Julia Tenney first learned how to create Pysanky, or “Ukrainian Eggs”, in 1988, from a college professor who had defected from the Soviet Union. After moving to Somerville in 1999, she took it up again as a form of doodling to ease creative block with other artistic pursuits.
Complex traditional designs are believed to have developed as a protection against evil, thus everyone is encouraged to participate. Julia’s modern interpretations are part of her creative meditation for peace. They vary from incorporating personal interests within traditional motifs, such as encoded messages (prayers for world peace, or good health), or entirely non-traditional, such as her recent memoir series: “Museum of Eggs Boyfriends”
The war in Ukraine led to her first real opportunities to meet many other pysanky artists, and thus opened up a world of new techniques with the wax-resist process. A portion of her pysanky sales are donated to vetted groups helping to defend and rebuild Ukraine.
