The art and craft of pysanky

Posts tagged “Pysanky

Incredible Eggs 2019 Calendar

It’s that time of year again.  The new egg calendar is out and I think it’s the best one yet.  I have a few eggs pictured too which is just a fun bonus.  If you want to order one for yourself, here’s the link.


Rancho Cordova iFest 2018

Enjoy a trip around the world with this multicultural event for kids and adults alike.  Featuring art, music, dance, international foods and activities for children, this promises to be a fun-filled evening for all.  I’ll have a booth with my pysanky, explaining and demonstrating what it takes to create them.  Stop by and say hi!

Saturday, May 12, 2018 5-9 PM
Village Green Park
3141 Bridgeway Drive
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

See the complete event flyer here.


What Came First?

Answer this age old question by coming to see the chicken- and egg-related art at Gallery 48 Natoma in Folsom, California.  I am unbelievably excited about this show which runs March 16-May 3, 2018 in a beautiful gallery space.  You can meet the artists at the opening reception on March 16 from 6 to 8 PM.

Gallery at 48 Natoma
48 Natoma Street
Folsom, CA 95630

I will also be teaching classes at this venue in April.  Click here for more information.


Northern California Eggstravaganza 2018

Northern California Eggstravaganza 2018- “Winter Wonderland
Crowne Plaza Northeast   5321 Date Avenue  Sacramento, CA 95841

Show and Sale
March 3, 2018–10 AM to 5  PM
March 4, 2018–10 AM to 3  PM

Seminars
March 1-4, 2018

It’s time to get these dates on your calendar.  I’ll be selling my pysanky and egg jewelry in the showroom plus teaching two classes on Saturday morning, March 3.  For more class info, click here.

 


The 2018 Incredible Eggs Calendar

It’s here…the new calendar filled beautiful egg pictures and I am honored to report you will find photos of my work along with pysanky and batik-style eggs from all over the world.  Click here to get the purchasing details and to preview each page.


Time to Register

If you have a 5th or 6th grader who’d like to learn how to create pysanky, here’s a great opportunity.  Every year Oak Hills Church in Folsom, California, hosts a week-long Arts Camp for incoming 1st through 6th graders.  This year I’ll be teaching a class on pysanky and as of today there are only three spots open so don’t wait too long to sign up your student.


Only Two More Spots!

Wow!  The new catalog of classes for the John C. Campbell Folk School just came out a couple of weeks ago and my “Pysanky For All” class August 20-26, 2017, is nearly full.  This is such thrilling news for me because it means I get to go back to that lovely spot in North Carolina and “play eggs” for a whole week with students of all skill levels.

 

I love teaching beginners.  My favorite part is watching their faces as they remove the wax from their very first egg and see the colorful results.  And I love seeing their excitement as they progress through the week, improving in skill and beginning to come up with design ideas on their own.

 

I also love teaching those already experienced with this wax and dye process.  Helping them stretch their artistic muscles as they work with new colors, or techniques, or styles is great fun for me.  I learn almost as much as they do as we work through the week together.

 

Here is a photo of the work my class did for the big “Show and Tell” celebration at the end of the week.  Didn’t they do a great job?  I feel like a proud parent!

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The Fall Show 2016

rcartsThe City of Rancho Cordova is doing a great job of promoting the arts!  Visual arts, public art, and performing arts all are celebrated and supported well by the Cordova Community Council.

 

The Fall Show 2016 Opening Reception will be held Thursday, October 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM in the lobby of the Rancho Cordova City Hall, 2729 Prospect Drive, Rancho Cordova, California 95670.  Stop by to meet the artists and enjoy the great variety of art on display .

 

I have three eggs on display at this show and as an added bonus I’ll be playing Baroque music with the string trio Camerata Cordova at the reception beginning at 5:30 PM.


Save the Date!

It’s never too soon to start planning for summer fun.  And if you want fun, friendship and unhurried time to explore the art of pysanky then this retreat should go right to the top of your list.  Beginner to expert skill levels are all welcome.

 

Pysanky USA Retreat 2016

July 12-16, 2016

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Jim's new toilet seat

A little unabashed advertising here…I will be teaching “Quilt-inspired Eggs” and “Egg Mosaics” classes at this retreat and there are lots of other great classes by a variety of very experienced teachers.

 

Here is the website for more info.


It’s Calendar Time Again

This just in…the 2016 Incredible Egg Calendar is finished and it’s beautiful.  So many wonderful artists around the world contributed photos.  I’m honored to report a couple of mine made the cut.

IE2016calendarcover

Clicking on the above photo will take you to the calendar page at Lulu.com and once you are there click on the tiny word “Preview” directly underneath the cover photo to scroll through the month by month photos.

 

Enjoy!


