To begin, the artist takes a whole raw egg (for this explanation, we'll assume it is white). Hot wax is applied to the shell by means of a special took called a kistka, either electric or manual. In the latter case, the bowl of the kistka is heated in a candle flame to melt the wax. The first application of wax is done to the portions of the egg the artist wants to remain white, e.g., crosshatched lines and figure outlines. The egg is then dipped in yellow dye. After it is dry, the artist applies wax to the portions (s)he wishes to remain yellow, and so on down the line until the final dye bath utilizes the darkest color in the design. The egg is left to dry and then is given several coats of varnish over a period of days. The varnish protects the water-soluble dyes during the next and most dangerous stage of the process: blowing out the contents. Although traditionally eggs were left whole, they frequently burst as gases from the decaying yolk and white build up. Nowadays, most egg artists prefer to empty the shells.
A single egg may take hours to complete, depending on the intricacy of the pattern and the number of dye baths, so understandably, egg-blowing is an edgy procedure. Once the egg is pierced at both ends and the yolk has been broken and stirred with a wire tool, air pressure must be exerted gently but firmly by mouth or with an egg-blowing bulb, expelling the sticky, viscous slurry into a bowl to be discarded. The interior of the egg can then be rinsed with vinegar water to eliminate any further possibility of odor occurring. After a week or two, the holes can be sealed with white glue. Pysanky should be kept out of direct light due to the instability of the dyes.
There are many good books on the making of Pysanky and the symbols used in the designs. Ask at your local library!
These are just stunning! I'd forgotten about Pysansky, but I had a friend who made lovely eggs like these a long time ago. Did I mention that these are stunning?
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