And after a long hiatus... some drop pull.

I just got back from the Pysanky USA Retreat. Up until then, I had been preparing various folk pysanky (which I will gradually post over time) and practicing drop pull for the two classes I taught. Today I'd like to share the two samples I made as examples for the drop pull class. You'll see that I'm still learning this technique. They are both based on pysanky from the Lemko/Lemkiv region, which is famous for its drop pull:

Near replica from Vira Manko's The Ukrainian Folk Pysanka (Table 2, No. 26).

Adapted from a pysanka in Vira Manko's The Ukrainian Folk Pysanka (Table 2, No. 14). The colors have been changed from white, yellow, and dark red to white, light blue, and dark blue. Clearly still working on my strokes here!

The drop pull technique does not use a kiska but instead uses a pin dipped in molten wax. The wax is applied by applying the pin to the egg and, once the drop hits the surface, tugging the pin down across the surface to create the stroke.