Easter's Most Elegant Eggs

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You can sell these little works of art to stores, of course, but I've made the most money at craft fairs. Also, sales to friends-of-friends have accounted for over half of my trade . . . especially around the Christmas and Easter "busy seasons".

On the negative side, though, you should know that pysanky is a fairly time-consuming craft, enough so that I average only $2.25 per hour for my labor. Still, with about 25 hours' work a week, I earned $1,700 over a six-month period last year, and the past three Easters brought in between $300 and $400 apiece.

I should point out, too, that your egg market will suffer under a surfeit of competition . . . so, if there's another egg-decorator in your area, it's best to be sure that you're better than he or she is. At any rate, the time spent becoming a true pysanky artist is both fun and satisfying. And—if you look into its traditions—there's a lot more to this exquisite craft than pretty eggs.

TRADITIONAL WISHES

The word pysanky stems from the verb pysaty (which means "to write") and is translated as "written egg". Therefore, each color and symbol should have a special meaning, and each egg should convey a wish. For example, in the Ukrainian Easter egg tradition, a stag might symbolize leadership ... a chicken, fertility . . . a fish, abundance . . . and a spider, artistry. As for colors, yellow stands for purity . . . green can mean bountifulness . . . orange, strength . . . black, eternity . . . and so on.

And, aside from all these mystical meanings, just the act of egg decoration is a part of a greater legend: It's said that should this ancient custom ever cease, a chained monster of evil will burst his bonds and devour the world . . . but that, on the other hand, the evil on the earth will become less as more beautiful eggs are produced.

I'd say that that's as good a reason as any to decorate an egg!

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