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Show abc Sail iTikt tribune A Trc:S"iir of Decorated D""" rr V-- " W 2 ( ( M "er e" To car." Ukranian decoratings B - I non Sunday Muriirn, pril 19, Sea re hin!; ioi liirtli Parent" Cage One W-- 6 art centuries-ol- d Ann KitUiurn jfexty le Wider When the tuvth makers handed out faster holiday duties rabbits got the i.'.' J, I i I'Hl ushy work True they have to hop around delivering Easter baskets hut there are enough rabbits to cover that job The rabbits dont have to furnish the eggs, chickens do Granted the artistic talent of the average chicken is c lose to nil, so it is people who add the aesthetic touch The religious aspects of Easter top the chicken, the egg and the rabbit But the renewal of life, the rebirth in spring of the fertile land finds symbolic rep-Mr- s. Clay resentation in the rabbit and the egg Eggs have been the embodiment of natures rebirth since Pagan times With the advent of Christianity the eggs representing the Pagan concept of natures rebirth came to represent the reaffirmation of Chnstian doctrine and worship People of the Ukraine have a reverence for the egg as a symbol of faith Mythology involving eggs and their significance strongly reflects the religious ethic In the Ukraine the art of the egg is traditionally taught to young women by their mothers. For these women, craft, skill and expression are techniques guarded and secretly revealed to daughters At a community education class taught by Tnsh Clay, Salt Lake City, basic skill m Ukraman egg decoratmg was explained earlier this year. Students learned the careful procedures with the supervision of Mrs Clay Decorating Steps faiere are several steps, each painstakingly followed to produce a decorated egg First, eggs are selected for decoration Equipment used includes a stylus, beeswax, rubber bands that ensure straight lines, a candle and dyes Eggs are usually decorated raw, net A raw egg" hollowed or provides a sturdier working surface than the hollow egg And hard-boile- d eggs cant be kept around A spoiled cooked egg does not win friends. The egg is decorated using the stylus and wax kept m a fluid form with heat from the candle flame After patterns are put on the egg, it is dyed When ready to put the egg in the first of a series of dyes, the initial wax is hardened When the wax dries, it blackens Progression with the dyes, each color followed with additional wax designs, is from lightest to darkest Wax Textures A consideration m the process of waxing and coloring is the texture and It can be frusquality of the egg trating because sometimes you work on an egg that wont pick up the dyes At first you blame the dyes, but actually it is the egg, Mrs Clay explained. In the Ukraine, as in Mrs Clays class, egg decoratmg is the work of women Ukraman women have the skill and patience. Men in the Salt Lake area arent interested either, Mrs. Clay speculated The egg decorating procedure in the Ukraine is a matter of years of tradition hard-boile- and beliefs. d The customs b:us; .nr.Q 3;;o:;k agnsnunut d Ukranians keep bowl of eggs in homes. Below, technique in egg work year-roun- involves tiny holes at top and bottom to hollow the egg. Stylus, bottom, is used to set wax designs on egg. Sharon Wright, son Justin, right, collaborate on an egg for decorating class and to fill their Easter basket. and philosophical practices there are as intricate and detailed as the eggs Just as the eggs are exquisite and detailed, so are the legends A folk tale told in the Ukraine is one which cautions people there, saying the fate of the world depends on the continued decoratmg of eggs. If the people stop domg so, the world will cease to exist. The motifs used for egg decoration in the Ukraine are, at the same time, varied and constant Each woman who paints eggs follows the patterns of centunes, giving her work a personal expression Careful Detail What is put carefully, intricately on the egg is derived from a senes of patterns There are geometnc, plant, animal motifs, each with technical detail and religious and worldly significance When an egg is completed and all dyes have been added, the wax is removed Mrs Clay said she finds the easiest way to remove wax is to hold the egg over a candle and carefully wipe the softened wax off with a cloth When all wax is removed, a coat of shellac is added Then, if at all, tiny holes are made at the top and bottom of the egg and it is blown. Some women like to leave the eggs, raw and hope the insides will dry, she explained "The alternative, that of blowing the eggs, includes the risk of' the egg breaking. As a matter of fact, the nsk of an egg breaking is possible during the entire decoratmg prot ess. Decoratmg eggs as the women in the Ukraine do is challenging and quite therapeutic, according to Mrs. Clay. And if what they say in the Ukraine is true, the theory and practice of egg decoratmg is whats keeping everyone alive ' 0 A ItJiKk |
