Great results from one of our students!
As I mentioned in my last post, I had the awesome opportunity to teach a Serbian Easter Crash Course at Mesh Baltimore yesterday with my friend Lora. For everyone's information, Serbia celebrates Orthodox Easter which falls on May 5 this year, so this workshop was just in time.
From an artist's perspective, I don't think there is a holiday more suited for me than Serbian Easter. Read on to learn how you can make your own beautiful eggs!
What you'll need:
- Onion skins (spinach, beets, coffee or other colorful foods can work, too)
- Eggs (brown tend to work better)
- Leaves, flowers, grass to decorate with (you can also use other found material or wax)
- Panty hose cut into 3" x 3" squares, approximately
- String/yarn
- Oil
How it's done:
1. Peel brown skins off the onions and put them in a pot. It's OK if some onion gets in the pot. The more onion skins, the stronger the dye.
2. Fill pot with enough water to just cover the onion skins. Boil the onions skins for 5-10 minutes. Turn off heat to let mixture cool down. For darker color, let sit overnight.
3. To prepare the egg, place leaves or flowers face down on the egg. Soft, smooth, flat leaves work better for this.
4. Once you have positioned your design on the egg, wrap the pantyhose over the egg tightly. Gather the excess pantyhose and twist before tying it with a string.
5. Add eggs to the not-too-hot dye pot and make sure the eggs are covered by the liquid. Add water if needed.
6. Bring to a boil, and boil 5-10 minutes. After the eggs look dark, turn off the heat and let the eggs sit at least 5 minutes or until cooled.
7. Cut off the pantyhose and remove leaves. Rub with a little bit of oil and you're done!
Customs:
- Serbian Easter Eggs are normally made the night before Easter.
- The first egg that a household makes should be completely red with no patterns. This egg a symbol of protection and prosperity and will be displayed in the house all year until the next Easter when a new one takes its place. Family members symbolically "wash" their face with it the day after it is made. This is done by holding the egg intact in one hand while splashing your face with water.
- Families make plenty of eggs to exchange with friends. After you exchange them, you can eat them.
- There is a game that everyone plays to see whose egg will not crack. Friends tap each other's eggs tournament style, and the person whose egg does not crack, wins.
To see more pictures from our workshop, check out my Facebook page!
From an artist's perspective, I don't think there is a holiday more suited for me than Serbian Easter. Read on to learn how you can make your own beautiful eggs!
What you'll need:
- Onion skins (spinach, beets, coffee or other colorful foods can work, too)
- Eggs (brown tend to work better)
- Leaves, flowers, grass to decorate with (you can also use other found material or wax)
- Panty hose cut into 3" x 3" squares, approximately
- String/yarn
- Oil
How it's done:
1. Peel brown skins off the onions and put them in a pot. It's OK if some onion gets in the pot. The more onion skins, the stronger the dye.
2. Fill pot with enough water to just cover the onion skins. Boil the onions skins for 5-10 minutes. Turn off heat to let mixture cool down. For darker color, let sit overnight.
3. To prepare the egg, place leaves or flowers face down on the egg. Soft, smooth, flat leaves work better for this.
4. Once you have positioned your design on the egg, wrap the pantyhose over the egg tightly. Gather the excess pantyhose and twist before tying it with a string.
5. Add eggs to the not-too-hot dye pot and make sure the eggs are covered by the liquid. Add water if needed.
6. Bring to a boil, and boil 5-10 minutes. After the eggs look dark, turn off the heat and let the eggs sit at least 5 minutes or until cooled.
7. Cut off the pantyhose and remove leaves. Rub with a little bit of oil and you're done!
Customs:
- Serbian Easter Eggs are normally made the night before Easter.
- The first egg that a household makes should be completely red with no patterns. This egg a symbol of protection and prosperity and will be displayed in the house all year until the next Easter when a new one takes its place. Family members symbolically "wash" their face with it the day after it is made. This is done by holding the egg intact in one hand while splashing your face with water.
- Families make plenty of eggs to exchange with friends. After you exchange them, you can eat them.
- There is a game that everyone plays to see whose egg will not crack. Friends tap each other's eggs tournament style, and the person whose egg does not crack, wins.
To see more pictures from our workshop, check out my Facebook page!
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