Bernadeta Gillani
Bernadeta Gillani grew up in Poland, in a town called Mielec and moved to Katowice when she was 19 years old to study at University. In 2004 she moved to Hounslow, where she got married, and in 2006 moved to Slough.
Pisanki is a painted Easter egg.
It is a tradition of Polish, Ukrainian and other European cultures. It originates from a pagan tradition which was then absorbed by Christianity to become the traditional Easter Egg.
Pisanki are usually made using white and light brown chicken eggs and goose and duck eggs are occasionally used when available.
Pisanki symbolises hope, life, fertility and friendship. The yolk of the egg is thought to represent the sun.
They are made by piercing a small hole in the egg, blowing out the yolk and the white and then rinsing with lukewarm water and vinegar. Pisanki is the Polish word meaning 'to write'.
After the eggs are dyed, they are then written on and decorated using a tool called a kistka. Historically, Pisanki were only decorated by women. This is because it was believed to be bad luck for men to make pisanki.
