Pysanky Ukrainian Easter Eggs workshop returns to Glencairn

For those who like to take a hands-on approach to their Easter celebrations, Glencairn Museum is providing six opportunities to participate in its immensely popular Pysanky Workshop over two weekends in March:

Saturday, March 21, 9:00-noon OR 1-4:00
Sunday, March 22, 1-4:00
Saturday, March 28, 9:00-noon OR 1-4:00
Sunday, March 29, 1-4:00

But these workshops fill fast, so choose a date and register now. $45 per person, all materials included. No experience necessary, ages 16 and up only. Registration required by the Wednesday before each session. Please wear old clothes or a smock, since the dyes stain. GlencairnMusuem.org, 267.502.2990 or info@glencairnmuseum.org to register.

Pysanky are the beautiful, elaborate Easter eggs found in Polish, Ukrainian and Russian traditions. Learn how to create your own unique and lasting heirloom using centuries-old Eastern European decorating techniques passed down through the generations.

“Pysanky is easier than you might think,” says Wendy Hallstrom, the workshop’s instructor. “Using a stylus called a kistka, you ‘write’ with melted beeswax on the shell of a raw egg, then dip it into vibrant dyes. You will make two different eggs in the workshop.”

Ms. Hallstrom teaches art at Hunterdon Art Museum, the Center for Contemporary Art and the Hunterdon County Senior Center in western New Jersey, where she works with both adults and children in various media. Besides pysanky, she has begun exploring religious iconography, writing icons in egg tempera in the Russian tradition and creating modern icons in acrylic. Her work has been displayed in juried shows in New Jersey and South Carolina and is in several private collections.

GLENCAIRN MUSEUM, a National Historic Landmark and part of the Bryn Athyn Historic District (including Cairnwood, built 1892-95, and Bryn Athyn Cathedral, 1913-19), houses a collection of religious art and artifacts from around the world and serves as a museum of the history of religion. Glencairn itself, built in the Romanesque style between 1928 and 1939 by Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn for their family’s home, was given to the Academy of the New Church in 1980 after Mildred Pitcairn’s death. A treasure now open to the public, Glencairn Museum offers tours of its tower and 6 floors depicting world religious history as well as a glimpse into the family’s personal life, exhibitions, workshops, concerts, seasonal programs and its popular annual “Christmas in the Castle” tour featuring outstanding examples of Nativity art. For more on the Museum or becoming a member: 267.502.2600, info@GlencairnMuseum.org or www.GlencairnMuseum.org.