STERLING – Barbara Kimball started decorating eggs for Easter when she was 10 years old. Far more than making egg decals, Mrs. Kimball practices the fine art form of Ukrainian egg decoration known as “Pysanky.”
“It’s a tradition that was passed down from my grandmother to my mother, and my mother taught myself and my two sisters,” Mrs. Kimball said.
Her mother, Catherine Kalamon, 93, only stopped making eggs a couple of years ago.
“She has eggs that are close to 70 years old, along with ones that my grandmother made,” Mrs. Kimball said. “It seems to be mostly a female tradition, but lately more and more men are getting interested in the art.”
Pysanky is derived from the word “pysaty” meaning, “to write.” Mrs. Kimball described the process as spiritual and meditative.
Her acquisition of the art form has much to do with her upbringing in the Ukrainian Catholic Church, believing that egg decoration stemmed from the writing of icons.
“I grew up in the Eastern Rite,” she said, “It’s steeped in a lot of tradition. I know that the Polish and the Czechoslovakians do this kind of work – I think it’s an ethnic thing. Eggs were available and that was the way of having a creative outlet.”
Pysanky has historical significance in the Ukrainian Catholic Church. A handout provided by Mrs. Kimball described the egg as having been used throughout history in mythical and religious ceremonies as a sign of nature’s rebirth. With the coming of Christianity, the egg came to symbolize man’s rebirth, ultimately representing Christ rising from the tomb. In 988 A.D., when Ukraine accepted Christianity, the decorated Easter egg became an important symbol in the Ukrainian rituals of the new religion.
“All colors and designs have particular meanings,” with white meaning purity, red denoting happiness, black, eternity, dots for the tears of Mary, triangles for the Trinity, and a fish symbolizing Christ, said Mrs. Kimball.
Each year Mrs. Kimball begins to decorate eggs during the feast of the Epiphany, continuing throughout Lent. Although the creation of one egg can take from one to four hours at a stretch, she finds it a relaxing activity at the end of a busy day.
“I’ll sit down and then I’ll do something on an egg and that will be my quiet time for the day,” she said.
The process takes great skill, practice and patience, according to Mrs. Kimball. The first step is to find clean, unblemished eggs, blow them out and clean them. After waiting a week for the egg to completely dry, one the process begins by lightly drawing pencil lines on the egg to divide it into quadrants in either a horizontal or vertical composition.
“Then the fun begins,” said Mrs. Kimble. Beeswax is melted by candle into a writing tool called a “kistka.” It acts like a pen to draw fine lines onto the egg shell. After the egg has the initial design with the beeswax, it is then dipped into the dye, starting with a light color. Colors are worked from light to dark. The process is repeated, adding more beeswax to protect each color. In the end, the egg is held to a candle flame, melting off the wax and revealing the final design. The egg is then coated with resin to protect the color and strengthen the shell.
For Mrs. Kimball, this much-loved activity is a way for her to serve her parish of St. Richard of Chichester in Sterling, which she and her family joined in 1984. Each year she donates the eggs that she makes (this year, totaling about 78) to the parish to be sold, with the proceeds going to whatever ministry the pastor believes is most in need that year.
“One year it was the youth ministry,” she said, “and one year we donated the proceeds to our sister village, Los Patzanes in Guatemala.” Other beneficiaries have included the Mustard Seed and Dismas House in Worcester.
She also sells eggs at the weekly Sunday morning coffee shop (complete with breakfast), a 30-plus year parish tradition.
“It’s a good ministry for the parishioners to get together,” said Mrs. Kimball, “and yet it is doing some good because they then send the proceeds to this village in Guatemala. They’ve helped provide medical care, and supplies for the school children.”
Just before Easter the eggs are made available for sale and it is something parishioners look forward to each year.
“Some people will use the eggs as Christmas ornaments,” she said, “If they are put on a little chain, they could be hung on a Christmas tree.”
Due to their fragile nature, the eggs cannot always be on display; therefore Mrs. Kimball provides photographs for the bulletin. Those interested can request to see them at the rectory.
This year the COVID-19 pandemic caused the selling of the eggs to be put on hold.
“We were in the middle of the program when this whole crisis hit,” said Mrs. Kimball. “I said to Father (James) Steuterman (pastor) that whatever proceeds were made, to put it in a fund and then use it toward any ministries that need it, like our food pantry or the sister village program. And I said to him that when times get better, we will do it again.”
Mrs. Kimball, who earned her bachelor’s degree in fine arts (in illustration and advertising design), is certain the tradition of egg decoration will continue in her family.
“My boys know how to do it,” she said. “I don’t know if they have the patience to do it. My sisters do it and passed it on to their daughters so the tradition is pretty widespread. We’re all pretty much having fun doing it as it was passed down to us.”