A Taste of Heaven

Five days of “playing eggs” with friends old and new, now that is my idea of what heaven is like.  I just got back from the Pysanky USA Retreat 2015 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and am still on a pysanky high.  Together with 70 other pysanky artists we spent our days giving and teaching classes, hanging out in the play room working on eggs, and catching up on each other’s lives.  True community at its best.

 

This is a far-flung group to say the least.  One person came from Japan and not only that, she comes from the same city where I was born.  Such a small world, isn’t it?  Another spent this last year on the medical ship Mercy Africa in Madagascar.  Many folks came from the Northeastern states but we had attendees from the South, the Midwest, the West Coast and also Canada.

 

Here are just a few photos to give you a taste of my personal heaven.


International Festival in Rancho Cordova

ifest2015Saturday, May 16, 2015 from 5 to 9 PM
Village Park, Rancho Cordova

 

Let the world come to you with lots of fun displays, performances and food from many different countries at this kid-friendly iFest 2015 .  I’ll be there demonstrating how to create pysanky so be sure to stop by and say hi.

 

More details here.

 

 

 

 


Coming soon!

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to create these eggs, now is the time to sign up for an introductory class through Carmichael Recreation and Park District .  See this flyer for more details.Ukrainian Egg Workshop 2015


It’s Official

Jeanne's car

I’m going to summer camp again!  This year’s Pysanky USA Retreat in Pennsylvania promises to be bigger and better than ever.  I’ll be teaching a couple of classes and taking a few from other teachers but more importantly I’ll get to reconnect with “egging friends” from across the country.  For five days the outside world falls away as I explore new ideas, learn new techniques, and catch up with others who share my love of pysanky.  I can hardly wait!

 

Sound interesting?  This event is a great place for all skill levels, from “I’ve never dyed an egg before” to “I’ve been creating these eggs for 30 years.”  If you want to join the fun, here’s the link for more details.


Incredible Eggs Calendar

2015calendarIt’s that time of year.  The 2015 Incredible Eggs calendar is out and I think this one is the best yet.  And that’s not just because I have two egg photos in it this year.  Click here to see the details and to preview the gorgeous photos.


Summer Camp for Me!

Doing what you love is a good thing…but doing it with a bunch of other people who also love it is an amazingly good thing.  I spent last week in Pennsylvania with 60+ other pysanky artists at an egg retreat learning, teaching, connecting and laughing with friends old and new.  To put it simply, I went to summer camp for adults…and I highly recommend it.

 

This is my third year attending the Pysanky USA Retreat.  I took a few classes, taught a few classes and mostly hung out in the “play room” where we could work on our own projects as we talked and shared about egg art and life in general.  The room population ebbed and flowed throughout the day as classes started which allowed me to meet new people with the luxury of unhurried time on our side.  Free flowing ideas sparked new techniques, new color combinations, new dyes to try.  Wow, my brain got full fast!

 

I came away from this week not only with a renewed enthusiasm for this art but with a sense of community and connectedness to my fellow pysanky artists across the country.  And I’m already looking forward to next year!


Arts Camp 2014

VA56_Pysanky-7

Once again I’ll be teaching a week-long class of 5th and 6th graders how to create pysanky.  Oak Hills Church in Folsom, California, bursts with activity as the campus transforms into a vast studio of kids and volunteers all focused on finding God through the arts.

 

Dance, music, theater, visual arts, creative craftsmanship, and even culinary arts come alive as we all learn how to nurture our creative souls.

 

For more information and to register, click here.

 

 

 


Egg Classes in April

4-petal leaf vine on maroon 1104214Want to learn how to create these lovely eggs?  Along with the Ukrainian Heritage Club of Northern California I am teaching an introductory and a “next step” class on Saturday, April 5, 2014.

La Sierra Community Center
5325 Engle Road
Carmichael, CA 95608

Introductory Class–9:30-11:45 AM

No experience necessary for this class.

Next Step Class–1-3:30 PM

If you’ve made these eggs before and want to learn a new technique, this is the class for you.

You can get more information and sign up through Carmichael Recreation and Park District or call 916 485-5322.


Calendar Girl

calendar

I know this is a bit late but I’m Miss February, for the third year running!  Or at least one of my eggs is Miss February.   Click here to see a preview of all the wonderful photos and find out how you can order a 2014 calendar for your very own.

Creating beauty on eggshells can be a time-consuming and lonely process but thanks to modern technology I am part of a worldwide egg art family.  To me, this calendar is tangible proof that even though separated by miles, we are a community connected through our art.


Arts Camp 2013

Arts Camp 2013 classThere is nothing better than combining kids and God and art all at the same time.  That’s what Arts Camp at Oak Hills Church does…and does very well I might add.  Our Children’s Pastor, Colleen Gray and her amazing team turn our church campus and hundreds of volunteers into a smooth-running, exciting, enthusiastic machine where nearly three hundred kids get to experience God for a whole week through arts such as Dance, Theater, Music, Visual Arts, Creative Craftsmanship, and Culinary Arts.

