This Ukrainian artform is meant to fight evil. So what exactly is pysanky?

Bonnie Deprez's great-grandfather owned a grain mill in Ukraine during the early 20th century.

Her grandmother remembered government wagons coming to their family farm and taking most of their food, leaving them starving. Soon after, the family journeyed to Ellis Island.

Deprez's family yearned for a better life in America. The hope was reinforced by a good luck charm from their native land — pysanky.

Pysanky are decorative Ukrainian eggs, similar to Easter eggs. The art of pysanky goes back generations, rooted in folklore and legend.

"She had a few pysanky given to her, but she never learned how to do them herself," Deprez said while speaking on her grandmother's trip.

"There's a lot of meaning in pysanky," Deprez, of Avon, Livingston County, continued. "One theory is that it keeps a monster at bay that wants to destroy the world."

'Warding off evil'

As the world watches the horrors tied to Russia's attack on Ukraine, Bonnie Deprez, now retired, devotes 90% of her time to pysanky, hoping the legend of the ancient art rings true.

"The conflict has been very much on my mind," Deprez said. "I enjoy the art, and if there is any truth to it warding off evil, I want to take part in that because I am devastated by what's going on with the war."

There are many pysanka superstitions and legends that date back centuries. Pysanky were thought to shield Ukrainian homes from evil spirits, catastrophe, lightning and fires.

Each color and design holds a different meaning.

"White is a tradition for children," Deprez said. "People would lose children at a young age and bury a pysanka with a white background. Black is for remembrance. Crosshatch patterns that resemble baskets are for a good harvest. If a farmer has a prized bull and wanted to make sure he had some calves, he would bury pysanky in the ground for good luck."

Deprez has been practicing pysanky for 44 years. She thought she was the only one who enjoyed the art form for a long time, but the internet reassured Deprez that she wasn't alone.

A recent Facebook post from a woman in Lviv, Ukraine, inspired her to continue producing the eggs during uncertain times for the Ukrainian people.

"Thank you all for your support of Ukraine," Nataliya Yanishevska wrote in a Facebook post last week. "Here in Lviv, we are hosting 12 people from bombed Kyiv. On the 6th day of war, between watching news and sound of sirens, I'd suggest to craft pysanky."

There is a vase full of pysanky sitting on Bonnie Deprez's kitchen table right now.

Deprez grew up in Westchester County and moved to Rochester in 1985. She's lost contact with those she knew still living in Ukraine, but the country's food and traditions were passed down to Deprez by her Grandmother.

"I've always felt a strong association with Ukraine," Deprez said. "It's where I identify my heritage."

Deprez has only seen Ukraine through pictures. It's beautiful to her eyes, and she planned to visit the country before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, that trip seems impossible.

The most vital link she has to heritage now are pysanky. Some eggs take 20-30 minutes to complete, while others take hours. She took on the challenge of ostrich egg once — that took a whole year to finalize.

Deprez also teaches folk art to others with hopes of keeping the tradition alive. She insists that you don't have to have Ukrainian roots to participate; she welcomes people from all backgrounds to join her efforts.

"My purpose is to share what pysanky is and why it's important to people," she said. "It's a beautiful art that we'd hate to see go away. The more pysanky made keeps the chains tighter on the monster."

Contact Robert Bell at: rlbell@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @byrobbell & Instagram: @byrobbell

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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Ukrainian tradition of pysanky vital link to heritage during invasion