BELFAST—They’re probably the most fragile, impractical canvas to ever work on, but Ukranian artist Lesia Sochor can render tiny worlds on an egg, just by using three tools.

Sochor learned the ancient art form of the “Pysanka,” a Ukrainian decorated egg from her mother.  Using a process known as wax-resist, lines of melted beeswax are drawn onto the egg with a tool called a “Kistka.” The traditional Kistka was a wooden dowel with a copper funnel attached. There are now many other types of Kistkas to choose from, but they all operate under the same principal: heat the tip in the flame of the candle, dip in beeswax and draw the design on the egg.

“Every time you draw a wax pattern on a white egg and then dip it into say a purple dye, whatever you’ve drawn on the egg in wax will not turn that color,” she said. “The way you get all of the colors is you keep dipping the egg in different colors. The wax stays on the egg until the very end. When you remove the wax, all of the designs are fully revealed.”

It’s a very meditative process, said Sochor. One can outline the egg in geometric patterns, but she freehand draws objects such as ornate birds on her eggs. “Even if you’re not an artist, simply by sectioning and diving the egg, you can make a beautiful pattern,” she said.

The egg and designs upon it were said to bring good fortune to each household. “It’s an ancient Ukranian ritual to welcome spring,” Sochor explained. “Traditionally people believed the egg was a powerful talisman and that every part of the egg had meaning, like a trinity. The yolk was considered the sun, the whites were the moon and the shell was a universe. When Christianity came into Ukraine, the symbolic nature-filled designs were modified to include the resurrection of Christ. “Traditionally you saw symbols of the sun, moon, wheat, animals and nature and earth on the eggs,” she said.

Once eggs were done, they “protected” the people of the house. They were thought to protect people from illness, and safeguard the house from lightning. 

Though Sochor now blows out the yolks and whites with an egg blower before she begins, decorating the intact egg was how she learned the process. “I have an egg that my mother did that I’ve saved all these years,” she said. “It’s about 55 years-old. If the egg has no crack in it and it’s a good, farm fresh egg, what happens is the yolk dries out and it sounds like a little marble in there.”

Watch the accompanying video to see how the process is done.

Sochor is giving a free workshop on Ukranian egg dying Saturday, March 26 at the Marsh River Co-op in Brooks from  3-5 p.m. Recommended ages 8 and up. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Free event, materials provided. Call 722-4020 for more info.