Stephanie Cheeseman, right, and examples of pysanky.
For the second year, Alexandria-based The Critical Mass, LLC and local Ukrainian-American artists have partnered on a fundraiser for the nonprofit organization Razom for Ukraine.
Local artists, led by Stephanie Malm Cheeseman (@pysankysteph), are creating pysanky, or symbolically decorated eggs, and selling them to help fund humanitarian relief for families displaced by the war in Ukraine through Razom for Ukraine.
Last year, the fundraiser, which launched shortly after the current war in Ukraine started, raised more than $3,000 for refugees.
The pysanky, informally called Ukrainian Easter Eggs, are available for purchase online and at Made in ALX, 533 Montgomery St., in Alexandria’s Old Town North neighborhood.
On March 23, The Critical Mass and Cheeseman are hosting a fundraiser where attendees can try their hand at creating their own pysanky, meet the artists and more. Lost Boy Cider will pop-up at the event. (RSVP for the fundraiser here.)
About the Pysanky Tradition
Pysanky (pronounced PIH-san-kih - singular form is pysanka) are Ukrainian Easter eggs, elaborately decorated. This art has been passed down through generations of Ukrainians and are traditionally made during Lent to be given as gifts to friends and family.
Legend says that there is a monster that represents all evil chained to a cliff, and how tight those chains hold it is dependent on how many pysanky are made each year. The more made, the tighter the chains hold evil at bay. Too few, and the chains loosen and let evil roam.
Each pysanky may include symbolic elements. For example, the pysanka shown here is "full of traditional symbolism in both designs and color. This pysanka prominently includes diamonds (knowledge) and netting (protection from evil). The plant motifs are a wish for abundance," according to Cheeseman.
Pysanky are designed with a stylus called a kistka that is heated over a flame. Designs are applied in layers of melted beeswax and dyes. When the design is complete, the wax is melted off. Traditional pysanky are created on "blown" eggs — empty shells from eggs. They are lightweight and fragile.
About Razom for Ukraine
Funds from these sales of pysanky raise money for Razom for Ukraine. The organization was born out of the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 when millions of people worked together and risked their lives to build a pathway to a better future for Ukraine. Razom, which means “together” in Ukrainian, believes deeply in the enormous potential of dedicated volunteers around the world united by a single goal: to unlock the potential of Ukraine. Razom works towards that mission by creating spaces where people meet, partner and do.
Since the Invasion in 2022, Razom has used its Standing Emergency Response Fund to provide multifaceted support for Ukraine: "to stop the shelling (advocacy), to stop the bleeding (delivering tactical medicine), to keep people alive (at hospitals), to keep Ukrainians connected (with radios, generators), and to connect the world to Ukraine (with you)," according to the organization.
Learn more at razomforukraine.org.
