Heal Thy Egg

For some reason, probably because I'm lucky, or maybe because we crafters and artists are everywhere, I now have two doctors with whom I can share my interest in making things. You may remember my prior post about sharing a crafty interest with my gynecologist. And yesterday, I made Easter eggs with my dentist!

As chronicled in my previous post, I was lucky enough to be invited to learn how to paint eggs the Ukrainian way. My dentist and I were talking about crafting, and she offered to teach me a craft I've been wanting to learn for awhile, now. I mean, look at these fabulous things!


For a really informative and beautiful discussion about painted eggs, visit this post by Pam Harris of the always-rewarding holiday craft site Gingerbread Snowflakes. With that as my introduction, I had a wonderful time. Here are some photos of yesterday's class!


Our host provided us a lovely array of snacks, including homemade Ukrainian bread, which she is slicing, here.

These are the jars of dye, and the spiked tray used to catch the melted wax in the final step.

A plethora of painted eggs from years past. She also offered numerous books about egg painting.

First, we draw the guidelines for a traditional Ukrainian design. On one of the plates is a tealight candle for heating the bowl of the tistka, which transfers the lines of wax to the eggs. The wax resists the dyes in successive steps in creating the design. The first lines of wax will resist the first yellow color, leaving the original white of the egg in those lines when the wax is removed.

Two eggs in the yellow dye, and another egg waiting for the bath!

This is my egg after the orange dye. More lines of wax have been applied to save not only the original white eggshell lines, but the yellow dye of the previous step.

My egg after the red dye. This red dye will be the color on the star, so we apply wax to fill in the points and resist the final dye, the black.

My egg after the black dye. The star has wax applied to it. Some of the wax is thin enough that the red shows through, but it has still resisted the black dye. Now that the last dye has been applied, all the applications of wax is melted off in the toaster oven.

My egg goes into its final Olympic maneuver.

Here is another student's egg, after having been in the oven, and having the melted wax partially rubbed off with a towel. The red color, as well as the whites and yellows, comes out vibrantly against the black.

And here's my first Ukrainian egg! I look forward to practicing more, and getting those wavy lines straight, and trying out more of the traditional designs and icons used through Eastern Europe. From the books and magazines I browsed during class, I have a feeling there's a LOT more to learn.


Next up: Chris asks her podiatrist what he makes in his crafting studio.