HAMILTON — Waxy buildup, once the scourge of conscientious housewives, is actually the secret of Ukrainian egg decoration.

        The intricate, multicolored patterns of these pysanky, or Ukrainian Easter eggs, are created by covering different portions of the egg with wax as the egg goes through several dye baths. After the decorating process is complete, the wax is melted away with a candle.

        Georgia Sawhook, a second-generation Ukrainian-American, guided several women through the process Friday in a class sponsored by the Fitton Center for Creative Arts.

Second-generation Ukrainian-American Georgia Sawhook (center) teaches Katy Hanley (striped shirt) and Helen Young (far right) how to decorate pysanky, or Ukrainian Easter eggs, at Hamilton's Fitton Center. (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

        “You draw the main design with a special tool,“ Mrs. Sawhook explained, demonstrating the pattern thus created with black wax on the white eggshell. “What is black now will later be white, when you remove the wax. You start with the lightest color and go darker and darker with your dyes.”

        “The hardest thing for me was remembering what color I had covered up,” said class member Katy Hanley.

        “It was difficult trying to decide which colors to use,” added Lois Hinshaw, who said she had a hard time visualizing what her egg would look like when the wax was removed, revealing the white pattern and areas of color.

        Mrs. Sawhook, who learned the art of pysanky when she was 12, said raw eggs are traditionally used.

        “They represent the Resurrection of Jesus Christ,“ she said.

        An egg takes one to three hours to complete and can be preserved with a polyurethane spray. After a year or two, the contents dry up, leaving the egg almost weightless.

        Mrs. Sawhook teaches classes in pysanky in her Fairfield home and at churches, community centers and schools. Information on the art form and supply sources is available on her Web site: www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/5892/Pysanky.html.
       

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