Pysanky
Photo by Stuart Davis/The Vancouver Sun
Pysanky (peh-SAHN-kee)
Level 2
Pysanky* is a special way
to make Easter eggs.
This art has been around
for hundreds of years.
It started in Eastern Europe.
*Pysanky means “to write”.
Artists use beeswax
and colour dyes.
Artists write on eggs
with a special tool.
The tool is called a kistka.
The kistka is filled with hot wax.
Artists draw designs on eggs.
Some eggs have a triangle,
a sun or a star.
Other eggs have a tree, a deer
or a horse.
Each design has a special meaning.
A triangle may mean earth,
fire and air.
A star may mean good fortune.
The artists dips the eggs
in many colours of dye.
Each colour has a meaning, too.
White is a pure colour.
Red is like the sun.
The colour green is like spring.