Earlier this month I was delighted to receive an invitation to a traditional Ukrainian egg coloring workshop, called a Pysanky. The event was hosted by Angela Sarakula at the Sun Peaks Elementary School for a lucky class of Grade 6 and 7 students.
Sarakula and her husband have visited Sun Peaks for years and she said she wanted a way to connect with the community.
Pysanky workshops are egg coloring workshops where wax is applied with different colors and then taken off using the flame of a beeswax candle to melt the layers and create designs.
According to Ukrainian tradition Pysanky eggs are believed to avert evil and provide prosperity, new hope and life. Sarakula, whose parents emigrated to Canada and settled in Winnipeg more than 40 years ago, originally held Pysanky workshops for Grade 5 French immersion and special education students. Her reputation has grown so much she now gets workshops booked a year in advance.
I arrived at the school too late for the opportunity to design my own egg, yet the experience was one to remember. As Sarakula predicted prior to my arrival my nostrils were greeted with the blissful scent of beeswax as I walked into the classroom. We barely got the chance to exchange a handshake due to her passion and excitement for the workshop.
She introduced me to teacher Jeremy Bankes and principal Mike Johnson who were both maintaining order and participating in the workshop. The students needed no introduction, they were deep in concentration.
I went around the room snapping photos and talking with the students, they were all intensely immersed in the project, like nothing else could possibly be more exciting then coloring white eggs with ink and beeswax. This was a real treat for me to see, especially afterwards when Bankes explained he was shocked to see his most behaviourally challenging students were the most focused and concentrated during the workshop.
Growing up as a young man with ADHD my time in school was very challenging. I was rarely interested in any of the content that the school system provided me with. I remember my most engaged days at school were when we had the opportunity to create with our hands, with minimal direction. Seeing children get to enjoy that same kind of experience and watch how it benefited their creative souls was heartwarming.
After we left the school Sarakula explained to me that she had given the workshop entirely for free. She wanted to give the students a day to remember, in return she was gifted with the opportunity to connect with the community of the little ski town that she had been visiting for years. Ultimately I ended the day with a feeling of gratitude toward the people and community around me.
Sarakula said she would like to give a heartfelt thank you Johnson for hosting the workshop at the school.
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