Fri 3/11-Sat 3/19
When you think of Ukraine and Easter, what do you think about? Pysanky, those beautiful colored Ukrainian Easter eggs! Get your fill of this tradition at the Ukrainian Museum-Archives un Tremont between now and Easter.
The Ukrainian Museum-Archives, whose mission is “to preserve and share Ukrainian Culture and the Immigrant Experience” holds its annual Easter Bazaar during this season of renewal and rebirth — spring! Although we know them today as Easter eggs, the art began as an ancient Pagan tradition. The name “pysanky” derives from the Ukrainian word for “to write.”
That’s why the egg decorating workshops taking place in the month prior to Easter are called “pysanka-writing” workshops. The ornamentation is most commonly applied with a writing tool (called “kistka” or “pysal’tse”) through which melted beeswax flows in the same manner as ink flows through a fountain pen. The classes take place through March 19 on Fridays from 6:30 to 8:30 and on Saturdays from 10am-noon and 1-3pm, for ages 11 and up. Classes are limited to 5-10 people. The cost is $20 per person and includes a medium wooden kistka and a pure beeswax cube.
With a fresh, clean chicken egg in hand, the artist draws lines in patterns in wax which will resist the color, a method similar to batik. The egg is then submerged in a bath of the lightest color to be used, which covers all areas of the white egg shell that have not been protected with wax. The progression of colors proceeds from the lightest (usually the white of the egg shell) to the darkest, so that each subsequent color completely covers the preceding. The colors are usually white, yellow, green, orange, red, brick-red, brown or black. The darkest colors are the background color. When the dying process is complete, the egg is carefully heated to melt the wax and reveal the colorful patterns.
Not interested in making your own eggs? Check out the online exhibit of pysanka. It will entice you to visit the museum to see the eggs close up. The museum’s gift shop has plenty of them for sale as well as supplies for making your own at home. Pysanky can be extremely original and often represent nature in miniature masterpieces of precise and creative rendition. They are beautiful gifts.
The museum’s not just about pysanky. Online exhibits include the 1932-33 famine Kobzar, Ukrainian embroidery and the displaced persons camp exhibit. The museum was founded in 1952 in Cleveland’s historic Tremont neighborhood. The permanent collection holdings include stamps, buttons, fliers, posters, documents, photographs, books, periodicals, videotapes and sound recordings. Of special note are the artifacts that relate to Ukraine’s national poet Taras Shevchenko. You’ll want to check out the textiles, embroidery, woodcarving, ceramics, and traditional apparel. The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10am-3pm.
Claudia Taller, author of four nonfiction books and one novel, is a long-time Cool Cleveland contributor. She’s also the owner of Igniting Possibilities, which hosts writing, creativity, and spiritual events, including Word Lovers Retreats. Most of her time these days is spent in yoga teacher training at Puma Yoga in Lak.
Cleveland, OH 44113