Pysanky: Ukrainian Egg Dying

Students will design and create a dyed egg using a wax resist method. Students will use batik dye, wax, a kistka, and an egg.

This unit has four parts: research and design (creating an intricate design), dye plan (drawing out how the color layers will work separately), final project egg dying, and documentation of the finished work (photos, looping GIF, email, reflection, and critique).

Overview Unit Goal

Picture

Composition Concepts

  • Pattern
  • Color Scheme
  • Variety

Technical Skills

  • Kistka Wax Drawing
  • Batik Dying
  • Looping GIF

Tools & Supplies

  • Kistka - Drawing Wax Funnel
  • Wax
  • Batik Dye

Technical Skill Videos

Resource Book Page

Order of Work

Determine Your Design
  • Worksheet 1: Pattern Practice
    • 3 different patterns in a rectangle and 3 different patterns in an oval
    • Practicing measuring with a ruler to make symmetric shapes
  • Worksheet 2: Draw 3 Design Ideas - each idea should meet the design criteria:
    • 3 Types of Patterns
    • Minimum of 5 Dyes used
    • Intricate Design
  • Label patterns on right, Circle colors you will use for the design, Make sure you have small, intricate details
Dye Plan
  • Worksheet 2: Dye Plan
  • Draw out your chosen design, separating out each color on its own egg. For example, the white egg would only have the white parts of the design drawn there.
Egg Dying Batik Process
  • Optional Step: You can draw elements of your design in pencil on your egg
  • Apply Wax: heat the funnel of your kistka, scoop up a little wax, melt the wax over the candle, draw the wax onto the egg for the parts you want to remain white. Be sure to wax over the opening at the bottom of the egg.
  • Dye #1: carefully put your egg in the first color dye you want to use. The dyes must be used in order. You are allowed to skip colors, but you cannot go backwards. Your egg should float in the dye. You will need to rotate the egg in the dye or hold the egg down with the wire egg scooper. Lift up the egg with the wire tool. Place it in a paper towel. Let it dry for at most 3 minutes. You can pat dry any residual wetness after 3 minutes.
  • Apply Wax to the areas you want to remain the color the egg is currently.
  • Repeat the dying and wax applying process until you have finished your design. You need to use at least 5 dye colors at minimum. 
Documenting
  • PHOTOGRAPH your project
    • One photo cube photo
    • One photo in nature (background should not be distracting)
  • Looping GIF
    • Using Stop Motion Studio, take 20+ photos of your egg rotating in place
    • Your GIF should loop so that we can't tell where it begins or ends.
  • Fill out the REFLECTION
  • Record a FLIP VIDEO
  • EMAIL an important adult about your work

Pysanky Eggs

Designing your Egg

Picture

Step One: Designing Your Project

WORKSHEET 1 : PRACTICING PATTERNS
WORKSHEET 2 : PRACTICING DESIGNING AN EGG IN THE PYSANKY STYLE

Step Two: Dye Plan

USING YOUR FAVORITE EGG PATTERNS, DRAW OUT YOUR DESIGN PLAN ON THE COLOR SEPARATION DYE PLAN WORKSHEET

Things to Consider

  • ​You want to have an intricate design, so minimize the areas of one color - it is easier to make a single line than to fill in a large space
  • You want at least 3 repeating patterns. Your pattern must have a motif that repeats at least 5 times to be counted as a pattern.
  • You can change line thickness to add visual interest.
  • Things that could go wrong: You could forget to seal the hole at the bottom before you put the egg in the dye. The egg would start to fill with dye and will leak dye as you heat the egg when removing the wax. That can have a big impact on your finished design. 
  • Things that could go wrong: Your design has too much empty space of one color, and does not appear intricate. You can make bigger shapes, but you should fill them with a pattern to add more visual interest.
  • Things that could go wrong: You crack the egg when you put it in the dye. You should set the egg into the dye carefully. You can easily crack an egg and you might not know about the crack until the very end when you wipe off all the wax. 
  • Things that could go wrong: Your egg could explode if you put it directly above the flame when removing the wax. Instead, place the egg to the side of the flame.

Step Three: Batik Egg Dying Process

Step Four: Documenting your Egg

LOOPING GIF:
  • Use the Stop Motion Studio app (download with Self Service if you don't have it)
  • Set up the iPad so that it doesn't move and can see the egg in the center of the frame
  • Take photos of the egg rotating in place (use the onion skinning slider on the left to see where the egg just was)
  • Check to make sure the settings have "looping" on (gear at bottom)
  • Create an animated looping GIF (box with arrow coming out of the top) and save it 

2 Photos & Looping GIF of your Egg

  • Use a solid background (no distracting lines, shadows, table, or other stuff) like the photo cube
  • Use quality lighting (soft shadow from artwork only)
  • Photo should be in focus, with artwork centered
  • One photo of in the photo cube, one photo in nature, one looping GIF showing all sides of your egg
  • Two photos and one looping GIF in total

Email an Image of Your Project

Grading Criteria