The intricate and ancient art of creating Ukrainian Easter eggs lives on in the basement of SS. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 21 Evergreen St., Lyndora.

There, on Saturday, Adriane Hassler of Saxonburg was showing her daughter, Marlenna, as well as Zackary, Nicholas and Seth Prokopchak, how to apply beeswax to eggs before dyeing them, an introduction to the art of pysanky (pronounced pi sun kee or pi sun ka).

Hassler said the pysanky maker draws designs on the eggs with wax with a device called a kistka. As the kistka is heated over a candle, its cup melts and scoops up the beeswax which drains down a hollow tube to the egg's surface.

The wax keeps the dye from sticking to the eggs.

The egg is repeatedly dyed different colors, from lighter to darker hues.

“You use raw eggs. If you didn't, when you put it in the water with the dye in it, it would float on the water if you had gotten the yolk out,” Hassler said.

Once all the dyeing is finished, the wax is heated and removed. The egg is then treated with wax or shellac.

Then, said Hassler, a hole is made on either end of the egg, the yolk is pierced with a pin and then blown out the egg.

Hassler said she has been making pysanky for 40 years, learning the art from her mother.

“It can be done all year 'round, but I do it at Easter.”

Depending on your skill, she added, it can take up to five days to finish a pysanky.

Hassler said you can pick the basics up in session or two. “It depends on how good you are.”

Marlenna said that it didn't come easily to her, “especially since I don't have as steady a hand.”

Kathy Sheptak, a member of SS. Peter and Paul, said the church has a large collection of pysanky eggs, many from the estate of the late Marian Wetick, a longtime church member.

Sheptak said the word pysanky is derived from the verb “pysaty,” which means to write or to inscribe, as the designs are not painted on the eggs, but written (inscribed) with beeswax.

“People make these every year when the Lenten period starts,” Sheptak said. “Everybody gets out their dyes.”

Originally, dyes for coloring the eggs were derived from nature like leaves, beets, onion-skins, indigo and brazil wood. Present day pysanky writers use chemical dyes.

Eggs used in creating pysanky include: chicken, goose and ostrich. Other mediums include wood carved and ceramic pysanky.

But the egg remains central to the pysanky, said Sheptak. The egg can symbolize rebirth.

“Christ was placed in a tomb and out of that tomb comes Resurrection,” she said.

Symbols used

Symbols used on pysanky include fish, a common symbol for Christ and for Christians. An 8-pointed star is also a symbol of Christ and can also represent flowers.

Sheptak said another common symbol on pysanky is pussy willows.

“In Ukraine, Palm Sunday is known as Willow Sunday,” she said. “Palms don't grow in Ukraine, but the pussy willow is the first plant to come up in the spring.”

There are a myriad of images and symbols that appear on pysanky, she said.The heart is associated with love, warmth and affection for others.The butterfly is a symbol of change and a symbol of the Resurrection of Christ.Horses, deer and rams all represent wealth and prosperity. Grapevines signify the good fruits of the Christian life. Grapes and wheat represent Holy Communion.Grapes also express strong loyal love, according to Sheptak.The Tree of Life symbolizes creation, while oak leaves and acorns show strength.Churches symbolize the house of worship where people gather to express their love for God.Floral designs are used in the hope of a safe return of spring. Pine trees symbolize eternal youth and health.Storks, hens, roosters and sparrows are always depicted at rest. The fruition of the egg is symbolic of fertility and the fulfillment of wishes.Solid lines around the pysanky represent no beginning/no ending and is called the “endless line” which represents eternity. Circles on a pysanky represent the sun and is a symbol of good fortune.Sheptak said the national flower of Ukraine is the sunflower, which is frequently drawn on the eggs. But Ukrainians also love poppies, so this is another flower which often appears on pysanky.Pysanky designs vary depending on the Ukrainian province from which they originate.Library displaySheptak said she used to make pysanky herself when she was younger but now she claims her hands aren't steady enough to trace out the complicated designs in wax.Instead, she put together a display of pysanky at the Butler Area Public Library, 218 N. McKean St. The egg art is in the second-floor display case in the stairway just outside the reference library. Examples include wooden pysanky and an ostrich egg painted as a pysanky.Peter Bess, the assistant library director, said Sheptak approached him last fall about putting together the display.“She asked if she could put together a display,” Bess said. “We are open to whatever as long as it fits into the library's mission of education.”“She did put together the whole thing. It's beautiful. She did a great job,” he said.The library is closed until the end of the month because of the novel coronavirus 2019 pandemic.But the pysanky will still be able to be viewed when the library's doors reopen, an enduring symbol of renewal.

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