Monday, April 10, 2006





I taught small children to make bleeding tissue dyed eggs, below, which require thirty seconds of attention and some white glue. Behind my table were the stations for marbleizing eggs, tye-dye eggs, and origami eggs. After the children left the hall, two lovely teenage girls taught me the basics of "pysanky," or Ukrainian egg dying-- just another of those crafts I told myself I would never, never do. But as soon as I tried it, I thought how much my children would love the concentration required. When a teacher told me the mixed dyes last for years, stored in glass jars, I picked up a kit. The bottom photo is a six-year-old's first freehand attempt-- Brendan took a long time, first to blow the eggs, then to make the design in hot wax, then to dye each color, then to melt off the layers of wax. Not being an obsessive person, well, I could become an obsessive person! Once you give yourself over to the insane amount of detail for an egg, it's awfully fun and satisfying. Posted by Picasa

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