From the guide:  The pysanky in this case are modern ones.  The designs are based, to varying degrees, on traditional Ukrainian pysanky, but rearranged and changed.  When Ukrainian immigrants came to the USA and Canada, they brought their traditions with them, including the writing of pysanky.  Over time, the pysanky lost their old, magical functions (protection of the home, ensuring a good harvest and fecundity of the livestock), and became objects of art.  As people from different villages and regions mixed, so did the design on their pysanky.  And, with the introduction of modern tools and dyes, the pysanky became much more intricate and colorful.

On these pysanky you should note the high levels of intricacy on some, and the use of less traditional colors, especially pink and blue.  Most of the motifs still resemble those on the traditional eggs we have looked at, but you will find butterflies, birds and fish drawn much more elaborately than on traditional eggs.

The designs in this case are taken from several sources, including the imaginations of the artists; many are based on folk designs, and quite a few come from a series of design books published by the Ukrainian Gift Shop of Minneapolis.

The pysanky in this case were written by Roman Seniuk, Arnie Klein, and me, Luba Petrusha.

    

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