Faculty Member Leads Pysanka Workshops to Benefit Ukraine

Fourth-generation Ukrainian-American Amelia Randich, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biology at Scranton, led four pysanka workshops in April on campus to raise money for World Central Kitchen for humanitarian aid in Ukraine. Pysanka is the art of decorating Ukrainian Easter eggs with traditional folk designs using a wax-resist method. Through the four workshops, offered by the University and sponsored by the Hope Horn Gallery and the Office of Community and Government Relations, and online donations, Randich helped raise $1,500 toward the effort.

Randich writes pysanky year-round and has some examples of her work in the Pysanka Museum in Kolomyya, Ukraine.

“The tradition of pysankarsvo has been handed down through the women in my family and I’m tremendously proud to continue the art,” she said. “I’ve been writing pysanky with my mother since before I can remember. Easter on my mom’s side has always been a treasured holiday, and the days of Lent before it are a special season for writing pysanky.”

She stressed the importance of creating this kind of art, especially during Lent when the workshops were held.

“Pysanky have always been prayers for peace and prosperity in both pre-Christian and Christian times,” said

Randich. “It is said that as long as pysanky are being written somewhere in the world, the balance between good and evil is maintained. This Lent they are particularly evocative as Ukraine faces atrocities from Russian forces.”

Pysanky by Amelia Randich, assistant professor of biology at Scranton.