Pysanky are Easter eggs decorated with traditional Ukrainian folk designs using a wax-resists method. The word pysanka comes from the verb pysaty, meaning “to write” or “to inscribe,” as the designs are not painted on, but written with beeswax.

 

The process begins with a clean, raw, room-temperature egg. A tool called a kistka, or stylus, is used for writing on the egg. You begin by scooping beeswax into the back of the kistka and hold it against a four-inch tapered lit candle. Once the wax is melted, you draw your design onto the bare egg. Then, with the wax preserving its color, you place the egg into a dye. When you are finished, you hold the egg by the flame and allow the wax to drip off. When you wipe off the residual, you’ll reveal a beautifully colored Pysanka!

 

Thank you to Culture Club moderator and social studies teacher, Ms. Trish Carleton; the Salewycz Family; and all the students who attended in-person and virtually to create their own gorgeous Pysanky.