Charlie Detjen

Charlie married into the Pysanky tradition and has been making these beautiful one-of-a--kind eggs in the Ukrainian tradition since 1984.  His mother-in-law taught him the basic techniques and the mystical symbolism of Pysanky that was passed down through generations of her Ukrainian family ancestors. 

Charlie has always enjoyed making things by hand, especially projects that are three dimensional, intricate and detailed.  This interest in "working small" translates very well into his other career: dentistry.  He has served with the US Coast Guard since 1975, the majority of time spent in here in Alaska.  Charlie and his family have lived in Juneau since 19911 and he plans to retire here and devote himself full-time to the  Pysanky art. 

What is Pysanky?  Pysanky (commonly known as Ukrainian Easter Eggs) are traditional folk craft of the Ukraine.  For thousands of years, the peasants of the Ukraine and other Eastern European regions have decorated eggshells with melted beeswax and dye.  The method used to make them is similar to batik - patterns are drawn on the  egg with hot molten wax, which then protects the covered areas from the next color dye that is applied.  By repeating this process with different colors of dye, a multi-colored pattern is built up.  Finally, the wax is melted and removed to reveal the colors that were previously covered.