Coconino Community College - Flagstaff

This workshop is full but please add yourself to the wait list so we can gauge interest in offering another class, and notify you!

Pysanky (pronounced “PIH-sahn-keh”) is a fascinating traditional Ukrainian egg-decorating technique passed down through generations since pagan times. Simple to intricate designs are applied to an egg with melted beeswax using a special tool called a "kistka", then the egg is dipped into progressively darker-colored dyes. A multi-layered pattern results that is revealed when the wax is melted off at the end. This wax-resist style of decorated egg is one of Ukraine's national symbols.

In this workshop, you will learn to make these beautiful eggs yourself! You will be provided with examples, direct instruction and support as well as all the tools and materials needed to design and create your own pysanka.*

You will also learn about the history of this art and the symbolic meaning of some traditional designs related to nature, fertility, protection, and religious beliefs.

*Pysanky is the plural form of pysanka, a wax-resist decorated egg. The word comes from the Ukrainian verb pysaty (писати), which means "to write,” as the designs are not painted on, but written with beeswax.

Instructor Nancy Rhoades is a retired teacher with a lifetime of experience in making things…from pottery to calligraphy and illumination, from sewing and weaving to writing pysanky, and more. One year when teaching 4th grade, she showed her students a film called “The Ukrainian Egg,” and knew right away that she needed to try that for herself! After learning a craft, the natural next step for Nancy is to teach it to others, so she is delighted to have the opportunity from CCC to share this particularly beautiful folk art with you.