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Little Eggs, Big Talent—Mary Anne Mistik’s Miniature Pysanky

Mary Anne Mistick
Published: April 28, 2025

Don’t you just love when mutual interests converge into one path? I am very proud of our Carpatho-Rusyn heritage and its wonderful traditions. And since childhood, I have been a collector/maker of dollhouse miniatures in the 1:12 scale, where one inch equals one foot.

A few years ago I decided to create a miniature pysanky workshop room that showcased my love of creating Lemko, or drop-pull, pysanky for Easter. I was taught to make pysanky according to our tradition by my father and aunt when I was very young.

As you can see from the photos, this little studio contains a bookshelf/credenza, along with a work table and chair. The shelves contain miniature replicas of various pysanky books in my collection, including my all-time favorite, Rusyn Easter Eggs from Eastern Slovakia.

There are cups for egg dyes, dyed eggs ready for decorating; a vase of traditional pussywillows; a bulletin board with photos of pysanky for inspiration; and if you look closely, old copies of The New Rusyn Times and the book Our People by Paul Robert Magocsi.

The newspaper-covered work table contains all of the items a miniature me would use to make drop-pull pysanky: measuring cup and jars to hold dyes; measuring spoons to add vinegar to the dyes; hot plate to melt the jar lids of colored wax; beeswax and crayons; dye packets; an egg in progress, complete with the humble stylus comprised of a pencil with a pin stuck into its eraser; and a candle to melt the wax off of the completed egg.

Finally, there are baskets of completed drop-pull pysanky. To make these eggs I purchased tiny dollhouse eggs and used the finest-tip markers I could find to create facsimile drop-pull designs in miniature.

I keep this vignette in my study/craft room where it brings me great pleasure to look at it. I hope you enjoy it, too. There’s also a photo of some of my completed pysanky throughout the years. Christos Voskreses! Voistinu Voskrese!

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