Ask us anything about pysanky—tradition and symbolism

Ask us anything about pysanky—tools, technique, tradition and more . . . . To share our knowledge, our team of experts draws on not only our heritage, but also over 30 years teaching pysanky to all ages and levels of experience since 1991. Today's dialogue is on tradition and symbolism.

Question –  What is the traditional Ukrainian pysanka symbol for health? 

Answer – Evergreens or pine needles. 

For more on traditional symbols, check out our Book Preview of My First Pysanka—Symbols my Baba taught me by pysanky expert Joan Brander on our YouTube Channel Playlist here.

We believe that pysanky is a fun activity. We embrace “Panya Pysanka”, our cool, hip, and whimsical mascot character who follows us on social media to help promote pysanky.

#PanyaPysanka #AskUsAnything #JoanBrander #BabasBeeswax

Tuesday Tips for pysanky — displaying

Our Tuesday Tips for Pysanky. What’s your learning style? is it listening (we have a podcast), is it watching (we have a YouTube channel), is it doing (we have a tutorial), is it online (we have digital resources), or is it reading (we have unique publications). We’ve been doing all this and more since 1991 and this year we’re celebrating our 30^th anniversary! Learning pysanky is easy, fun and affordable. Continuing in our FB series we have Tips and Troubleshooting for eggs, beeswax, kistka, dyes, candles, pencil guidelines, removing beeswax, emptying your eggs, varnishing your pysanky, using a drying board, displaying your pysanky and more . . . .

Types of eggs — today’s Tip is that you can use whole raw eggs or empty eggshells. For a full list of pros and cons, see  our free handout here. There’s also similar topics elsewhere in this blog.

Our team has you covered. You can trust the experts at Baba’s Beeswax. Our Mission is to provide you with everything you need to make beautiful pysanky the traditional way from pysanky supplies and kits to workshops and books. Our Vision is to inspire and encourage beginners, experts, and anyone interested in Ukrainian egg decorating to discover the magic of one of the great traditions of all time—PYSANKY!

#BabasBeeswax #TuesdayTipsAndTroubleshooting #PysankySupplies

A Pysanka Poem Worth Sharing

Joan's been up to her literary ramblings again . . . . some literary works to enjoy. 

This poem, Pysanky – Writing Easter Eggs, by Margaret I. Gibson appeared in Ukrainska Dumka in 2008 and is also found here.

Pysanky - Writing Easter Eggs

My friend and I, for more together time,

attended class in "writing" Easter eggs.

This art is practised in Ukraine, its true

beginnings lost in tales of fine designs

inscribed to charm the spirits of the fields

for health, for harvest, home and happiness.

In Christian times the pagan symbols changed:

the sun became the cross, the sheaves and birds

and curling lines took sacred meanings too;

and as we played with eggs, we talked and laughed.

The craft consists of dyeing eggs in two

or more successive colours; but the art

is drawing melted wax in pictograms.

We made unsteady lines - unpractised hands.

We drew and dyed, concealing almost all

the shell in sooty beeswax. At the end,

removing molten wax revealed - surprise!

In class, we two were satisfied with all -

we learned a little of our heritage,

and shared the gentle grace of being friends.

#PysankaPoems #pysanka #UkrainianEasterEgg #BabasBeeswax #JoanBrander

Friday Funnies

Today is Friday and who couldn’t use a little pysanka humour to start off the weekend? Credit for this one goes to ©Tom Bonette

#PysankaHumour

Ask us anything about pysanky—orange wash

Ask us anything about pysanky—tools, technique, tradition and more . . . . To share our knowledge, our team of experts draws on not only our heritage, but also over 30 years teaching pysanky to all ages and levels of experience since 1991. Today's dialogue is on technique.

Question – What is orange wash?

Answer – It's a second or supplemental jar of orange dye. It has the unique ability to "wash out" accent colours of light green, light blue or turquoise and prepare the shell for the bright, vibrant colours that come next. 

