goose. She names the goose Rechenka, and they live happily together until one day when Rechenka accidentally overturns a basket, breaking all of Babushka's lovingly crafted eggs. But the next morning Babushka has a surprise awaiting her in the basket. She cries: "A miracle!" It is one of many in this charmingly told tale of friendship and caring. | Listen to the story of Babushka and Reschenka and their beautiful eggs... |
Listen to Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco | Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco After being initiated into a neighbor's family by a solemn backyard ceremony, a young Russian American girl and her African American brothers' determine to buy their gramma Eula a beautiful Easter hat. But their good intentions are misunderstood, until they discover just the right way to pay for the hat that Eula's had her eye on. A loving family story woven from the author's childhood. |
Let's Begin the Project!
Option 1 This is a BLANK EGG TEMPLATE that allows you to create your own PSYANKY Designs. | Option 2 This is a COMPLETE EGG TEMPLATE that already has traditional Pysanky Designs you can trace. |
Using a PERMANENT MARKER trace the outline of your egg on the coffee filter. You can then decide if you want to trace all or part of the designs provided, or CREATE YOUR OWN! We created 6 eggs, 3 were from the designs provided on the template and 3 were designs we created on our own. Be sure to check out the handout with some traditional PYSANKY Symbols
Using WASHABLE MARKERS add some color to your eggs. You can either color very carefully and in control, or you can scribble. The entire coffee filter will eventually be full of color as you can see in the next step.
Step 6: Spray with water With the spray bottle filled with water, gently spray your coffee filters. You will want to have them on top of another sheet of paper or cardboard so that the color doesn't leak onto anything important. NOTICE how the colors begin to spread and mix the instant the water hits the filter. |
Step 7 (OPTIONAL): Create Frames for your Eggs If you have any extra black or colored paper lying around you can use your templates to help create frames for your eggs. We cut out the templates and traced them. If you choose to do this step, you can create your frames while your coffee filters are drying. |
Step 8: Cut out your Eggs If you did not create a frame for you egg the last step is to simply cut them out and display them in a window. The coffee filter will let the sunlight shine through to make your colors and designs really POP! If you DID choose to create a frame, you will see that we left a little space around our eggs when we cut them out. This is where we put the glue when attaching our frame. Take a look at our finished project! Just in time for Easter! |
Don't forget to share your creations with Mrs. Castellano