[Chicago] Pysanka workshop@Ukrainian National Museum

The professional collection

I first heard about pysanka at the Chicago  Open House 2014, when I visited the Ukrainian National Museum in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood. To be honest, I was more excited about the ornate churches in the neighborhood at that time. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this little museum. The staff was super-friendly, and the collection was quite interesting. I have to admit I'm rather ignorant about that part of the world, so I learned something as I walked through the museum.

One thing that stood out for me was the collection of beautiful pysanky. I couldn't take my eyes off of the eggs with beautiful vibrant colors and intricate designs. So when I saw the signup sheet about future pysanka workshops, I jumped at the opportunity.

 Fast forward to February 2015, as soon as I saw the pysanka workshop newsletter, I dragged Dave with me on the first weekend of March that was starting to feel just a little bit like spring. It was a pretty big class of about 20 participants, some of which have already done this before. Dave was one of two guys present. haha~

At each station, there was a collection of pencils, a tealight, a piece of black beeswax and a wax stylus. Anna, our instructor, very patiently explained the steps multiple times to the group. Basically, we're supposed to heat up the metal part of the stylus so it's hot enough to melt the beeswax. We use the back of the stylus to fill up on molten beeswax and use the tip to draw designs on eggs. Yes, you heard it right, regular chicken eggs, complete with white & yolk inside. Anna said she spent quite a bit of time picking through the eggs at the supermarket to find ones that are without blemishes. She also started us off nicely by quartering the eggs with light pencil lines. If you've never done it before, I can tell you right now: it's difficult to draw straight lines on a curved surface like an egg!

Pysanky are made by drawing designs on the egg with wax, then dyeing them to various colors. You repeat the process to make the design multicolored. Since we're beginners, we use pencils to start our designs, then we go over it with wax. These lines will end up white as the egg is not yet dyed.

The first layer of color is yellow. After the dye air-dries (which happens within minutes), you add on to your design. Whatever wax lines you draw at this point will be yellow. I stuck with the given design, but many people went the creative route. Don't forget to do both sides of the egg! Also be careful about wax "blobs", which is an unexpected blob that can seriously alter your design. This was actually my "good" side...there were a lot more blobs on the other side :'( Anna says the best way to deal with blobs is to add more blobs to make them look intentional :)

I skipped a few steps in my pictures because I was trying to focus. Underneath the red I also had smudges of orange and green. After dyeing it red, I realized my star was too small, so I added more hearts, because red hearts are a no-brainer.
Honestly, I think it looks pretty good already with the contrast between red dye and black wax!

Dave went creative and gave his egg two different designs on the two sides.

Dave's egg, next step

The final layer of color was black. once this dries, the eggs were dipped in molten, colorless candlewax to protect them while Anna drains the inside. Yes, you have to do this, because if you don't, six months later, the eggs will explode and spray rotten egg juice everywhere. She used a small drill to drill small holes on the top & bottom of the egg, scramble the yolk (carefully!) with a toothpick and a small motor to blow it all out. You can use your mouth too, but I think the motor is a better way to go. This is the most time-consuming & messy part, so I took a few pictures and went back to my workstation to munch on some pizza.

After draining the eggs, it's time to remove the wax. They are placed on a towel and into a 325 degree oven for a few minutes, just long enough for the wax to melt so it can be wiped off.

The final reveal: everyone was very creative!

Dave's with various designs on each side

My pysanka

Dave's sideview

 This has got to be one of my favorite events. The workshop cost $35 and includes breakfast bites, coffee & juice and pizza lunch. We ended up buying two pysanka kits from the museum office afterwards, thinking this would be excellent raining day activity. We'll see if I ever get around to doing that. But I'd highly recommend anyone interested to like the museum's facebook page so they get notified of upcoming workshops. Jump on it when you do, because these filled up fast!

Ukrainian National Museum

2249 W Superior St

Chicago, IL

(312) 421-8020