I suggest decorating your eggs differently this Easter using traditional Croatian beeswax technique.
Last year, around this time of the year, I had the opportunity to participate in a specialized Easter egg decorating workshop in the Croatian traditional way at the Ethnographic Museum in Zagreb (visit the Ethnographic Museum at http://www.emz.hr/). There I tried to decorate eggs based on the presented different ethno motifs from different counties across Croatia. In the past, Croats used beeswax and heated it on a candle flame, then applied it to the surface of an egg. Designs and decorations varied from place to place. To try this technique I chose motives from Brod-Posavina County (Brod-Posavina County) and the City of Zagreb County.
Bees Wax Technique
The process is simple. Prepare a wooden stick and wrap the copper wire on top, just as on the pictures below. Heat a copper top on a candle flame, dip in beeswax and draw a pattern, motif or whatever you like on a dry and cooked egg surface. Remember that these lines mask an area that will not be colored, just opposite to the rest of the egg surface that is not covered in wax. Once you have finished drawing the motif, put the egg in the prepared egg color. In the past, Croats used hot water with red onion shells or red cabbage. Eggs were boiled in such water for about 20 minutes. For the purposes of this workshop, we used a shopping egg color. When you are satisfied with the color, remove the egg, dry it and remove the wax with a warm cloth. For a better look and shine, use a cloth of any kind topped in grease, such as butter, fat or oil, and rub thoroughly.
Tadaaa, you just made "pisanica" (decorated Easter Egg).
There is another technique, popular in Dubrovačko-Neretvanska županija ( Dubrovnik-Neretva County) called “penganje”. It is done by slightly different tool and drawing is done by short moves so that the result is motive in shapes of small tears.
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