Easter egg decorating sustains octogenarian's self-esteem

KLAIPEDA - The otherwise humble egg, valued only for its nutrition and sitting in the far corner of your fridge, at Easter time, in skillful hands, is turned into a neatly garnished piece of art as criss-crossed pagan and Christian customs and symbols are attributed to it. You may not follow them, or be willing to worship a gallinaceous creation, but decorating Easter eggs is one of the most fun things about Easter that crosses the boundaries of age, gender, ethnicity and even religious affiliation. When it comes to garnishing eggs, it is fun for everyone, whether it is dipping eggs in dye, painting fun drawings on them, or gluing on whiskers or stickers from the nearest supermarket.

Youngsters today may poke fun at each other when tossing eggs around and clumsily handling needles in the painstaking efforts to turn a dull egg into something more artsy, but for Lithuania’s elders, decorating Easter eggs is a somewhat sacred, divine custom. They are pleased to be asked to share their decorating stories, however, certain privacy boundaries should not be crossed, as the craft pertains to a good portion of mysticism.

From pagan times, Lithuanians decorated eggshells with speckled scrimshaws, scraped them with needles and minute chisels or engraved sophisticated drawings with waxed bodkins. Those who do not feel like engaging in these sophisticated techniques may prefer simpler ways of egg decorating, like the ordinary dipping of eggs into the dyes of onion decoction. Janina Lizunenko, 80 year-old resident of Taurage, a town in the southwest, has tried out all the techniques, but she prefers ornamenting basics learnt during childhood.

“Easter brings up the loveliest memories of my childhood in a rural village. My single mother was rarely able to squeeze out a faint smile, as our big family was poverty-stricken and we all relied on her. The children were suffering from malnutrition and often had to manage with a tiny slice of bread daily. No need to say that meat and eggs were never to be seen on our dinner table. However, I remember it very clearly, twice a year, during Christmas and Easter, the joy would descend on our hut, as it was conjured as a period of the divine ascension. It was a time when mother would pull out carefully saved delicacies, such as wheat bread, bread rolls stuffed with minced meat or a slice of smoked traditional fat.

Before Easter time, I recall sneaking glances at my mother’s unusually blissful face and her fingers fiddling with a basket of eggs, needles and reddish dye. The neat finger dance of her scraggy hands mesmerized me. At the end, the eggs would turn into fairy tale-like magic balls. My siblings and I may have been starving, but given a couple of the decorated eggs each, no one hurried to gulp them down, as they were pieces of motherly craftsmanship evoking overall adoration and joy. I reminisce about putting the eggs next to my pillow at night and praying to God that had just resurrected. It was a divine feeling,” Lizunenko recalls her earliest memories of the pre-war Easter.
Her mother started teaching her egg decorating artistry when she was a little girl. In the beginning, she would decorate eggs with wax and needle, however, the elderly woman does not recall how her first ornamented eggs looked.
“For sure, I could tell that I employed motives of nature, flowers and leaflets in my initial works. I did not seize on decorating Easter eggs even during the Second World War, though in the war-ravaged countryside seeing a hen was a rarity,” the elderly woman chuckles.

After the war was over, with books on ornaments available, her craftsmanship advanced producing more elaborate works. Her fame as a dexterous decorator had spread out in neighboring villages, so she was asked to share her experience with rookies of the craft. It is something she kindly agreed to and the lessons gave her much moral satisfaction.

Senora Janina acknowledges that she is not good at drawing, however, when it comes to Easter egg decoration she does not need to glance over her shoulder at works of other egg decorators or techniques seen in magazines. “I do not even imagine how my egg will look when I take it into my hands. For a few seconds, I just twiddle with it, trying to feel it. Sometimes, I do it with my eyes closed. I descend then into my prayers, kind of meditation. It is then when would-be shapes of the ornament pop up in my head. With the draft shaping up, I start evaluating the eggshell’s stability and structure, and after that, I assume my task. However, sometimes, which happens very rarely, I conjure up the egg image myself,” the garnisher reveals.

