#08 - Etched Tree of Life with Ombre Technique - Brad Foucher - Tuesday July 21st 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Workshop Summary:

I fell in love with Travlenky - eggs that have been waxed then etched with acid - after seeing the magnificent creations of Tetiana Konoval.  Her depictions of Ukrainian villages done simply in subtle shades of brown on a chicken egg are absolutely beautiful!

What could be easier?  Wax a design on a brown chicken egg, then soak it in vinegar.  Well, my first attempt was a disaster!  I used a grocery store egg and learned how thin they are by etching all the way through to the membrane.  In this class we will learn how NOT to do that!

We will learn about the different acids that are used to etch eggs for Travlenky, and talk about the factors that impact how fast they etch.  We will talk about how to choose your egg to avoid ruining them.  I will focus on brown chicken eggs, but we can also talk about etching other eggs such as ostrich, emu, and goose eggs, and we will even discuss different kinds of chicken eggs.  We will then talk about how to use acid to achieve multiple shades of brown to create beautiful art.

The design I will teach will feature a Tree of Life pysanka originally designed by Zoya Stashuk which I recreated using the etching method.  I added to the design with elements of my own, including an ombre effect that emphasizes design aspects unique to the Travlenky method.  I received permission from Zoya to teach my version of her beautiful, traditional pysanka.

What’s Provided:

• A large brown chicken egg with the basic 8 division penciled (to save time),

• Handout,

• Nitrile gloves,

• All materials needed to etch your egg (30% cleaning vinegar, baby toothbrushes)
  

What to Bring:

• Whatever you need to write on a prepared egg shell, including: Pencil, white eraser, kistkas and wax, measuring tape.  I recommend electric kistkas with multiple tip sizes.  Please bring a fine (size 0 or a UE Fine) kistka tip please and it would also be useful to have a kistka with a medium tip or larger for filling in spaces.

• Optional: Light, Magnifier, egg rest pad.
  

Maximum Number of Students: 30

Workshop Fee: $40 CAD per student
Please bring $40 CAD in cash, placed in an envelope with your name and the instructor’s name written on it, to the start of class. 

About Brad:

I first learned to write pysanky in 2019, when I took an introductory class at Polish Art Center.  From there my interest in writing pysanky took off, especially after joining the Facebook groups.  I loved connecting with artists around the world, and I learned so much from them!  Since then I've thoroughly enjoyed the retreats, and I've purchased more pysanky books than I have room for!  My inspiration comes from my fellow artists online and from those books.  I've investigated most thoroughly the designs of Taras Horodetsky - his detail and precision really drives me to increase my own skill.  More recently I was inspired by Tetiana Konoval to experiment with etching.