Dozens of miniature jewels, also known as Pysanky, have taken over Tara Conover’s K-12 art room. The Ukranian method of decorating elaborate eggs for countless generations was taught by Conover to all of her art students the last full week leading up to spring break. While the elementary students had help with the Easter-themed activity, Conover gave her sixth, eighth, and high school students free reign to completely make and decorate the eggs themselves.
Once all of the yolks and egg whites were blown out of the eggs, the artists went to work. Students drew patterns on eggs with beeswax and then dipped them into very strong dye. This process was repeated over and over again with a variety of different colors to get the achieved look. Then, the beeswax was melted off with a candle flame, revealing the final design. To finish, students applied a coat of varnish to each egg for a shiny finish.
