Artist Takes Egg Decorating to a Higher Level

For Doris Rojas, artesanias is an important part of almost any community. The term, loosely translated, means the gathering of family and friends to make traditional arts and crafts, most often for holidays or religious celebrations. And although pysanka, Ukrainian egg decorating, isn’t something the Colombia-born Rojas grew up with, as an artist she enjoys designing and teaching the art.

Rojas will teach her fourth pysanka-- Ukrainian Egg Decorating Workshop tomorrow at McGroarty Arts Center in Tujunga.

“At the beginning of each workshop, there’s a feeling of ‘I can’t do that .’ But as we go along, learning and creating, they develop a real sense of self-confidence,” Rojas said of her students.

The decorating process uses raw eggs, wax and dye. First, lines of wax are drawn on the egg, blocking off certain portions. The egg is dipped into dye. After 10 to 15 minutes of drying, the wax is removed. New wax is layered over the dyed portions and other portions of the egg, creating new designs. The process continues, moving from lighter to darker hues, usually ending with purple or black. Today, the insides of the egg are delicately blown out after the final application.

It’s uncertain exactly when the egg designing tradition began, but the longstanding ritual was well entrenched in pagan Ukrainian society as a celebration of spring, Rojas said. Sometime around the year 1000, when the region accepted Christian doctrine, the communal-style art was incorporated with other Easter festivities.

“Originally, every color, every design held a certain meaning,” said Rojas, a Panorama City resident. “Families would create these eggs for relatives or friends with a certain message or messages in mind. For instance, green signifies growth, and blue, good health. Purple means faith or trust or power. And black represents remembering, the introspective color. Later, with Christianity, the eggs were presented to the local priests along with breads and other gifts.”

Traditionally, Rojas said, finished eggs were left in an area with good air circulation and turned slowly over a period of several months until the yoke hardened into a little ball in the middle, signifying completion.

“And you prayed the eggs wouldn’t drop in the meantime,” she said, “or you’d practically have to move out the smell was so bad.”

Rojas, a sculptor and painter who took her first pysanka workshop 10 years ago, remembers the difficulty she had in finding an art store that carried the supplies. Pysanka dye is a non-edible coloring, specifically made for the process. The name comes from the Ukrainian verb pysaty, which means “to write.”

About a year later, she opened El Taller Crafts Studio in Van Nuys, where, along with the standard arts and crafts items, she was able to find Ukrainian contacts to supply her with pysanka materials. Although she closed the store two years ago, Rojas has continued to teach pysanka at area art centers, colleges and for community organizations. The workshops, she said, are especially popular around Easter.

“Doris makes it so much fun, and fairly easy, too. She cares about it. You can tell by the way she explains and helps each person as an individual,” said Don Gaudino of Sunland, an employee at McGroarty who took her workshop last year. “But you know, the process is really a wonder. There’s something truly special about transforming a plain old egg into a thing of beauty.”

“Pysanka--Ukrainian Egg Decorating Workshop” will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. tomorrow at the McGroarty Arts Center, 7570 McGroarty Terrace, Tujunga. Fees for the workshop, sponsored by the city Cultural Affairs Department, are $12, $9 for seniors and handicapped individuals. For more information, call (818) 352-5285.