The art of Pysanky: traditional egg decorating from Europe

[evannakita@mastodon.online]

@globalmuseum I used to do this with my mom when I was a kid! I was never *nearly* this good at it; it's really hard to keep the wax steady.

[deborahh@cosocial.ca]

@globalmuseum @CorinnaBaldauf thank you!

[aadmaa2@mathstodon.xyz]

@evannakita @globalmuseum Sooo cool and a beautiful result. What's the black inky dip made with?

[catmisgivings@stranger.social]

@globalmuseum

[tazpoltorak@fosstodon.org]

@globalmuseum This is a very cool example. Pysanka workshops are organised at least in the Ukrainian club in London, and I am sure that other places do this too. It's amazing to paint a real egg of course, but you can do it on a wooden form. Then you put them into your Easter basket.

Dyeing a hardboiled egg is somewhat different, you just boil it with a food dye. I onced airbrushed duck eggs with cake paint, in the colours of the Ukrainian flag and that worked too,

[evannakita@mastodon.online]

@aadmaa2 @globalmuseum I have no idea how the dyes are made, I'm afraid! I think my mom just got them in premade packets that we just put in water.

[d1@autistics.life]

@globalmuseum Here's one I made.

[loganfive@beige.party]

@globalmuseum
#AltText It’s really an amazing video showing a nail used to make a small hole to release the yolk of an egg, followed by several designs put on the egg followed by dipping in a color. Then more etch a sketch type designs followed by more dipping. It’s dipped like three or four times in colors, the last being black. And then someone, because of how it’s laid out, it’s held up to a candle and all the colors and designs reveal themselves. It’s quite amazing.

[calcius@hol.ogra.ph]

@globalmuseum@mastodon.online

the video led me to look into this

Pysanky – The art of the decorated egg, or the pysanka (from the Ukrainian verb pysaty, to write), dates back to ancient times.


The practice originated in the prehistoric Trypillian culture. Tales reveal that the Peoples who lived in the region (now known as Ukraine) worshipped the sun. They believed that it was the source of all life, as it warmed the earth and allowed all to grown and flourish underneath it. Eggs decorated with nature symbols were chosen for sun worship ceremonies and became an integral talisman of spring rituals.

https://www.archaeologynow.org/blog/the-ancient-story-of-pysanky

[lies_das@digitalcourage.social]

@globalmuseum ilike

[olivercocker@mstdn.social]

@globalmuseum wow, gorgeous!

[anke@social.scribblers.club]

@LoganFive @globalmuseum
Clarification: The designs are drawn using wax, so the following dye-dips don't colour the parts that were drawn on.
The last step is removing the wax by heating with a candle flame and wiping with a cloth.

[hans_martin@ruhr.social]

@globalmuseum Beautiful! You should also have a look at sorbian easter eggs. A few years ago we were able to take part in a workshop where the tradition was shown.

[softwaretheron@mas.to]

@globalmuseum
Nice. So, a sort of inverted lost-wax technique?

[aadmaa2@mathstodon.xyz]

@evannakita @globalmuseum No worries!

[lizzard@social.tchncs.de]

@globalmuseum one of the best things here besides the amazing craftsmanship is the idea of using a syringe to blow air in and push the egg insides out (instead of using your own mouth and lungs which is exhausting and not fun!)

[lizzard@social.tchncs.de]

@aadmaa2 @evannakita @globalmuseum don't know what they use here, but I get good results from gel food colors, such as the ones bakeries use. Very intense!

Even better if you wipe the egg shell with a bit of vinegar before coloring, because the surface will be a bit more open to the color. Don't overdo that though; otherwise colors will be spotty.

[lizzard@social.tchncs.de]

@d1 @globalmuseum the knot! I'm in awe of your steady hands and patience.

[lizzard@social.tchncs.de]

@globalmuseum I have a question for people who know how to do this: how do you manage to color the egg all the way around equally? I always have problems with eggs not being under water completely.

[joy_intl@mastodon.online]

@globalmuseum If you'd like your own wooden pysanka, here's a boutique in France- they ship to Europe too (not sure about further abroad) and it supports kids in Chernobyl! Great cause

Boutique - Les Enfants de Tchernobyl - La boutique

Décorez votre sapin de Noël avec des pysanky peints main en Ukraine.Vous soutenez ainsi nos projets en faveur des enfants Ukrainiens vivant dans les villages des zones contaminées.Les pysanky sont dotés d’un petit anneau afin de permettre de les suspendre à votre sapin. Mise à jour fev 2025

Les Enfants de Tchernobyl - La boutique (boutique.lesenfantsdetchernobyl.fr)