“When we express the beauty inside of us, it can help us see the hope.”–            Olga Snyder

Olga Snyder, a Potter County, Pennsylvania resident and Ukrainian native, moved to the United States 25 years ago. Although Olga spent her whole childhood into her young adulthood studying and creating art in Ukraine, it was not until just a month before immigrating to the United States that she learned about pysanky also known as Ukrainian Easter eggs for the first time. She was walking down her favorite street in Kyiv with her fiancé, now husband, John, when she spotted a little box full of the most colorful, beautiful round shapes she had ever seen. Olga approached the man standing behind the box, asking him about its contents, and he was shocked by her lack of knowledge.

               “Pysanky, of course! You must learn what these are and what they mean. They’re important to us, to our country.” Her lack of knowledge was due to the Soviet Union, particularly Russia, trying to extinguish Ukrainian culture, heritage, and language.

               That was all the prompting that Olga needed. She bought supplies and all the books on subject that she could carry, went home, and spent the rest of the week decorating her first pysanky. Those first eggs were, in Olga’s words, “extremely unsuccessful.” As she tried to blow out the eggs, she messed up the patterns she had created, and even broke some of them. But Olga’s journey with pysanky did not end there.

As Olga moved to the United States, trading city life for the forests and fields of north-central Pennsylvania, she got the proper tools and books and sat down to make pysanky. She created most of her pysanky in this country, decorating thousands of eggs, teaching hundreds of people how to engage in the art form, and, eventually, opened her first art gallery. Since then, Olga has branched out into many different art forms – fiber-art, jewelry making, painting, etc… – but she never stopped creating pysanky.

               As Ukrainian legend goes, when you make pysanky, you are not merely decorating eggs, you are writing a story to God and the Universe. As long as pysanky are created, the legends tell us, evil will not take over the world. Life, hope, and peace will prevail.

Olga is creating a year-long Hope is an Egg installation. She will also conduct workshops and fundraisers to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine at her gallery in downtown Coudersport and at her farm in the coming days and months. Pysanky workshops will be held Fridays and Saturdays in April from 1 pm to 5 pm at Olga Farm, 22 Snyder Road, Coudersport, Pa. There is a $60 fee for the pysanky workshop and the proceeds will go to Olga’s Saving Ukraine fund.

Cathy Snyder, Olga’s husband’s Aunt, has been instrumental in raising money for Olga’s Saving Ukraine fund since the beginning of the war. Concurrently with the Hope is an Egg initiative she will be conducting basket and nest making workshops to provide homes for the Ukrainian eggs. The basket/nest making workshops will take place at Olga Farm, Wednesdays and Fridays in April from 9 am to 1 pm for a $35 fee.

Ukrainian egg artists are invited to send their own pysanky to contribute to the Hope is an Egg installation and show their support for the people of Ukraine. Donated eggs will eventually be sold and all proceeds will support Ukrainians in need. All artists are invited to donate work that can be sold or auctioned to support the Saving Ukraine fund as well.

Join Olga in exchanging stories, creating beauty, and holding a space for hope amidst the chaos of the 14 month-old war in Ukraine. You can help by donating to Olga’s Saving Ukraine Fund, taking a Pysanky or basket making workshop, purchasing a donated Pysanka or piece of artwork, or by volunteering to help with the Hope is an Egg initiative. Donated eggs or artwork or monetary contributions to Olga’s Saving Ukraine fund can be mailed to Olga Gallery, 4 East 2^nd Street, Coudersport, PA 16915. If you would like to volunteer for this initiative, drop off an item or donation and/or take a workshop, please call or text 814 203 8405, email jsnyder@eggdecorator.com, or contact Olga on the Olga Gallery, Café, & Bistro Facebook page.