IS A UKRAINIAN TRADITIONAL WAY OF DECORATING.

TRADITIONALLY, WE DO NOT HOLLOW OUT THE EGGS.

THEY USE A WAX RESIST METHOD, YOU HAVE THE EGG, YOU DRAW ON IT IN WAX AND YOU DYE IT, AND WHATEVER YOU HAVE DRAWN ON IT STAYS THE COLOR IT WAS WHEN YOU DREW ON IT.

YOU DYE IT, DRAW MORE, DYE IT ANOTHER TIME AND AT THE END YOU MELT THE WAX, THOSE PRESERVED COLORS ARE THERE.

YOU HAVE YOUR DESIGN FULLY REALIZED.

>> FOR 10 YEARS, BY THE TIME I WAS INTRODUCED TO THIS, I WAS MARRIED TO MY HUSBAND, CHARLES, HE WAS WORKING AT A HIGH SCHOOL AS AN AID ALONGSIDE A WOMAN WHO HAD BEEN WORKING WITH THIS FOR 25, 30 YEARS BECAUSE, LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN UTAH, SHE IS MORMON AND WENT ON A MORMON MISSION TO UKRAINE, AROUND EASTER, SHE WOULD INVITE FRIENDS OR FAMILY, WHOEVER WAS INTERESTED AND SHOW THEM HOW TO DO IT AND IT WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE, I ENJOYED THE PROCESS SO MUCH, IT WAS FASCINATING, I HAD NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE IT.

WE WALKED AWAY FROM THAT PROCESS, IT TOOK A FEW HOURS TO DO IT ALL, I WENT TO CHARLES I WAS LIKE, I NEED ALL THE STUFF THAT IS HOW I GOT INTO IT.

WHEN I DO PYSANKY, I THINK OF HER, SHE UNFORTUNATELY HAS PASSED AWAY LAST YEAR, AND I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT SHE PASSED IT ALONG.

WE ENDEAVORED TO DO THIS SAME THING, WE HAVE GOTTEN FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS AND FAMILY OVER EVERY YEAR SINCE WE MOVED BACK TO OHIO.

AND TAUGHT THEM HOW TO DO IT.

KIND OF SPREADING AND ON AND CARRYING ON THE TRADITION THAT SHE STARTED.

>> I HOPE I AM HELPING THIS ARTFORM CONTINUE ON.

TEACHING IT, SHOWING IT OFF, MAYBE SOMEBODY WILL BE INTERESTED.

THEY WILL DO THEIR OWN THING WITH IT.

I TRIED TO STAY TRUE TO SOME OF THE TRADITIONAL THINGS, PLAY WITH TRADITIONAL THINGS IN A WAY THAT IS DIFFERENT AND INTERESTING.

JUST CONTINUING THIS ARTFORM AND MAKING IT A LIVING ONE INSTEAD OF SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE IN ONE COUNTRY JUST DO.

THAT IS MY GOAL.

THE REWARDING THING IS THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT IT WILL LOOK LIKE UNTIL IT IS DONE.

YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DO THIS ENOUGH, YOU CAN GUESS, YOU HAVE IT INSIDE YOUR HEAD, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY VARIABLE FACTORS TO DOING PYSANKY.

NOT AS MUCH A SCIENCE AS IT IS AN ART, WHICH IS TRUE OF A LOT OF ART FORMS.

SO MANY DIFFERENT FACTORS, TEMPERATURE OF THE DYE, HOW LONG YOU HAVE HAD THE DYE FOR, WHEN I MELT OFF THE WAX, EVERY TIME IT IS JUST AS AN EXCITING MOMENT, REVEAL WHAT IT WILL LOOK LIKE, DID IT TURN OUT THE WAY I WANTED?

I THINK, ASIDE FROM THE MEDITATIVE PROCESS IN DOING IT, THAT IS WHAT KEEPS ME COMING BACK.

AS AN ART TEACHER, I AM SPLIT BETWEEN THOSE TWO WORLDS, AS A TEACHER, YOU ARE ALWAYS LEARNING, I THINK TEACHERS ARE THE BEST LEARNERS, WE LOVE THAT, AND ARTISTS AS WELL, NEVER STOP LEARNING.

THERE IS THIS, AS AN ART TEACHER, THIS SEPARATION, I SPEND MOST OF MY TIME DOING MY JOB.

I DO NOT HAVE AS MUCH TIME TO DO ART.

IRONICALLY, THE ART TEACHER IS DOING THE ART IN A DAY.

I HAVE STRUGGLED EVEN TO CALL MYSELF AN ARTIST BECAUSE I DABBLE IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS BUT I DO NOT FEEL LIKE IT HAS BECOME AN EXPERT.

THIS FEEDS MY CREATIVE SIDE BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING I CAN DO.

IT TAKES A FEW HOURS, GRANTED, BUT I CAN WORK ON IT IN STAGES AND BE CREATIVE AND EXPERIMENT IN A WAY WHERE I UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS AND IT IS NICE TO BE LIKE, I GOT THIS LITTLE THING DONE, I CAN MOVE ON.

START THE PROCESS OVER RELATIVELY QUICKLY.

FOLK ART TO ME, THE REALM IS UNDERAPPRECIATED AND UNDERVALUED.

IT SLIDES INTO THE CRAFT REALM, NOTHING WRONG WITH CRAFTING, BUT OFTEN PEOPLE WHO ARE CRAFTERS DO NOT CONSIDER THEMSELVES ARTISTS FORMALLY WITH A CAPITAL "A."

IT IS AN ART FORM, KIND OF A CRAFT, FOLK ART, HARD FOR PEOPLE TO PLACE.

WHAT USE DOES IT HAVE?

IT IS ART.

IT MAKES YOU FEEL SOMETHING AND HAPPY, MAKE YOU GLAD YOU HAVE IT ON YOUR SHELF.

IT IS ALSO THE HISTORICAL THING THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR CENTURIES.

IN BETWEEN LIKE I AM.

THAT IS WHY I ENJOY IT SO MUCH.