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Pysanky Easter Egg Decorating Supplies
An old Latin proverb says "All life comes from an egg" and it's based on the basic biological model that all life is created from it.
Around the world, there are legends of the entire universe being formed from an egg and traditions handed down from the distant past demonstrate humanity's deep-seated relationship with the egg.
As such, it isn't unusual that almost all ancient cultures hold the egg as an emblem of life. However, how the egg came to be associated with Easter is a point of contention.
Despite numerous assertions that Easter eggs were initially pagan symbols, there isn't any solid evidence to support the claim. Persian culture has a tradition of egg decorating during the spring equinox. In Egypt the tradition is to decorate eggs during Sham el-Nessim, a spring holiday celebrated after the Christian Easter holiday.
Eastern European cultures also have a strong tradition of Easter egg decorating.
Today, using eggs as a canvas is so popular that egg artists formed the International Egg Art Guild to promote the craft of egg decorating.
Many modern egg artists decorate their eggs by painting, etching or carving, whereas others cover eggs with paper or fabric before being painted in bright spring colors.
Easter Egg Decorating
The Ukrainian intricate egg decorating technique of pysanky originated around 980 A.D. A pysanka is a brilliantly designed Ukrainian egg adorned with a traditional folk design. Pysanka comes from the word pysaty, meaning "to write," because the designs are not painted on the egg, but written using beeswax. In pysanky each different image and color has specific meanings and the finished pysanky is a symbol of life, happiness and hope, as well as awaking and rebirth.
The Easter egg decorating procedure involves applying a multilayered design to the shell of an egg using melted beeswax and a stylus. The process of wax etching is similar to batik, with a stylus being used to apply the melted beeswax to the eggshell.
The wax works to seal the dye onto the eggshell and the colors and pattern are exposed when the wax is removed by melting it off when the design is completed. The eggs are dipped into a series of colored-dye baths that progress from lighter to darker shades, and executing the painstakingly-detailed process can take up to 11 hours to complete just one egg.