She is convinced that not everyone can decorate eggs. Even people keen on drawing and painting may be easily exasperated when awkwardly fiddling with an egg. “I do not want to exaggerate, but it is kind of a divine blessing. Talking about it in a more down-to-earth tone, a potential decorator should have at least a good deal of patience and nurtured determination,” the pensioner asserts.

Over many decades, she has mastered many different techniques of the craft, even the most sophisticated ones, but now she prefers sticking with its basics and the traditional stuff.
“Like in my youth, I love decorating eggs using ordinary wax. Particularly, bee’s wax, as it possesses a very nice yellowish tinge that cannot be obtained in any other way. With the bee’s wax, ornaments on an eggshell lie more naturally, giving a brighter color. Have I mentioned that it is very important to pick up the right egg for decorating? Everyone should avoid a fresh egg, as wax does not stick very well to the fresh eggshell. In addition, darker colored eggs should be avoided, as wax loses its attraction. In this case, the wax should be burnt a bit, thus, the decoration will become bright black. If one decorates an unboiled egg, in order to avoid failure, it should be boiled very carefully, on a faint fire, not letting it simmer.

Otherwise, with the egg boiling, there is a risk that surfacing air bubbles will rub off the wax and blur the drawing. I prefer garnishing unboiled eggs, however, for others, I would suggest starting decorating a semi-hard boiled and cooled down egg. One should use different kinds of needles when decorating. Using the same needle will increase the risk of the egg blurring. Honestly speaking, none is immune from failures in this kind of meticulous work. Too many risks and a great deal of delicacy are involved. Even I, an experienced decorator, sometimes stumble,” the seasoned decorator confesses as she keeps grinning.

Nevertheless, the exuberant woman is not willing to reveal all her craft secrets to the vast audience. “All decorators have their own secrets of their techniques. All of them perceive them in a very personal way. Anyone should figure out what decoration stuff and techniques work out best for their conceptions. There are no common rules applying to all artisans. It is a very personal experience,” the octogenarian says, turning secretive.

She is going to share her egg decorating secrets on her deathbed, if there will be anyone interested in them. To her disappointment, her descendants have not shown much interest in her unusual artisanship. Therefore, conveying her legacy might be in serious jeopardy.

While most Lithuanian retirees enclose themselves in their apartment boxes on a tight budget, the provincial town resident manages to earn some extra cash selling her Easter eggs. “I began readying for the Easter egg sales one month ahead this year. First, I decorated unboiled eggs with wax. Unboiled eggs do not go bad as quickly as boiled eggs. Second, one week before Easter I boiled and trimmed them, and the next day I headed to the local market. Many people know me here. It is a real boon when it comes to sales. I do not charge too much, only 2 - 4 litas (1.15 euros) for an egg. The price depends on how much other Easter egg sellers charge. I am not a ripper off. All can bargain and I kindly give discounts for a larger quantity. However, the crisis has made an impact on my little business as well, as fewer people buy the eggs. Most possible buyers just pick them up, praise me for my creativity and lay the eggs down. Before the crisis, my Easter business was booming, as I used to garnish up to 100 eggs daily and sell most of them. The sales are really bad this year. I decorated only 30 eggs daily. However, I managed to sell only a few of them. It makes me sad,” the woman sniffs.

However, she consoles herself that the current economic difficulties could not be compared to the war and post-war hardships she has endured. With the half-full egg basket she treads home saddened, but not crushed. Over many years, she has collected a colorful collection of Easter eggs, so she adds the unsold ones to it hoping for a better day. The great grandma feels flattered being called an artist, and that, together with her craft, keep her running. “Several years ago, on Easter morning, a local doctor called me and thanked me for the Easter eggs that I had given him as a present. I felt elevated. No other honorable man has complimented so sincerely in my whole life. It is worth living when you can bring some joy into other people lives,” the Easter egg decorator is convinced.