Lisa Anderson of Bruno brought her artistic talent to the Humboldt and District Gallery on Saturday, April 5 as she demonstrated the art of pysanky. The decorated eggs are a familiar Easter tradition associated with Ukraine but may actually date back even earlier in Persia and the Middle East.
Anderson is not a Ukrainian descendant, but she picked up the art form from family friends back in her native Ontario. She says she was smitten with the art form and has researched and practiced honing her skills over the years.
Anderson deftly moved her stylus, a kistka, filled with melted beeswax over the eggs, applying intricate designs meant to repel the dye once the egg is dipped. While there are some elements of the colour application that are a bit “experimental,” she’s registered the outcomes of overlaying many of the various colours to create the intricate effects.
The kistka is heated over a candle, many of which she picks up used from the Good Neighbour Store, and the wax is inserted from thin processed sheets. Anderson maneuvered the stylus creating a fiddle head shape and then Eternity bands to mark the never-ceasing nature of time and the continuation of existence.
“They’ve found eggs in Persia, 2000 BC – 3,000 BC,” Anderson explained. “The Greeks had the river Styx, so everybody has figured out that there’s something else to us. I think it’s interesting to see how far the ideas go back.”
The eggs are successively dipped in colour with further layers of wax applied. The process is almost a “reverse-engineering process” where the outcome has to be envisioned prior to the wax application so the removal of the wax doesn’t result in unwanted colour intrusion.
“Whatever I start with, every other colour builds on that. You have to be careful with testing because if I have any wax where I don’t want it or I have moisturizer on my hands, that would block the dye. It’s called wax resist.”
The dyes come in a vivid array of colours to create newer and more contemporary designs, but the original shapes and iconography has existed throughout the years to represent ideas like fertility, renewal, and longevity among others.
Lisa delights in passing on her extensive research and her expertise on to others as a means of extending the tradition and as an exploration of the world beyond what we can see.
“I just love it,” she exclaims. “Every time I find something else new, it’s thrilling. I am just big on the idea that there is more to life than what we can see, and this is just one little expression, and every year I find that whatever is in you, comes out in the egg.”
Enjoy the sampler of Lisa Anderson’s incredible designs.