Thursday 5 April 2012

Easter Polish Egg Decoration - Pisanki


When the time is coming for the Easter Egg decoration…I stop with my simple modern taste…and I go traditional ;- ) I adore the Polish tradition of decorating eggs, which has been there for ages. It varies per region including different techniques, colors and motifs. The one which we used to do home is called drapanki, known in Śląsk (Silesia) as kroszonki.  These are created by first dying the egg to a dark solid color, black, navy-blue, violet or deep red (using natural ingredients) and then the design is etched on the egg with a sharp pointed instrument. Care must be taken not to break the shell! I remember making pisanki as a kid at the kitchen table round Easter. So thats what I was doing yesterday… first boiled the eggs in water together with onion skins, ( the color gets stronger the longer the eggs stay in the mixture) and then put some simple patterns on it with little help of my older son… That's actually the faster way to color egg but there are plenty of other natural methods to give them beautiful colors (using red cabbage, beetroot skin or nutshell) - there is no end for ideas! ;-)


photos/materials : kultura.wp.pl /  flickrhivemind.net - pisanki / gazeta.pl - 143 pisanki in one day! a lot informaishon about Polish Easter : Polish Easter Dictionary