Friday Egg: Inner Workings

This lovely emu egg has been etched and only etched. The process is the same as Pysanky, but the colors come from the natural colors of the eggshell. I start with the dark green (and sometimes gray) egg and wax my outlines. They show up as the darkest color on this egg. Then I give the egg an acid bath (Acid Magic is a good one) and give it a gentle scrub with a soft toothbrush until I judge that the color has changed. I rinse off the acid, dip in a baking soda solution to stop the acid from working and wax in the slightly lighter areas. I repeat this process for as many times as I want layers, ending with the white innermost layer of the eggshell. This can be pretty scary because if I go too far, I etch a hole right through the eggshell.

The design itself is one I revisit because I find it interesting. I hope you do too!

Happy Friday!

Sixth Annual Easter Egg Dye-O-Rama!

You are invited to the Sixth Annual Easter Egg Dye-O-Rama! Families and children of all ages are welcome and encouraged to join us for an afternoon of holiday crafting and fun in the sun in the centennial garden and museum grounds.

 Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neill_cochran_house_2007.jpg

Never dyed an egg before? Come learn with us! We’ll provide all the materials you need (clean-up included!) free of charge in a fun, family-friendly environment. In addition to basic dyeing and decorating tables open to all in the centennial garden, I will lead groups through the more intricate pysanka dyeing technique for producing more elaborate designs inside the museum. *Be sure to ask a museum staff member to sign up for a group on the day of the event!

Dates, Times, and Details

Sixth Annual Easter Egg Dye-o-Rama
Friday, April 3rd, 2015. 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

No registration required. All supplies included. Museum grounds will be open for running, playing, and lawn games. Museum staff will be on hand for informal tours of the museum and grounds throughout the event.

Parking is available behind the museum, free of charge.

In the spirit of the Easter holiday, we will donate the eggs we dye together to Ronald McDonald House to cheer families of patients who are away from home dealing with serious health issues.


Here are some photos of the fun from last year!

For more information, and to look at photos of this truly lovely house, visit the Neill Cochran House website or facebook page. 

I hope to see you out at the museum!

Friday Egg: Again Again

A lovely acid-etched emu egg that seems to evoke history and memory, both public and private, imagined and remembered, permanent and ephemeral.

Happy Friday!

Friday Egg: Patchwork

I present a goose egg pysanky today, shown unvarnished as I am trying to decide whether to do a gloss, matte or satin finish on this one. I am still working out the idea of aerial views and random patterns and this is my latest creation. I started with Jacquard Aztec Gold Dye for the initial outlines but that's as specific as I can get with this one as it was really just whatever color I felt like doing next!

Happy Friday!