Baba's Beeswax offers a handy colour chart explaining the traditional sequence for guaranteed results, including "orange wash", using the 18 colours palette. See their Laminated Pysanky Colour Sequence Chart on their website here.

We believe that pysanky is a fun activity. We embrace “Panya Pysanka”, our cool, hip, and whimsical mascot character who follows us on social media to help promote pysanky.

#PanyaPysanka #AskUsAnything #JoanBrander #BabasBeeswax

Tuesday Tips for pysanky — Displaying

Our Tuesday Tips for Pysanky. What’s your learning style? is it listening (we have a podcast), is it watching (we have a YouTube channel), is it doing (we have a tutorial), is it online (we have digital resources), or is it reading (we have unique publications). We’ve been doing all this and more since 1991 and this year we’re celebrating our 30th anniversary! Learning pysanky is easy, fun and affordable. Continuing in our FB series we have Tips and Troubleshooting for eggs, beeswax, kistka, dyes, candles, pencil guidelines, removing beeswax, emptying your eggs, varnishing your pysanky, using a drying board, displaying your pysanky and more . . . .

Today’s Tip is to avoid direct sunlight and heat (which can fade the colors). Here’s a photo of part of our Pysanky Gallery at Baba’s Beeswax—pysanky (and other decorated eggs) on glass shelves.

Our team has you covered. You can trust the experts at Baba’s Beeswax. Our Mission is to provide you with everything you need to make beautiful pysanky the traditional way from pysanky supplies and kits to workshops and books. Our Vision is to inspire and encourage beginners, experts, and anyone interested in Ukrainian egg decorating to discover the magic of one of the great traditions of all time—PYSANKY!

#BabasBeeswax #TuesdayTipsAndTroubleshooting #PysankySupplies

Seasonal Greetings from Guy Kistka — Happy Thanksgiving

Seasonal Greetings from Guy Kistka – The team of pysanky experts at Baba’s Beeswax takes this opportunity to thank all of our new and returning customers for your patronage over the past 30 years. We’re proud to have been your Canadian source for pysanky products worldwide since 1991.

We also take time to give thanks for the blessings in life, particularly the harvest. Our playful mascot Guy Kistka goes back to his Saskatchewan roots and is thankful for the abundance of wheat fields and the warmth of the air and the wind. Ahhhh, the prairies. It’s good to be home. 

See his greeting on our YouTube Channel (Fun Stuff Playlist) here.

If you like Guy’s video, comment below. If you don't please let us know how he can make improvements. We value all feedback.

Christmas Peace

Thinking about the months ahead and the magic of Christmas? See Joan (Ivanka) Brander’s whimsical, inspirational, and cute designs on face masks, apparel (more than just T-shirt), gifts and novelty items for your home or office (greeting cards, mugs, etc.) featuring pysanky in our Christmas Peace Collection. See it here.

© Joan Brander

#CafePress #pysanky #UkrainianEasterEgg #BabasBeeswax #JoanBrander

Ask us anything about pysanky—empty eggs

Ask us anything about pysanky—tools, technique, tradition and more . . . . To share our knowledge, our team of experts draws on not only our heritage, but also over 30 years teaching pysanky to all ages and levels of experience since 1991. Today's dialogue is on tools and technique.

Question – Why do I have to seal the hole in an empty egg?

Answer – It's so that dye will not get inside the shell. If it does, it will not only drip out onto your work surface, but also compromise the beeswax. 

Download a free handout by Joan Brander from our website here to compare the properties of raw eggs versus empty eggshells.

We believe that pysanky is a fun activity. We embrace “Panya Pysanka”, our cool, hip, and whimsical mascot character who follows us on social media to help promote pysanky.

