Crosses

This pysanka is slightly modified from one featured in Ukrainian Easter Eggs and How We Make Them. It features two kinds of crosses, the typical cross, which looks like a t,  and the "sloping cross" or "St. Andrew's Cross," which looks like an X. Both of these symbols have meanings in the pagan and Christian traditions.

Mock "Scratch" Pysanka

One type of Easter egg in the polish tradition is skrobanki, or scratched eggs. Here, I've adapted a skrobanka featured in Jerzy Lipka's book, Almost Everything about Eggs, but used the batik (wax and dye) techniques. In a typical skrobanka, the white lines would be the deepest scratches, and the yellow lines would be lighter scratches.

Blue Flower Bouquet ("embossed" style drop-pull)

This design with "embossed" colored waxes is loosely based off of a dyed drop-pull pysanka featured in Larry Kozlowski's compilation of Slavic patterns. 

Regal Poppies

My own design using a non-traditional division.

Rosy Butterflies on Blue

This pysanka is loosely based off of one featured in Ukrainian Easter Eggs and How We Make Them. I've changed the colors entirely and made variations to the design, mostly in the cross pattern with stars. This is a diasporan design that is probably based on a folk design featuring swallows rather than butterflies. More on that later...

Autumn Windmill with Wheat

My own design.

Tree of Life II (Goose Egg)

Today I'm posting a special pysanka I just made for a friend who recently moved back to her home country. It is a revision of the duck pysanka, Tree of Life , that I wrote in 2014. Using a goose egg gave me a lot more flexibility in color choice. (Of course, those pesky cracks around the drill hole never show up until you're committed.)