They’re not your ordinary dyed Easter eggs.
About a dozen crafters, many of them novices, came to Greensburg on Saturday to try their hands at turning white eggshells into intricately designed, multi-colored orbs of art by practicing the Eastern European tradition of pysanky.
“For me, it’s a way of connecting with the heritage,” said Sharon Bratton of Murrysville, who led a pysanky class at her 12th Octave Studios. “It’s a way of helping to preserve the tradition.”
Bratton has Ukrainian roots on her father’s side and recently made a pysanky egg with three crosses for her 95-year-old aunt.
When she creates them for herself or as an example for her students, she said, “I like to do random designs.”
Bratton has imported traditional kistka tools from Ukraine. The wooden stem supports a brass funnel that is heated over a flame and used to draw a design on an eggshell using beeswax.
The egg is dipped into a series of dyes, in sequence from lighter colors to darker colors, with the wax protecting areas where the new layer of dye isn’t meant to go.
“You have to think through what color each specific thing is going to be,” Bratton said.
That was the biggest challenge for Colleen Kingerski of Harrison City, who wanted to learn the art of pysanky to express her mixed Ukrainian and Polish heritage.
She admired the eggs created by her late mother, Donna Doman, when she was young.
“I’ve seen her beautiful eggs on display, but I’d never tried to do one myself,” Kingerski said. “I at least want to give it a try in her memory.”
She chose to create a red floral design on a black background.
It was the third time practicing pysanky for her daughter, Taylor, 20, who created eggs when she was in high school and as an activity with a Ukrainian club she belongs to at the University of Pittsburgh, where she’s majoring in anthropology.
“I’m trying to be very precise with my hands,” said Taylor, who used the wax to draw a series of small stars and dots on her egg.
Julia Sefcheck of Scottdale is an old hand at creating pysanky eggs, having learned the art, along with other family members, from her aunt.
“I did them all throughout high school,” she said.”Then I got away from it for a little bit. A couple of years ago I got back into it.”
With a heritage that combines Ukrainian, Polish and Irish strands, Sefcheck adorned her intricate egg with several traditional designs — including an art motif symbolizing wheat and a poppy-like floral design associated with joy and beauty.
Even with her years of experience, Sefcheck said she continues to draw inspiration from the eggs crafted by others.
At Saturday’s class, she picked up a useful trick: using a corn-on-the-cob holder to create the small punctures required to blow out the yolk and white from inside the eggs that will become her canvas.
“Before, I used a Dremel tool,” she said. “That can be brutal. It’s a little bit too big.”
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.
