Pysanky (Ukrainian Egg Decoration) Master Artist: Irene Badulak
Apprentice Artist: Sophia Zacharczuk

Description of the Art Form

Pysanky is a batik style of art on eggshells. The dyes used in pysanky were traditionally made from objects found in nature, though today they are chemically created. Esthetics of this folk art push for straight lines, intricate patterns, and vibrant colors. The patterns and colors that are used are often symbolic. In the tradition, there are legends, and old techniques that are still passed on today. The diet of the birds, the quality of the eggs, and the way the eggs are processed and cleaned are important factors in the art of pysanky. Irene Badulak gets the eggs she uses in her art directly from farmers, or from her own ducks and geese. Pysanky has become a Ukrainian calendar custom focused around Easter even though the art form predates Christianity. Irene Badulak practices it year round.

Irene Joanne Badulak

Place of Birth: Philadelphia, PA
Current Place of Residence: Quakertown, PA

Artist Statement

I am the daughter of parents both born in Lviv, Ukraine. The art form I practice is pysanky. I started learning the art of pysanky at the age of six, from my mother during the months prior to Easter. I participated in demonstrating the art of pysanky with my mother and other members of the Ukrainian community during my adolescent years. After I was married, I started working on pysanky more often, not just a few months before Easter, but year round. I have been working on pysanky seriously for about 15 years now. Pysanky are very important to me and to other Ukrainians because the art form has been around since pre-Christian times and is very important in the Easter holiday. The different symbols and color combinations on the eggs can have so much meaning for the artist and to the receiver of the egg. It is a very relaxing art that I enjoy passing on to my children.

Irene Badulak is a member of St. Michael the Ark Angel Ukrainian Church and a retired member of the Ukrainian dance group Voloshky. She is a graduate of Methacton High School and the Ukrainian Cultural Center School in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, as well as attending Manor College with a major in computer science. She has taught pysanky to children and adults at the Presentation of Our Lord Church in Lansdale, Pennsylvania and to her son’s sixth grade class at St. Isidores School in Quakertown. She was one of four Ukrainian artists selected to participate in an event sponsored by the University Club of Washington, D.C. honoring the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, at which she displayed and demonstrated the art of pysanky. In the spring of 2003, she represented the state of Pennsylvania at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, and her egg is still displayed at the Visitor Center there. She currently participates in both Ukrainian and American-oriented art shows and festivals in the mid-Atlantic region.

Poppies: This design is the master craftsman’s interpretation of what Pysanky has evolved to today. The poppies represent beauty and children.

Sophia Zacharczuk

Artist Statement

I am very involved in the culture of my grandparents. They came to the United States when they were younger than I am now, back in the 1950’s. it is important to my parents that my brother and I know about our heritage. They take us to a Ukrainian church and we practice Ukrainian holiday traditions at home. I like it. I have met many people from Ukraine and am proud that I know as much as I do about their country.

I first learned how to make pysanky in nursery school. I still make them every year with my family at Easter time since they are part of the Ukrainian Easter tradition, but they usually don’t come out very well for me. I would like to get better so that I could teach my friends and share this Ukrainian craft with my children some day. I hope that after learning from Mrs. Badulak, I can make better-looking pysanky that I can be proud to display in my Easter basket at church.

Four Fish: The fish represent Christianity and the red dots represent happiness in life. By Sophia Zacharczuk