Celebrate the United States' Semiquincentennial birthday by making a red, white and blue egg using the ancient Ukrainian pysanky materials of beeswax and dye. Participate along with Shannon to divide your egg into sorokoklyn 48 triangles, and then fill the triangles with patriotic stars and stripes, learning how to "wash back" between the red and the blue dye colors.
List of supplies:
- white egg
- pencil
- measuring device (flexible tape measure/compass/paper strips)
- medium kistka/pysachok
- extra fine kistka/pysachok
- beeswax
- any red dye that isn't too orange
- any blue dye that isn't too turquoise
- something to wash egg back to white (ivory dishsoap/vinegar/Mrs. Meyer's spray/Dawn Powerwash/bleach spray/dishsoap)
- cup of vinegar for dipping an egg into
- soft toothbrush
- glove to keep hand clean
Where to buy supplies
Dyes, stylus (kistka), and beeswax can be purchased online at the UOCofUSA Gift Shop or in person at 135 Davidson Avenue / Somerset, NJ 08873
Zoom link will be emailed 24 hours prior to the event.
About Shannon Wallis: Shannon is a former nursery school and art teacher who has been writing pysanky in Vermont since 1994, when she learned the technique from another art teacher. While Shannon has no Ukrainian or Eastern European ancestry, she has fallen in love with pysanky as an art form and finds both the traditional and modern designs enticing, especially when they involve geometry. Shannon sells her pysanky and batik eggs online and at various galleries and craft shows, and loves teaching people how to lay out complicated divisions onto their eggs.
Download event flier (35.95 MB)