Ms. Chast's painted eggs are decorated with her signature imagery that uses the pysanky tradition. Easter egg, or pysanky, decorating is an expression of traditional Ukrainian folk art. This tradition dates back to antiquity, when in attempting to understand creation, ancient people developed myths in which the egg was perceived as the source of life, the sun and the universe.
The Ukrainian pysanky was believed to possess an enormous power not only in the egg itself, which harbored the nucleus of life, but also in the symbolic designs and colors which were drawn upon the egg in a specific manner, according to prescribed rituals. The intricately colored eggs were used for various social and religious occasions and were considered to be a talisman, a protector against evil, as well as harbingers of good.
