DALLAS, Pa. — It's a centuries-old Ukrainian tradition known as Pysanky.
"The eggs go back about 2,000-plus years. The Ukraine area was originally pagan or non-Christian. So, a lot of the symbols on the eggs are pre-Christian designs," said artist Kathy Stevens.
It takes a steady hand and a lot of time and patience.
"Then, when Christianity came into the region, some of the signs were changed in meaning."
But Stevens has it down pat after 45 years of practice.
"It was very interesting to me, and I taught Maria how to do it."
She creates these incredible pieces of art with her daughter inside her home in the Back Mountain.
While she's not Ukrainian herself, she says the message behind the pysanky is more important than ever as the war in Ukraine rages on.
"There's an old Ukrainian legend that evil is this monster chained in the mountains. But if the messengers go out and see there's lots of pysanky being made, the chains are shortened, and there's a lot less evil into the world."
To follow that tradition, Stevens is now spreading the message and her talents of the pysanky with others through classes at the Back Mountain Makery in Dallas. There, she teaches the most traditional designs.
"These are all the steps you go through to make this egg."
And her students are shocked at the outcome.
"This last class, the lady makes the first swipe with the towel, and she sees the colors. She goes, 'Oh!' She gasped."
But this year, she also tried her hand at a not-so-traditional pysanky design with the WNEP logo.
Stevens' next class on how to create these intricate eggs will be held at Back Mountain Makery in Dallas in May.