Pysanky (Ukrainian Easter Egg) Online Class Basic Design 1  Finish
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PYSANKY CLASS -- DESIGN 1   FINISH

Final Color Pysanky Tutorial on http://www.allthingsukrainian.com
FIGURE 31

STEP 15      FINAL COLOR


This is your final color. This color will be the background  for all of the designs drawn  We choose  the all covering black (FIGURE 31). Some of the completed lines are showing through the wax, but are sealed and will not be affected by the dye in this step. This will be your longest duration in the dye, averaging about 10 minutes or more. Make sure all of the previous color has been covered.  Other popular  last colors are dark red, purple or royal blue. Let this dry very well before the next step. If you can give it 30 minutes or longer, all the better. 
 

Final Color Pysanky Tutorial on http://www.allthingsukrainian.com
FIGURE 32
Final Color Pysanky Tutorial on http://www.allthingsukrainian.com
FIGURE 33
Final Color Pysanky Tutorial on http://www.allthingsukrainian.com
FIGURE 34
Final Color Pysanky Tutorial on http://www.allthingsukrainian.com
FIGURE 35
Final Color Pysanky Tutorial on http://www.allthingsukrainian.com
FIGURE 36

STEP 16    REMOVE THE WAX FROM PYSANKY

This is the most enjoyable part of the process. All the work will now be revealed in glory if you executed your design well.  Before you start, there are a few decisions to be made. If you are sticking to tradition, not blowing out your egg, this is the last step. Another option is to go ahead and blow out your egg prior to removing the wax. The reason being that if you splatter some egg or water on the egg at this step, it can be rinsed off, the hole plugged and then put back into the final dye again.  However, if you are doing a class with a large group, that method gets to be a little problematic. For this class, we are going to use the candle to melt off the wax. There are other methods that will be explored later on the site. First tear off about 3 feet of tissue paper and wrap it into a small pad (similar to how you would normally do this function with toilet paper). Then in your other hand hold the egg as in FIGURE 32.  You want to use the middle part of the flame. Too high will cause your egg to turn black with soot. Too low and you will scrape the wick and pick up wax from the candle. Choose a place on the egg that has wax applied and pass it slowly through the flame (FIGURE 33). Always keep it moving. Pausing in the flame will cook the contents near the shell, building pressure inside the egg, forcing liquid out through the pores. You can tell its hot enough by quickly examining the wax. It will begin to liquefy and glisten (FIGURE -34). When you see this, quickly wipe the molten wax from the egg with the tissue to reveal the artwork beneath (FIGURE 35). Move to another part of the egg and repeat the process. Better to spread out the heating of the egg as opposed to concentrating the heat on one side of the egg. You will be finished when all of the wax is removed from the egg   (FIGURE 36).
CLICK HERE to see how to blow out the egg

STEP 17  BLOW OUT THE EGG


Most commercial  eggs from grocery stores have thin shells. If you want to allow the inside to dry out , place the egg in a safe place where it won't get broken and if it explodes, it won't stink you out of the house. It will take months and months to dry out, depending on the temperature. Rotate it every few weeks.   We recommend blowing out the egg using our Aunt Marge's Egg Blower    
 

CLICK HERE to see a demonstration  on how to Varnish your Pysanky

STEP 18  VARNISH  YOUR PYSANKY


Last and final step. In Ukraine, the artist would typically just rub some linseed oil onto the shell to protect the dyes from moisture. However, modern day  oil based Polyurethane produces a remarkable sheen and strengthens the shell. CLICK HERE to see our method for varnishing your Pysanky
 

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Page last revised 2/24/2006