Museum of Art

The Bates College Museum of Art will host two Ukrainian egg decorating workshops with Lesia Sochor on Friday, April 8. The workshops will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Benjamin Mays Center. Space is limited and registration is required. The fee for the workshop is $10 per person. The workshop is free for Bates students. Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult.

Instructor Lesia Sochor is an artist of Ukrainian descent who lives in Brooks, Maine. She learned the ancient spring tradition of decorating Pysanky from her mother and has shared this craft in numerous workshops throughout the state.

The Pysanka, a decorated egg, was common among Slavic peoples as far back as 5,000 B.C. and was deeply important in spring rituals, symbolizing nature’s rebirth. When decorating eggs in the Ukrainian style, designs are drawn on the egg with melted beeswax, which flows from a tool called a Kystka. The eggs are then dipped in a series of dyes and the final pattern is revealed when the wax is removed.

Donations to UNICEF’s Children in Ukraine fund to benefit those displaced by the current crisis will also be accepted the day of the event.