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Show A promise kept and Pisio A tradition continued were bom in die nine Rgim in late I9dxnaxj Uloainr but didnt meet until cadi had immigrated id Amexica in the oriy 1900b They manied in 1914 beoomiig American damn in 1922 nd finned an 80 acn of land in die little village of Suring in northern Vnmnan, Stephan Ustyna 0 w . where they raised nine children. fr was naan easy life Nd ocher Ukrainian families lived in the area, Christenson says, and neither of her parens spoke Eolith. Not treed their two oldest children began attending das in the little one-tocschoolhoiBe did they leant the hnguge, practicing the wtxds their children bsoight home each day ' Once my dad learned English, he loved this m country Qiristznfon says. Stephan Pisio did everything he could tt help his family fit in and fed Use Americans. Mo Greek Orthodox Ukrainian dutch existed in Suriig, so he nised the children as Rnman Catholics. He their last name, changing it to Rsa But Ustyna was detennined that her American children would nor foeget their Ukrainian roots. She kept up the traditions of the old countty, like the simpler krisanki, she hid for the children every Eastet; colored with dyes from bees and berries. But it soon dawned on yourg Betty that these were no oadinaiy Easier qggs. 1 said, 'Mama I don't think the Easter bunny makes there lands of eggs' I was , about 8 yeas old and die said, T was wundetiqg when one of you kids was goiqg to Ameri-cania- fete-nig- ht ed . adc me about these eggs." pa . GIVE IT IT f J- - ni 1 ' ' The vety nor Eareeehriurnannt mother began teaching litdc Betty how to make the krisanki In feet, all oftfae children learned to deante the eggs, bur only Chrireen-so-n still pactices the an. Ustyna Pisos fervent hope was that her daughter would learn die more intricare drills of pyainky to keep the Ukainfen art fatm alive. She amend a promise from her daughter I promised my mother brfbre she died 1 would never give this up She raid, Never forgo who you are and whar you are; you are a Ukrainian. Hue to her wood, Chritrenaon visited a Ukninian priest in Canada in 1973 and spent three days learning the intricacies of pysanky The memory of those lessons remains daup the priesA broken Eighth as he described how to apply the colon and the hoc wax and the special dyes ueed only for pysanky. A the ww hy and ffufclmnw IwnMWi nvw JrilU her rhllAm wink riw heaurifol eggs to school and teachers took an interest. ' She soon was teadiing dams iiypysanlcy and gained A s nrm tier mix ofiqni me jiiuniKwiwn Institution in Wnhiigton, D.C, and die was a 1996 Nmonal Heritage Minn; a prestigious honor awarded by the Nationd Endowment of the Ana. But Christenson has never practiced die ait for profit or feme. As die speaks about her. pysanky, it is dear why she spends hours upon hours each year drawing diamonds and docs and lines and symbols on raw eggs dipped in different colon over and ovee. ! Pride and affection and respect are evident in her vtuce as she talks about her mother and the legacy she left behind. ' ?Wbat I do, Christenson says, is an honor to my mother. Sometimes her hands are itching to cradle the egg and lay down the lines of melted wax with the simple stylus called a kistkm (pronounced KIST-ka- ). But Christenson who has been known to wake op in die middle of the night and sketch a design on a scop of paper while it's still fresh in her mind won't break with tradition: She works on the eggs only during die 40 days of Lent. As fer as my pysanky is concerned, I stick to tradition, she says. She spends many hours on each egg, which she then gives to family and friends. The longest she ever spent on a single egg aras two and a half weeks; it was an ostrich egg. The egg must be raw, the dyes specially purchased for this very purpose. Her design inspira-rinoc V Dmarmnn ncnally (Widw lvw an iVm. rote an egg as die gore alotg, waking far the pattern and color to reveal themselves to ha Everything that is on an egg has a meaning. Orange stands for strength, green stands for trees and freshness and earth, red stands fix blood and . the suffering of Christ. that It isnt only irt to beautiful, it has so much meaning. The dots that we put on stand far Marys teats. Wheat stands far bountiful harvest and, of course, crosses stand ' fer Christianity Flowers are fer love and happsnera. There is no end to what you can do, she says. The artist always sorts arith the lighcest colar fine, going from light to dark. Wuc is used asa resist wherever wax is laid, that color is preserved as the egg is further dipped in other; progrosirefy darker colon. When all the oolon sit laid and the designs in place, the am is carefully; painstakingly melted off over a candle flame. It is really such a simple ait and such an inexpensive ait. The only thing it takes is a lot of patience and love. Tbu make one little misrahr and you have to sort over. With only 40 days to work on her beloved eggs, Christenson makes the most of her limited time. In the weds before Eastet; her family understands if furniture is nor dusted and beds left unmade. . Though many artists use blown eggs in which tiny holes are pricked in the eggshell and die concents blown out Christenson, of txause, is a purist. For preservation's sake, however; her husband and six children know they can carefully prick the eggs themselves once they've received them as gifts. Christenson has taught the ait to cadi of her six children, though none of. them have yet taken it up. But Christenson hopes some of them will, and soon. , While her hands are still steady and her eyesight sharp, she's realistic about how many years she'll still be able to practice the craft she loves so much. think the older I get Tm 70 the more it means to me. It seems so much in life is being J a frxgocten, she says. I will continue doing it until I can't do it ahymore. My daughters have promised me they will do this, when they have time. They are, after all, Ukrainian. Just as her mother befixe her did, Christenson hopes that lesson sets in sooner or latet Tiler Mama lays, dont Her forgo who you are and what you are. . TWy 1 EUm Marpdie u n tdtor, srtia, tmifitJamt writer. American Profile Pago 7 |