– Danute, in your publication “Margučiai”, still fresh from the printing press, there are many different tips and colorful illustrations. What would you wish for the readers of the book?
– Christians gave marguits the meaning of the symbol of Christ’s resurrection and the spiritual rebirth of man. I sincerely wish readers meaningful personal practice and noble national feelings.
Former long-time teacher Danutė Paškauskaitė approaching St. At Easter, they delight their relatives, friends, colleagues, clergy every year with a priceless gift – wax-printed daisies, which are equivalent to works of art. The creative girl from Gargždi can’t even count how many of them she has spent and given away. However, this spring St. Easter Eve is special for her. Danutė realized a long-cherished dream: sharing her accumulated experience, she prepared and published the illustrated publication “Margučiai”.
A spiritual legacy for the future
– Danute, you are an extremely hardworking and creative person: the author of textbooks, teaching aids and articles. Last year, you published your memoirs “For God and People”, in which you immortalized St. Gargžda. the history of the Archangel Michael church choir, where you sang for 31 years. How did the idea to publish the new book “Margučiai” come about?
– When the Lithuanian Renaissance came, I revived the technique of printing eggs with wax, which I had learned in my childhood in a family of exiles. in 2008 In spring, I organized an exhibition of daisies at the Jonas Lankutis Public Library of the Klaipėda District Municipality and received warm feedback. Over the years, I improved my technique, created new compositions of patterns, gave marguci to friends, colleagues, and relatives. However, a considerable number of them accumulated, so I put their photos and descriptions in an album.
I am happy that the publication of the 168-page book published by Druka publishing house was supported by my family. I have experience in publishing textbooks, so I prepare the texts myself, layout them, and crop the photos. This time it was more complicated, because it was necessary to prepare color photos for the press. I don’t know how to do this kind of work yet, but my grandson Marius, an excellent IT specialist, helped me.
The book “Margučiai” is like my spiritual legacy for future generations, first of all, of course, for my family. However, other people for whom ethnoculture and Christian traditions are important will be able to learn about the Lithuanian intricacies of egg printing and various techniques. The book, which was published in a circulation of 150 copies, will be available to readers in Vilnius, in the Martynas Mažvydas library, as well as in the Jonas Lankutis public library of the Klaipėda district municipality. Of course, I will give the books to family members, friends, neighbors, our parish priests, etc.
Hurry up slowly when tired
– What would you advise a beginner to print eggs with wax?
– When working, it is advised to hurry slowly. If the wax does not stick to the egg, it means that the wax or the egg is too cold. Boiled eggs should be warmed the night before, for example by covering them with a warm clean towel or keeping them under a table lamp. When waxing cold eggs, the wax sometimes bounces off and the ornament will be damaged. It is very important that the wax is also hot all the time. The painted egg is dipped in paint. The egg that has been scooped out of the paint (it is useful to have a hollow spoon or a small hollow scoop for this operation) is dried with a paper napkin and placed again on a paper or cloth towel to dry. After the paint dries, after 1-2 hours, the wax is shaved off the margulet. If it has been neatly placed on the shell, it can be left or partially shaved off. It gives the margutsi a kind of shade and enlivens it.
Hollow Egg Tricks
– How to make an egg hollow? Certainly not everyone succeeds.
– If you want to preserve the margulet for a longer time, give it as a gift, it is better when it is hollow, that is, the contents have been removed from the uncooked egg. It is done like this. The uncooked egg is crushed, the wax is shaved off. At one end of the egg, a patch with a diameter of 2-2.5 cm is smeared with warm wax. After the wax hardens, a hole is pierced in the middle of that patch with a sharp thick needle or a 3 mm diameter drill bit. A medical syringe with a thick needle is taken to administer medicine. Air is drawn into the syringe and the needle is inserted into the egg. The hole in the egg should be slightly larger than the thickness of the syringe needle. The egg is turned over with the hole down and air is carefully blown into it. The contents of the egg run out into the dish placed on the tray. The syringe with the needle may need to be withdrawn from the egg several times, drawn in and inflated again. Blowing should be done carefully so that the shell does not crack due to the pressure. The end of the egg is protected with wax, but you need to protect other parts of the margulet as well, so that the content does not accidentally fall on the stained shell, because the egg white neutralizes the dye, so the margulet will be damaged. After blowing out the contents, the egg is kept upside down for a while and the procedure is repeated, as there may be some contents left. We wipe the end of the egg, carefully brushing it towards the hole and leave it to dry for a few minutes, then remove the wax. We cover the hole with hot wax with the same needle we used to print the egg. However, if the hole is neat and barely visible, it can be left. After inserting a thread into it and fixing it with a hot wax needle, the daisy can be hung on the Easter tree or elsewhere.
– How to choose eggs, how to prepare them for printing?
– When buying eggs in a store or market, it is necessary to carefully check that they are healthy, that there are no signs of possible cracking. It is recommended to soak the eggs in water at room temperature for several hours, then wash them with household soap under running water, place them on a paper or linen or cotton towel, and dry them. After that, check again, preferably in front of the sun, in front of a table lamp, for signs of possible cracking, because such eggs are not suitable for dyeing or printing: they will crack when boiled, and the mottled green ones will crack when removing the contents. Clean eggs intended for eating, rolling, and giving to small children should be hard-boiled before printing and coloring. When boiling, you do not need to add salt to the water so that the wax adheres better to the shell of the boiled egg.
Prepared
Vilija BUTKUVIENĖ