#PanyaPysanka #AskUsAnything #JoanBrander

Tuesday Tips for pysanky — using empty eggshells and sealing the hole

Our Tuesday Tips for Pysanky. What’s your learning style? is it listening (we have a podcast), is it watching (we have a YouTube channel), is it doing (we have a tutorial), is it online (we have digital resources), or is it reading (we have unique publications). We’ve been doing all this and more since 1991 and this year we’re celebrating our 30^th anniversary! Learning pysanky is easy, fun and affordable. Continuing in our FB series we have Tips and Troubleshooting for eggs, beeswax, kistka, dyes, candles, pencil guidelines, removing beeswax, emptying your eggs, varnishing your pysanky, using a drying board, displaying your pysanky and more . . . .

Today’s Tip is to use melted beeswax from the kistka to seal the hole and weigh down your empty eggshell with a small jar filled with just enough water to hold the egg under the dye. Here’s two resources from Baba’s Beeswax on this. You can download our FREE handout Raw Eggs vs. Empty Eggshells here. Also a subject of one of our Let’s Chat about Pysanky ZOOM meetings, you can watch a short YouTube video published in our Pysanky How To’s and DIY Playlist here.

Our team has you covered. You can trust the experts at Baba’s Beeswax. Our Mission is to provide you with everything you need to make beautiful pysanky the traditional way from pysanky supplies and kits to workshops and books. Our Vision is to inspire and encourage beginners, experts, and anyone interested in Ukrainian egg decorating to discover the magic of one of the great traditions of all time—PYSANKY!

#BabasBeeswax #TuesdayTipsAndTroubleshooting #PysankySupplies

Born to be a Pysanka

Delight in the joy of beautiful Ukrainian Easter eggs—a bobtail white pysanka in front of a contrasting ostrich pysanka. See Joan (Ivanka) Brander’s whimsical, inspirational, and cute designs on face masks, apparel (more than just T-shirt), gifts and novelty items for your home or office (greeting cards, mugs, etc.) in our Born to be a Pysanka Collection. See it here.

© Joan Brander

#CafePress #pysanky #UkrainianEasterEgg #BabasBeeswax #JoanBrander

Friday Funnies

Hope your day is full of happiness. Today is Friday and who couldn’t use a little pysanka humour to start off the weekend? Credit for this one goes to ©Maria Scrivan

#PysankaHumour

Ask me anything about pysanky—tradition

Ask me anything about pysanky—tools, technique, tradition and more . . . .

Question – What is the traditional Ukrainian pysanka symbol for leadership?

Answer – A deer.

Check out our Book Preview of My First Pysanka—Symbols my Baba taught me by Joan Brander on YouTube here

#PanyaPysanka #AskUsAnything #JoanBrander #BabasBeeswax

Tuesday Tips for pysanky — removing beeswax

What’s your learning style? is it listening (we have a podcast), is it watching (we have a YouTube channel), is it doing (we have a tutorial), is it online (we have digital resources), or is it reading (we have unique publications). We’ve been doing all this and more since 1991 and this year we’re celebrating our 30^th anniversary! Learning pysanky is easy, fun and affordable. Continuing in our FB series we have Tips and Troubleshooting for eggs, beeswax, kistka, dyes, candles, pencil guidelines, removing beeswax, emptying your eggs, varnishing your pysanky, using a drying board, displaying your pysanky and more . . . .

Today’s Tip is on removing beeswax using the candle method. If you do use a candle, do not place the pysanka directly in the flame. This could cause soot from the wick of the candle to blacken your design, or worse, burn it. The burned areas cannot be repaired.

Our future Tuesday Tips will cover other methods of removing beeswax, as well as removing unwanted black soot from your pysanka.

Our team has you covered. You can trust the experts at Baba’s Beeswax. Our Mission is to provide you with everything you need to make beautiful pysanky the traditional way from pysanky supplies and kits to workshops and books. Our Vision is to inspire and encourage beginners, experts, and anyone interested in Ukrainian egg decorating to discover the magic of one of the great traditions of all time—PYSANKY!

