On March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos, the guest of the Chernivtsi Regional Museum of Local Lore was the talented pysanka artist, painter, iconographer, poetess, and writer Natalia Ruda.

The artist presented two of her books – “My Land is Paradise! Ukraine is the Country!” and “Wonderful Adventures of Pysanky”. These are books of poems and fairy tales, illustrated by the author and published in two languages (Ukrainian and English).

Love and kindness were the main message of the meeting. Ms. Natalia attributes everything in her life to God. Her life's motto is “Believe in your own strength”. The poetess pours her thoughts and feelings into poems and fairy tales. Guests of the event had the opportunity to enjoy the recitation of poems by the writer herself and her assistants – 8-B grade students of Storozhynets Lyceum, Anastasia Savchuk and Iryna Kolobeichuk. They also immersed themselves in the wonderful world of the fairy tale “In Search of Love,” which tells about pysanky that have traveled all over the world. And they have spread not only on the pages of the book but are also actually found in private collections in many countries around the world. These include Antarctica, the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Italy, France, the UAE – too many to list…

A true highlight of the event was an exhibition of pysanky written on ostrich eggs. For over 25 years, the artisan has been creating pysanky, passing on knowledge to the younger generation, conducting master classes with both children and adults, and working online with foreigners. Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ms. Natalia has been traveling with master classes to all who wish, and transfers the proceeds to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Her mission is to tell the whole world about pysanka, to teach this craft, as she considers herself a guardian of cultural heritage, and her works themselves contain sacred ancient knowledge and codes.

It is worth noting that the exhibition was adorned with embroidered rushnyky and the Seven Arrows Icon of the Mother of God, which the artisan painted for 9 months. This is impressive…

The meeting was moderated by Lyudmyla Kosovan, head of the Department of Scientific, Educational, and Scientific-Methodological Work. The event took place in the hall showcasing willow weaving works by Ivan Snihur, Honored Master of Folk Art of Ukraine. Ms. Natalia shares warm memories with the artist, which added a particularly poignant atmosphere to the celebration.