‘It gives me a sense of good feeling, like I’m doing something worthwhile, creating something not everyone can do’

For many, Easter egg decorating brings to mind a simple process: dipping hard-boiled eggs into different colors of vegetable dye. But, when Lucy Sermak was a teen-ager, she learned of a 2,000-year-old technique that combines the batik artistry, symbolism and folklore of the Ukraine. It’s called pysanky.

In pysanky, derived from the word pysate , which means “to write,” designs are written on the egg with wax and the entire egg is dipped in dyes. A single egg can take anywhere from 30 minutes to eight hours to complete, depending on the intricacy of the design.

Sermak, now 47 and living in San Carlos, has admittedly become addicted to the craft. She has gone from creating a dozen pysanky eggs during Easter for her family and friends to making 100 to 150 a year.

She has had her crafts on display at libraries, at the Ukrainian Festival in San Diego and at the Southern California Exposition, or Del Mar Fair, where she has won several awards. She also teaches classes in the ethnic craft for children and adults with her partner, Cynthia Barbat. Sermak spoke with Times staff writer Terry Rather and was photographed by Teresa Tamura.

Pysanky egg decorating started out as an Easter tradition because the egg was a symbol of life. And, of course, spring is also the start of new life after winter. A long time ago, young girls would make them in secret to surprise their boyfriends. They would make a special egg, which would take weeks of labor, and present it to their boyfriends as an Easter morning gift.

The basic technique used is the batik method, using melted beeswax and a stylus with a tiny hole which lets the wax flow onto the egg, forming the design. You dip the raw egg in a light color. Another portion of the design is covered with wax, which will preserve the design.

The egg is then dipped into the next color, which is darker. You always work light colors to dark, until the design is completed. The wax is then removed by melting the wax and wiping it with a soft cloth and the entire design is revealed.

These eggs are not to be eaten. They are strictly ornamental. Traditionally, they just left the eggs inside, and they just dried out naturally through the years. Today, eggs are more fragile, so most times the eggs are blown out.

The eggs were originally created with certain meanings. For instance, a horse or a deer was put on as a symbol of wealth and prosperity; wheat designs of harvesting, drops of tears of Mary and, of course, crosses are symbols of Christianity. Most have lines going all the way around the egg in some way, which represents everlasting life.

My favorite symbol is the star because it’s so fun to draw. There are so many variations to it. You can do probably 50 of them, and each one will be different. I also love the geometric designs. It’s not as traditional, but blues and purple are my favorite colors. Purple means royalty; it’s a symbol of richness. Blue represents the sky.

A friend of mine taught me how to do the eggs when I was 17. She showed me how to make a simplified version of pysanky. About 11 years later, my husband and I joined a Byzantine church, which is Greek-Catholic. The priest showed us how to do these. After I picked up these styles, it took hold of me, and I fell in love with decorating eggs.

Pysanky egg decorating brings out the creative side of me because I have this need to create. It’s also a means of relaxation. I have my “egg table” set in one corner in my house. I can work whenever and however long I please, and it doesn’t interfere with anything (my kids) do.

Sometimes I don’t want to go to bed at 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning because I get so involved and enthusiastic in the designs I’m making. It satisfies that creative urge I have. I see a picture I like, and I try to see if I can put that on the egg. It gives me a sense of good feeling, like I’m doing something worthwhile, creating something not everyone can do.

Spring is the rebirth of nature. We don’t feel it so much here as they do in other parts of the country because the weather is so warm and we don’t feel this closed-in, dark feeling. The winter can get so severe and cold and all of a sudden the snow melts and grass starts sprouting, and you just feel this surge of energy and this rebirth of life. I try to keep some of that feeling when I’m doing the eggs.

I think I’m hooked. Egg decorating is something I am doing more in winter and spring, not just for Easter. I enjoy creating, and I end up giving so many away. There’s always a new design I want to try. I also like to share the craft.

Sharing something you enjoy doing and having someone else generate the same enthusiasm gives you a good feeling inside. It’s something wonderful and beautiful.