This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Arts & Entertainment

Women Learn Ukranian Tradition of Egg Decorating at Our Lady of Calvary Retreat Center

Group discovers traditions of pysanky

A light beneath the darkness. The hidden promise of new life. A meditative time to pray for a loved one. Making a Pysanky egg is laden with symbolism and tradition dictates they be made in a particular way. In preparation for Easter’s arrival, women gathered at Our Lady of Calvary Retreat Center to learn from Adele Kasinskas how to make the intricate eggs.

Kasinskas has been making the Ukranian decorated eggs for years, and holding workshops to share the art at Our Lady of Calvary for almost 20 years. She learned to make them in the Lithuanian tradition as a child from her mother and the Ukranian customs later from a friend.

In the Ukranian tradition a stylus is used to apply hot wax to the shell of a raw egg, creating intricate designs on the shell. The artist holds the tip of the stylus to a flame, then presses it into solid wax, then draws the wax across the egg. After each layer of wax, the egg is dipped in dye. The process is repeated until the design, with many layers of color, is complete. The eggs are then held close to a flame to melt the wax, which is rubbed off with a cloth, revealing the design below the blackened wax.

Find out what's happening in Farmingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I always admired the way they’re done,” said Angela Caravaca, of Kensington, who was given a psyanky egg years ago. “I treasure it. It’s so beautiful.”

Emily Kelaher, of Farmington, has blown Easter eggs before, but not made pysanky.

Find out what's happening in Farmingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I’m a yoga teacher and I find this very meditative,” she said.

 The women commented on how painstaking the process of applying the wax is and how much patience it requires. Kasinskas said that is what makes it a spiritual process.

“Traditionally this would have been done in silence and you would pray while you work for the person who would receive the egg,” she said.

One very quiet and focused participant was Ashley Romano, 10, of Plainville. Her grandmother Linda Fields, said Ashley is the artist in the family.

“I said ‘come on Ashley, Grandma wants to learn how to do this; let’s learn,’” Fields explained as Ashley carefully worked on her egg.

Martha Obando, of West Hartford, had a Lithuanian roommate in college who invited her to decorate eggs with her family each year before Easter, but the process was much easier, she said.

“I’ve always wanted to learn to do this.”

Most of the women were looking forward to taking their eggs home to display something of beauty they had made and some, to try it again, either at next year’s workshop of on their own.

Kasinskas said dye and a stylus could be purchased either online or in some local craft stores.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?