 #BabasBeeswax #TuesdayTipsAndTroubleshooting #PysankySupplies

Ukrainian Soul

See Joan Brander’s whimsical, inspirational, and cute designs on face masks, apparel (more than just T-shirt), gifts and novelty items for your home or office (greeting cards, mugs, etc.) in our Ukrainian Soul Collection at https://www.cafepress.ca/babaspysankyboutique/17220234

©Joan Brander

#CafePress #pysanky #UkrainianEasterEgg #BabasBeeswax

Take a Look. Read a Book

There's so many reasons to enjoy reading: to learn, discover, expand your worldview, have quiet time, and to feel and smell books are just a few. If you'd like to add to your pysanky collection of books, have a look at Pysanky on Paper : An Activity Book for Children by pysanky expert Joan Brander featured on our YouTube Channel | Book Preview Playlist and see if it'll fit into your library. Here’s the YouTube link.

Whimsical image of “Panya Pysanka” courtesy J. Brander.

#PysankyBooks #BabasBeeswax #JoanBrander

Friday Funnies – Collection Plate

Today is Friday and who couldn’t use a little pysanka humour to start off the weekend? Credit for this one goes to ©Daniel Reynolds

Ask me anything about pysanky—technique

Ask me anything about pysanky—tools, technique, tradition and more . . . .

Question – What causes my kistka to require cleaning?

Answer – Dirt, debris (from the candle wick) and fibres from paper or tissues (if you practice using your kistka this way) block the funnel preventing the melted beeswax from writing on your egg smoothly. See more in this short video in the Pysanky How To's and DIY playlist on YouTube here.

#PanyaPysanka #AskUsAnything #JoanBrander #BabasBeeswax

Seasonal Greetings from Guy Kistka - Autumnal Equinox

Our playful mascot, Guy Kistka, loves the first day of fall and the crunchy sound he makes as he runs through the leaves! The team of pysanky experts at Baba’s Beeswax loves the autumnal equinox with its explosion of yellow, orange and red—which also happen to be three basic colours of pysanky dyes! Thanksgiving and Halloween will carry us through the season and all the woodland creatures will start storing up for the long haul of winter.

What do you love about fall? What special traditions do you have?

See his greeting on our YouTube Channel (Fun Stuff Playlist) here https://youtu.be/2eDYJzjDMrg 

If you like Guy’s video, comment below. If you don't please let us know how he can make improvements. We value all feedback.

 

#BabasBeeswax #GuyKistka #PysankyExperts #AutumnalEquinox

Tuesday Tips for pysanky — pencil guidelines

What’s your learning style? is it listening (we have a podcast), is it watching (we have a YouTube channel), is it doing (we have a tutorial), is it online (we have digital resources), or is it reading (we have unique publications). We’ve been doing all this and more since 1991 and this year we’re celebrating our 30^th anniversary! Learning pysanky is easy, fun and affordable. Continuing in our FB series we have Tips and Troubleshooting for eggs, beeswax, kistka, dyes, candles, pencil guidelines, removing beeswax, emptying your eggs, varnishing your pysanky, using a drying board, displaying your pysanky and more . . . .

Today’s Tip is about using pencil guidelines. It is better to make long, smooth lines, rather than short sketchy lines. Listen to Episode 5 of our Pysanka Power Podcast “The Technique of Using Pencil Guidelines” on your favourite app or here https://www.babasbeeswax.com/X-Pysanka%20Power%20Podcast/The%20Technique%20of%20Using%20Pencil%20Guidelines.mp3

Our team has you covered. You can trust the experts at Baba’s Beeswax. Our Mission is to provide you with everything you need to make beautiful pysanky the traditional way from pysanky supplies and kits to workshops and books. Our Vision is to inspire and encourage beginners, experts, and anyone interested in Ukrainian egg decorating to discover the magic of one of the great traditions of all time—PYSANKY!

 

#BabasBeeswax #TuesdayTipsAndTroubleshooting #PysankySupplies