Friday, December 10, 2010

Friday Egg: Traditional Scarlet Poppy





I'm busily getting ready for the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, which starts next Wednesday.  I have to be ready to load in by Monday, so I have only three days left to get everything sorted both for the booth.

So the Friday Egg today is short on words and long on pictures, but I think that's what you like anyway, right?

This poppy egg was started on a white goose egg and went through the traditional steps of light to dark.  I really like the orange tips on the petals and scarlet inner petals.  One mistake that turned out interesting was the black spots on the petals - that was me being in a hurry and not covering all the areas with wax so that the final dye bath of black got on those parts of the flower. I think it adds some interest and texture, so will have to figure out a way to incorporate that idea in future eggs.

The poppy is a popular motif in traditional pysanky.  It is the national flower of the Ukraine. I personally enjoy it because it is fun to draw.  The flowers has a definite structure, but within that structure I can make a lot of different choices.  The petals can be ruffled or straight-edged.  I can do one solid color or choose different colors like in this egg.  I can do a straight-on view of a flat poppy or a side view. I also like playing with buds and seed pods.

Hope you enjoy it!

I will be taking the rest of the year off unless I get a wild hair and post another egg.  Most likely I will be too busy with the Armadillo to get back to this until the new year