VA56_Pysanky-7

The seven fifth/sixth grade girls in my pysanky class accomplished much more than any previous year’s class.  Most of them finished four eggs and some more than that.  I beamed as they proudly showed their parents the results of their focused work in class.  And their excitement spilled over at home as parent after parent reported back to me how their child couldn’t stop talking about their eggs and how sad they were when Friday finally arrived.

VA56_Pysanky-13 VA56_Pysanky-16 VA56_Pysanky-37 VA56_Pysanky-43 VA56_Pysanky-46It’s an exhausting week but well worth the effort.  After a few days of restorative quiet here at home, I find myself wondering…is it too soon to start looking forward to Arts Camp next year?VA56_Pysanky-39


Passing It On

More than thirty years ago in my former life (those days before marriage and children) I worked as a registered nurse first in a hospital and then in a doctor’s office.  Another life chapter began when I started teaching Body & Soul, an international program that combines faith and fitness.  Twenty three years later I’m still leading my fitness class weekly and have also been speaking and demonstrating the art of pysanky to individuals and small groups whenever the opportunity arises.

As I reflect back on all those experiences I noticed a common thread…teaching.  I never thought of myself as a teacher before but the more I thought about it, the more it makes sense.  Even when I worked as a nurse, the part I liked best was that one-on-one time teaching.

I delight in taking complex topics, breaking them down to understandable pieces, and communicating those ideas in a simple way the listener can grasp.  I also love the challenge of coming up with different ways to transmit knowledge to help the student gain success.  And I especially love seeing that student’s eyes light up with understanding when the “light bulb” turns on at last.

Arts Camp Pysanky 2In a couple of weeks I get to teach another group of fifth and sixth grade students all about this egg art called pysanky.  Arts Camp 2013 at Oak Hills Church in Folsom is one of the highlights of my year.  Students from first through sixth grade come together for a week of fun and excitement where they explore a particular art and in the process learn more about the God who created them.

If you know of a student who might be interested, it’s not too late to sign up for this great adventure.  My class still has a few spots left and I know there are openings in a wide variety of other arts as well.  For more information, click here.

Let the fun begin!


Quilts and Eggs

The Art & Soul Gallery sits in the lobby of my home church, Oak Hills, and we rotate art through there every couple of months or so.  Currently we’re showing a collection of quilts by Debby Schnabel, a local artist, and the colors, variety, and workmanship are stunning to say the least.

Debby Schnabel, quilterI had the privilege of “hanging” this gallery, which simply means I took part in arranging the quilts and physically mounting them on the walls for display.  It usually takes two or three people to do the work of hanging a new gallery.  This time Debby Schnabel, the quilt artist, and my painter friend, Randy Blasquez, formed the hanging team.

Just as we do with paintings we laid all the quilts out on the floor to arrange them by color.  Then came the process of figuring out how much space we had and making sure we had a good flow to the whole display.  Finally, we mounted the quilts on the wall.  Whew.  Job well done.

As we worked, I noticed both Debby and Randy had an eye for color and scale with those large quilts that I didn’t have.  And both could spot a quilt hung out of level quickly.  It was a different experience for me.  My eye works best in tiny details.  Working with objects this large, I found I was out of my element.

I love seeing those quilts on the gallery wall, but I really loved coming home to my studio and working on my newest series of quilt-inspired pysanky.  To each her own!Eggs in Basket


Lightning Does Strike Twice!

product_thumbnailLast year I had the privilege of seeing a photo of my eggs printed in a beautiful calendar featuring pysanky from artists across the globe.  My son, Ryan, did an amazing job photographing a collection of my red eggs which was the featured photo for February.

This year I am thrilled to announce another photo of my eggs appears in a calendar…and once again it’s for February.  Click on Incredible Eggs 2013 Calendar to get more information and preview all the pictures.

I guess now I really am “Miss February!”


My 15 Minutes of Fame

I got a package in the mail this week.  I knew it was on its way but had nearly forgotten, so seeing it in the postal box and tearing it open brought a Christmas morning thrill.  At last, the promised September 2012 issue from the Egg Artistry Guild of Australia.  And on page 19 I found an article with  my name and some photos of my eggs.  I’m practically famous!

In case you’re wondering, here’s the path that led to this article.  At the egg retreat in July I took a class on etching emu eggs and posted a photo of the finished egg to my pysanky chat group.  The editor of the Australian Guild saw it, contacted the owner of Pysanky USA, the online store that sponsored the retreat, who called me to ask permission to pass on my information.  A flurry of emails back and forth and voila, people in Australia are now reading my one page feature.  Small world, huh?