17. Sampler Sidebands Workshop - Gail Lambka - Saturday July 20th - 9:30am to 11:30am

In this class you will design a pysanka that you will use over and over! Remember cross-stitched samplers? A sampler is “something containing representative specimens or selections.” We are going to make a pysanka sampler out of sidebands. 

You can choose to create a "crazy quilt" type pysanka (first photo) or be more traditional by stacking your sideband choices in a Barrel Division (second photo). These may contain as little as 4 sidebands and up to 16. 

Your limit is only how many you want to put on an egg. It may not be the prettiest pysanka you have ever made but it will be the most useful…you will refer back to it time and again when you need an idea for a sideband.

We will work on several things:

• Touch on the subject of sidebands, including their definitions and functions in pysankartsvo.
• Discuss the creation of successful pysanky patterns by matching sidebands to a central motif.
• Learn tips on how to measure a sideband and divide it properly (so it wraps around your egg in a consistent pattern without falling short or overlapping).
• Then, hands on! You will make your own sampler sideband pysanka.

The division will start with a basic eight (reference Jennifer Kwong’s Endless Egging if you want a peek) and divide further in class. If you get stuck using the same sideband patterns and are looking for ways to create new designs, this class will alter the status quo!

Materials for Class:

Please bring to class one egg** (jumbo chicken, turkey or goose…No duck please), divided into the basic eight: 4 vertical and equator, your favorite measuring tool (quilling paper, post it tape, or tape measure), a pencil and a medium and fine kistky (if you only have one, bring that…we will make it work), and beeswax. Detailed handouts with instruction will be provided.

22 Students

About Gail Lambka:

Gail Lambka is a former Microbiologist and craft enthusiast. She has been writing pysanka since the age of 8 (taught by her Ukrainian grandmother and mother) and loved this art from the first time she picked up a kistka. Color driven, this art form has given her many chances to use her love of color and geometry to create new designs. Gail has taught the art of pysanky in her home studio as well as at cultural centers, art centers and adult workshops. 

She also ran the business “Naked Eggs” on Etsy and was the supplier for many crafters, pysankars, educators, museums, photographers, and even Tiffany’s and Martha Stewart Living. Her “Naked Eggs” business won a “MSL American Made Award,” and was featured in 12 Easter issues of Martha Stewart Living Magazine and her pysanky were featured online in MSL. In 2020, she published her first book, “Writing Ribbons, A Ukrainian Pysanky Sideband Designs.” Her newest book, “Writing Pysanka, Piece by Piece,” came out in January, 2024.