KEENE — A myriad of ways to assist the Ukrainians affected by the Russian incursion have surfaced, including the creation and auctioning of Pysanky Easter eggs.

Several class sessions, each comprised of approximately a dozen participants who each donated $50, were held at Cedar Run Bakery & Market in Keene, to learn the rudiments of turning ordinary ovular objects into colorful works of art under the tutelage of Sue and CJ Young of Young’s Studio & Gallery in Jay.

“We are saving the world one egg at a time,” said Sue.

The money is earmarked for the World Central Kitchen (WCK) which has been set up at a 24-hour pedestrian border crossing in southern Poland. WCK is expanding its efforts to serve millions of meals to people across the region in Romania, Moldova, and Hungary. WCK is also partnering with restaurants inside Ukraine to provide hot meals to anyone in need.

“I felt helpless watching the news about the Ukraine. Sue showed me Pysansky eggs several years ago and I thought it would be helpful to have a fundraiser making them,” said Cedar Run proprietor Kristy Farrell. “I was thrilled that Sue was willing to help. It’s more than just people that do art for a living. It’s being done by people that care.”

At the conclusion of the workshops at Cedar Run, over $2,800 had been collected. “I am thrilled and teary-eyed to be living here where people are so caring,” added Farrell.

One of the participants, Abigail Smith, a junior at Keene Central School expressed her thoughts. “I feel helpless watching the people suffering and wanted to help in any way possible and this is a good way to do it.”

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Pysanky egg tradition

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According to a 2018 report in the New York Times, the eggs are “a sign of life in the Ukrainian culture.”

They are usually decorated at springtime and were once considered a talisman against evil, the article notes.

“Only women and young girls decorated them in the past, away from the eyes of onlookers, for fear someone would cast an evil spell on the egg and its owner,” according to the article.

Some Ukrainian legends say the fate of the world depends on Pysanky and as long as the tradition of egg decorating continues, the world will exist, according to a report by the Washington Post.

According to the website for the Ukraine Museum in New York City, the dyes for the eggs used to decorate pysanky also had a symbolic meaning. Red symbolized the sun, life, joy; yellow stood for wealth and fertility; green was the symbol of Spring and plant life.

“In the not-too-distant past, artisans prepared their own dyes, using natural products such as the bark of oak or ash trees, twigs from sour apple trees, saffron or willow tree leaves,” the website said.

The museum website notes that the symbolic ornamentation of the pysanka consists of geometric motifs, with some animal and plant elements.

“The most important motif is the stylized symbol of the sun, which is represented as a broken cross, a swastika (an ancient Sanskrit symbol), a triangle, an eight-point rosette, or a star,” the website reads. “Other popular motifs are endless lines, stylized flowers, leaves, the tree of life, and some animal figures such as horses, stags, and birds. The influence of Christianity introduced such elements as crosses, churches, and fish.”

According to the travel blog Have German Will Travel, large families would make 60 or more eggs by Holy Thursday.

“The more daughters a family had, the more pysanky would be produced,” according to the blog. “The eggs would then be taken to the church on Easter Sunday to be blessed, after which they were given away. “

Today the art of Pysanky is still very much a family tradition in Ukraine and around the world. Similar egg decorating techniques are practiced in other Eastern European countries, where it is often a deeply rooted family tradition.

Before decorating the egg, devout Ukrainian women make the sign of the cross and whisper, “God, help me.”

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Creating a Pysanky

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The design is lightly drawn on a clean egg with a pencil. Wax is then applied with a kistka tool which consists of a small metal reservoir with a fine tip/opening on a wooden or plastic handle. Wax is scooped into the reservoir, heated, and then this stylus is used to write with wax on an egg’s shell.

The egg is placed in a succession of dyes starting with the lightest colors. After each dye has dried, another design is drawn with wax. After the final dye, the egg is held near a heat source such as a candle as the melted wax is wiped away.

Several light coats of a clear acrylic or varnish are applied for protection. Small holes are made at opposite ends of the egg to blow out the contents. A holder may be attached for hanging purposes.

Email Alvin Reiner at: rondackrambler@gmail.com.