Here's a special collectible I've cherished for years. It has taken me forever to get it featured (more on that later).

This is a Penguin Pysanky.

I guess that may need some explaining. Pysanky is an Ukrainian take on Easter Eggs, though the tradition takes back further before the spread of Christianity. What makes them unique is that they are not painted, but created from layers of wax and dye. You add wax to the area you want coloured and dip the egg into the desired dye – one colour at a time.

So no, they're not the typical 'egg with paint on it' things many of us have done in our childhoods.

The artist is the late Mr. Nick Zdinak from the United States. He used to be a long-time pen friend of my Mom. As Mr. Zdinak wasn't just a hobbyist but a professional artists creating these for order, back in the 2010s my mother bought an Pysanky egg from him for my birthday.

Sadly Mr. Zdinak passed away not too long after my Mom. I'm ashamed that Mr. Zdinak himself never got to see it shared and promoted here in TAGAP land. The reason is frankly embarrassing; I didn't dare to take the egg with me as it is a normal egg underneath the wax. If you weren't aware, back in 2010s I didn't take the Weekly Penguin photos myself – that didn't start until around 2020. I simply didn't have decent digital camera and Petja was already into photography as a hobby, so I just always hauled a big bunch of penguins to his house for big photo shoots. I never dared to pack this one with me.

According to web searches, Mr. Zdinak's Pysanky galleries are still up Facebook and I do recommend checking them out if you can.

The penguin Pysanky sits behind a glass in my main display cabinet for the special penguin collectibles. Thank you Mr. Zdinak, for both the Pysanky and for being a friend of my Mom.