Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Ukrainian art and culture will be combined at the Lennox and Addington Museum and Archives on March 3 where artists from Spark Box Studio will be on hand to teach the traditional custom of Pysanky egg decorating.
Dating back to the pre-Christian era, the custom is still practiced today around the Easter holiday.
“Essentially it is a wax drawing process,” explains Chrissy Poitras of Spark Box Studio, who will be helping with the workshop. “You apply wax to the surface of the egg using a traditional drawing tool, which is supplied during the workshop. After you have drawn an element you dip the egg in a colourful dye. Following that you can draw again hiding your first colour under the wax. You would then dip the egg in a different coloured dye and repeat this process until you were happy with the number of colours you have on your egg. After, you melt the wax off the egg to reveal your design and all the beautiful colours hidden under the wax. It is a lovely process and creates some pretty amazing eggs.”
Artist Oksana Hawrylak will also be on hand to lead the workshop, bringing with her examples of some of her creations as well as delving deeper into the history surrounding the tradition.
Poitras says one of the nice things about this form of art is it is very much open to interpetation. Artists are free to experiment with any design they see fit without having to adhere to any guidelines. That can make for intricate, colourful egg designs or minimalistic, simple creations.
Everything needed for the workshop will be supplied by Spark Box Studio. For anyone who wants to continue creating at home, they will have kits for sale.
The kits that are available are the drawing tools, beeswax, and the dyes,” said Poitras. “Essentially all the elements you need to create your own eggs at home.”
She adds that the process is very easily repeatable at home once they offer a step-by-step walkthrough.
The workshop is open to anyone 14 or older. The cost is $35 per person. Anyone wishing to attend must pre-register by calling 613-354-3027. The workshop will run from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
The Pysanky workshop is the first of a new series of Heritage Art Workshops that will be taking place at the Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives this spring. Upcoming workshops will be needle felting (April 7) and gord art (May 5).