Andrew Skitko is a local artist living in Pottstown. He focuses on creating Ukrainian-style Pysanky eggs. The name “Pysanky” comes from the Ukrainian word for “writing,” because the eggshells are written on with melted beeswax through a tiny heated metal funnel on a stick (called a “kistka”). Using this Batik method, the eggs are put in different dyes, adding beeswax after each color to preserve the final design’s pattern, before melting off all the layers of wax to reveal the final design. Skitko is largely self-taught after being initially drawn to Pysanky through his Carpatho-Rusyn family (a Carpathian ethnic group with a different style than the Ukrainian designs). He is grateful to represent and honor his heritage through his artwork, especially here at The Collective, because the Carpatho-Rusyn community was significant to the factories, community, and history of Pottstown. He is equally honored to represent and share this traditional folk-art of Ukraine, where his family and friends are fighting at the frontlines — both on the battlefields, and on cultural frontlines of art and music. (Skitko is a classical operatic singer with the Ukrainian Art Song Project). As Russia continues to attempt to destroy the identity of Ukrainian culture as well as their country through their war, these small Pysanky eggs act as a large testament to the importance of art and culture worldwide.