SHARON, Pa. - It is common to decorate Easter eggs this time of year, but for one woman in Sharon, it's a full-on art form that dates back literally thousands of years.

It's called "Pysanky" and it features intricate designs all made by hand on eggs. Carol Novosel's mastered an art form that's been handed down through generations. The rest of us just have to figure out how to pronounce it.

The correct form is "pih-sahn-KEE," said Novosel. "I used to say pi-SAHN-kee and the ladies here would hit me over the head. Oh, you gypsy!"

For more than 2,000 years, people from Ukraine have been dying eggs, adding incredibly detailed designs many of which involved the sun. But why on an egg?

"They put the symbol of the sun, which is an eight-pointed star, on anything that they thought had magical powers," said Novosel. "They thought an egg was magical because a tree couldn't become a person, a rock couldn't become a dog, but an egg could become new life like that they thought."

In many ways, it's amazing the art-form has survived.

"It almost died out as an art," said Novosel. "When the Soviet Union came to fruition, you had to be Soviet, you had to be communist. You were not allowed to be Ukrainian."

But artists like Carol have carried the torch, or in this case the candle, using a flame, some wax, and various dyes to create works of art that carry more meaning that you might realize.

"My father's village was Verona, which means Raven. So I have an egg that represents his village," said Novosel.

"White is a clean slate, yellow is the sun, it's happiness, green and blue are health, youthfulness, black is the night," Novosel said.

Every one of these is indeed a real egg. Carol begins decorating the raw egg, then drains it after it is varnished. With the varnish, the finish will last a lifetime, creating a finish that appears more like porcelain.

Novosel's artwork has been published, featured on "Jeopardy", and owned by everyone from former President Bill Clinton to former Steelers owner Dan Rooney. It's her way of honoring her heritage.

"Other cultures; Polish, Slovak, Romanian have their version, Lithuania, eastern and central Europe. I am able to help those people to learn about their culture a bit, tie them to their roots a bit, and I am grateful that I can do that," said Novosel.

They provide a link to the past and certainly not your typical Easter eggs.

You can see her artwork in person today at the 32nd annual Ukrainian Egg Festival in Sharon from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. at the North Sharon Fire Hall.