When it comes to creating intricate Ukrainian Easter eggs called pysanky, Wendy Ng is no longer playing by the rules.

The challenge of using a beeswax-filled stylus and layers of dye to create an impossibly precise pattern on an ovoid shape still holds the same allure for the Elkridge artist and chemistry teacher as it did when she discovered the art form a dozen years ago.

But over time, her powers of observation have led her to venture beyond the traditional designs of Eastern Europe, many of which involve religious symbols.

No longer calling her eggs pysanky — though still employing the “wax-resist” technique she says is universal — Ng is embracing her knack for seeing intriguing designs everywhere she looks.

“I find inspiration all over the place: in mandalas, in Celtic knots and in Islamic mosaics,” said the 62-year-old Hong Kong native, whose name is pronounced “ing.”

Ng has what she calls “a box of inspirations” crammed with pages from catalogs, magazine clippings and drawings she has sketched on backs of envelopes.

She has also been influenced by the geometric optical illusions of M.C. Escher and, like the popular Dutch artist, turns to nature and architecture to stoke her imagination.

“When I spot a texture or pattern, I look at it over and over again — like the way sunlight plays with the veins of a leaf or the design of a ceiling in a mosque — and I wonder how it would work on an egg,” she said.

“I like to say I fidget with my eyes.”

But when it comes time to begin the painstaking process, the artist is anything but fidgety.

Decorating eggs with the wax-resist technique has two main prerequisites: a good eye and a steady hand. Patience doesn't hurt, either, as the process requires anywhere from five to 10 hours of intense focus.

“You really need to sit down and think about what you're going to do,” Ng said about the technique, which she describes as an exercise in logic and visualization.

To the uninitiated, working on a fragile surface that could easily crack and collapse in your hand could be anxiety-inducing. Her reaction is just the opposite.

“This art form provides a meditative effect that I crave,” said Ng, who usually listens to classical music, oldies or talk radio as she works. “It calms and centers me, and everything else is blacked out. It's like a runner's high.”

Ng uses a regular No. 2 pencil to first sketch out quadrants, applying very light pressure from the top of the egg and down its sides. She continues drawing the design freehand with near-perfect precision.

“You have to understand the logistics of applying a two-dimensional design to a 3-D object, and know how the design is going to bend,” she said.

The multicolor designs must be executed in stages, Ng said. As the egg is placed in a series of dye baths — going from lighter to darker colors — the areas where wax has been applied with a stylus repel new layers of color, hence the term wax-resist.

“It's not easy at first to imagine where you don't want the next color of dye to go,” she said.

Ng doesn't avoid eggs with unusual shapes; she seeks them out, in fact.

“An irregular egg becomes an engineering challenge as to how you adapt your design,” she said.

Though it's easiest to use chicken eggs from the grocery store, Ng works on all types of birds' eggs as she continues ratcheting up the level of difficulty.

A family she knows through a home-schooling association raises pigeons and has given her some of their eggs. She has also used bantam eggs, which come from miniature chickens, as well as eggs from ducks, geese and turkeys that come in shades of green, brown and gold.

“I don't do ostrich or emu eggs very often because they are so large that it feels more like sculpting than painting,” she said.

She is also considering how she might apply the wax-resist technique to wooden eggs.

Ng sells her ovoid masterpieces for $60 to $80 from her website for Bowstring Art Studio, which she runs from her home, and has a dozen for sale locally at any given time at HorseSpirit Arts Gallery in historic Ellicott City.

Gallery owner Robin Holliday, an artist who makes jewelry and crystal sun-catchers, calls Ng's eggs “absolutely fabulous.”

“I'm just amazed by Wendy's intricate designs,” she said. “She tells me she loves the feel of the egg in her hand, and that [passion] shows in her artistry.”

Lisa Farley, a Columbia acupuncturist and longtime acquaintance, is also a fan of her work, and especially of Ng's decision to branch out in her designs.

“Wendy designs eggs for all reasons — retirements, birthdays, holidays and hobbies,” she said. “She has a mathematical mind and can easily visualize a concept for an egg, and they are all breathtaking.”

Ng said it's part of her mission to further understanding of the wax-resist technique by giving demonstrations, and she frequently appears at the Calico Cat in Woodlawn, where her eggs are also for sale.

“Not all practitioners are good teachers, but there's something within me that wants to share this,” she said.

A former pharmacologist and one-time graphic designer, she's preparing to retire this spring to devote more time to her art, and is in her last semester teaching a chemistry lab course for home-schooled high school students through the Community College of Baltimore County.

“I feel like nothing I've learned in my life has been wasted, and I can cross boundaries and blend my knowledge from scientific research, raising two kids and my training in art,” she said.

Ng also believes her decision to explore new designs has given her a renewed sense of purpose.

“I'm no longer sticking to the script,” she said. “I think of myself as a budding artist again.”

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