Pysanky Egg Decorating Workshop Series

Spring is fast approaching, and that means Easter is around the corner!
 
Easter lands on March 31 for many of us this year, and Orthodox Easter will be on May 5. To commemorate both, we are pleased to announce the return of four days of Pysanky Workshops with Hanka Robertson.
 
Members $35, Not-yet-members $45.
Limited to 14 participants per session. These workshops sell out quickly, so don’t delay!
 
Members-only registration opens on February 1; non-member registration opens on February 8.
 
Friday, March 15
Session 1 – 2:30 pm-5:00 pm
Session 2 – 5:30 pm-8:00 pm
Saturday, March 16
Session 1 – 9:30 am-12:00 pm
Session 2 – 1:30 pm-4:00 pm
 
Friday, April 19
Session 1 – 2:30 pm-5:00 pm
Session 2 – 5:30 pm-8:00 pm
Saturday, April 20
Session 1 – 9:30 am-12:00 pm
Session 2 – 1:30 pm-4:00 pm
 
*Arrive 30 minutes prior to enjoy the gallery talk with Museum Registrar Laura Garrity-Arquitt.
 
 
 
Pysanky (pee-san-key) are decorated eggs with traditional folk motifs and designs created using a wax-resist method. Students in this workshop will learn how to draw on a whole plain white chicken egg with a special pen (kistka) and melted wax, then dye the egg with special dyes. The drawing and dyeing are repeated several times as each layer of the design is applied. The egg’s interior is removed and a ribbon is added.
 
 
What to expect
The workshop fee includes admission to the Museum, all supplies, a short history of pysanky, instructions on the process and how to care for the completed eggs, motifs and designs for inspiration, and a container to take the decorated eggs home.
 
Students are also invited to attend an exclusive gallery talk on the history of decorative Easter eggs and view examples from the Museum's contextual collection with Museum Registrar Laura Garrity-Arquitt, which will start 30 minutes before the class start times above.
 
Open to participants ages 8 and up (children under the age of 13 must be accompanied by a participating adult). 
 
About the instructor
Workshop leader Hanka Robertson was born in Slovenia and learned to make pysanky as a child. She was taught by her mother, who was born and raised in the former Czechoslovakia, where pysanky eggs were an annual Easter tradition.
 
She is also an accomplished needleworker.