Elaine Dudley is a professional egg artist and photographer. She captures exceptional visual stories in her traditional and non-traditional pysanky.

Elaine began her long relationship with pysanky, made using the Ukrainian wax and dye process, while in college. A professor’s wife kindly showed her class the basics - to mixed results among the students, but a fortuitous match for Elaine. Having completed two years of architectural drafting classes she found the geometric patterns were a cinch and the process relaxing, even meditative. She quickly built up an impressive collection of pysanky and friends began to send her postcards and articles about the designs and cultural traditions. Thinking of the eggs as permanent flowers, she often took them to hosts when invited to dinners or gatherings and as a result was often invited! A winning circumstance for a college student on a limited budget. Relaxing and rewarding!

After graduation she came to Washington DC to work on Capitol Hill and during her first summer began working occasionally as an usher at the Kennedy Center. Meanwhile her pysanky collection continued to grow and her designs became more creative and non-traditional, including working messages and images into special eggs for friends. It was perhaps inevitable that at some point her artwork would be discovered by her theatrical friends. When they did things went crazy. Today it would be called viral. Elaine was featured in People Magazine, the Washington Post, her hometown papers and numerous other outlets. She made wonderful friendships during the years that followed but she always limited the actual number of eggs she created in any given year.

A few years ago after she retired from her career as an emergency planner for the federal government Elaine rediscovered the joy of creating and sharing pysanky and expanded to new styles and designs. Perhaps you have a special mission for a loved one? Or an appreciation of the beautiful Ukrainian traditions. Let us know.