On May 3rd, an unusual master class was held at the Pristanište house: participants learned traditional Ukrainian methods of coloring Easter eggs — pysanka and krapanka. The master class was conducted by Irina Kuchma, President of the «Ukrainogortsy» organization.
Our volunteer Irina Burakova, photographer and copywriter, joined us and prepared a report. You can find photos here, and her impressions in the text below.
«These methods (pysanka and krapanka) are very popular in Ukraine and are handed down from generation to generation. Pysanka is a technique of ornament painting using wax, which protects parts of the eggs surface from colouring. Decorating with specks, «krapanka», also uses wax: it is applied (speckled) onto the egg-shell in small dots, after which the egg is dipped into the paint. As a result the eggs are spotted and gaily decorated.
Pysanka and krapanka require patience, accuracy and attention. But the result is always great.
«As a child, best of all I liked to participate in the process of painting Easter eggs. We did this together with my mother and older sister. At Irina’s master class, the group was also only female, and for some reason this gave the process a special mystery: candles, paints, a request to put your hair in a ponytail so as not to accidentally burn it… A choir was rehearsing in the yard.
And surprisingly, in one evening I managed to visit the past — my childhood memories, and the present — with a wonderful company of girls and women, and the eternal: the Easter traditions of pysanka and krapanka which will always live on.»
Thank you very much
Irina Kuchma — for a fascinating master class
Irina Burakova — for the wonderful text and photographs
