Pysanky Egg – an ancient tradition to be demonstrated at the museum March 6
The egg, a symbol of rebirth, is an icon of the Easter season. The Ukrainian Folk Art of the Pysanky Egg is an ancient tradition and will be demonstrated at the Union County Heritage Museum in New Albany by artist Denise Brown at a reception on Thursday, March 6, 2025, 12 – 2.
The museum is hosting an exhibit of Brown’s Pysanky Eggs, “Pysanky-An Ancient Tradition – A Gesture of Peace, a gallery talk and demonstration. The gallery talk will begin at 12:30. The public is invited to see this process. There will also be a Pysanky Egg class on April 10, 10 – 1 at the Museum Art House so that people can create their own.
Designs are drawn onto the eggs, then the eggs are dyed multiple times, and with the use of a flame the designs are revealed – the process is really magic, Brown said.
Denise Brown is holding two of the Pysanky Eggs that she has created.
Brown has created Pysanky eggs for 15 years, and she got her start at church. “Our priest at St. Timothy’s came and she did this practice during lent, and I was hooked after the first workshop.” Pysanky eggs are traditionally a Lenten practice in Ukraine, as Brown explains. “[It] was traditionally done at Lent when there was a lot more fasting days, so they had an abundance of eggs that were not used, and so they could use the eggs for an artistic process.”
Each egg had a purpose, and women would traditionally make “anywhere from 50 to 60 Pysanky eggs during Lent.” These eggs were then gifted to family and friends or used in the home. “One or two were given to the priest, three or four were taken to the cemetery and put on graves, ten to fifteen were given to children and godchildren, ten to twelve were exchanged between unmarried girls and boys[…] several were saved for the home for protection, two or three were placed in the trough were the animals ate, […] and then at least one egg was put under the beehive to ensure harvest for honey, and one was saved for each of the grazing animals to be taken out to the fields”
This thoughtful craft is the perfect contemplative practice to take up during the Easter season. Brown says, “For me, I do it during Lent, and it’s a prayer discipline for me. And as I tell students, it won’t be prayerful for the first time when you learn it. But after you get the hang of it, […] it’s a peaceful, calming engagement of your mind and your hands at the same time. So, it really is a prayerful practice.”
The public is invited to the event which is free. The museum is located at 114 Cleveland St., New Albany. For more information call 662-538-0014.
The demonstration will be March 6, at the museum, and the workshop will be on April 10. Call the museum for more information 662-538-0014.
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Jill Smith, Director
Union County Heritage Museum
114 Cleveland Street
New Albany, MS 38652
