Ask me anything about pysanky—tools, technique, tradition and more . . . .
Q. What is the traditional Ukrainian pysanka symbol for eternity?
A. Ribbons or meander.
© Joan Brander |
What’s your style of learning? 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). Learning pysanky is easy, fun and affordable. Continuing in our Troubleshooting series, here’s our Tuesday Tip for pysanky.
Today is the 30th birthday of Baba's Beeswax which was hatched in 1991. Celebrate this event and get a free gift. Contact us for details.
The great gift of pysanky is hope. To write a pysanka is to believe in tomorrow. Wishing you a blessed Easter. May the promise of this day fill you with happiness, joy and love!
Some lovely photos of beginners' pysanky on social media prompted me to offer this tip. I publish weekly “Tuesday Tips” on FB. This one brought to mind a troubleshooting opportunity.
"Today’s Tip is that if any residue of beeswax remains on your pysanka, wipe it off with a cotton ball or tissue of paint thinner or lighter fluid, try paint thinner or lighter fluid with discretion, using a q-tip, at any step of the dyeing process. “Paint thinner” or “lighter fluid” will also remove any unwanted pencil marks."
If you haven’t varnished your pysanky yet, it would benefit for this tip of using paint thinner (hardware store) or lighter fluid (I get mine at 7-11) to remove the pencil lines. The pencil lines do a great job of providing guidelines, but the downside is that it’s usually used on the white part of the egg, and will show up there. I use cotton pads (the type used for make-up from the drug store) or simply Kleenex. Surprisingly, it does not remove the dye. Just be very gentle with pressure.
Because you asked about varnish:
During the pandemic, people with all levels of experience in pysanky engaged in free weekly ZOOM meetings sponsored by Baba’s Beeswax. The chats, moderated by pysanky expert Joan Brander, were informal in nature and educational in tone. Topics included such things as workshops overview, a show and tell, all about dyes, all about kistkas, more pysanky essentials, egg division, eggs in depth, pysanka symbols, pysanky in regions of Ukraine, the last step (varnish), and suggestions for subsequent weeks.
The climate was social and engaging, connections and friendships were formed, and free door prizes were awarded to celebrate 30 years of Baba’s Beeswax in business!
Here’s the presentation from March 28: The Last Step – Varnish.
Free ZOOM information |
Saving the world one pysanka at a time . . . . ™ |
Saving the world one pysanka at a time . . . . ™ |
Saving the world one pysanka at a time . . . . ™ |
Saving the world one pysanka at a time . . . . ™ |
Saving the world one pysanka at a time . . . . ™ |