Draft:Paul Maxym Sembaliuk

Paul Maxym Sembaliuk (July 2, 1929 – November 26, 2019) was a Canadian graphic artist best known for designing the Vegreville Pysanka, the world's largest sculpture of a Ukrainian-style Easter egg.

Early life and education
Sembaliuk was born on July 2, 1929, in Willingdon, Alberta, to John and Elizabeth (née Kozniuk) Sembaliuk. Their parents had immigrated to Canada from Ukraine in 1902. Sembaliuk attended Willingdon School. Sembaliuk graduated from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, which a few years later became the Alberta College of Art and Design. There he studied under renowned artists Illingworth Kerr, Luke Lindoe, Stanford Blodgett, JS Perrot, and Marion Nicoll.

Career and community contributions
Sembaliuk served as a graphic artist for the Government of Alberta for 31 years. During this time, Sembaliuk worked on the Alberta display for Expo 67 and the design of the 1970s “Alberta” logo.

Vegreville egg


Sembaliuk is perhaps most well-known for this design and project management of the Vegreville Pysanka, a giant sculpture of a Ukrainian-style Easter egg. In 1973, Sembaliuk was commissioned by the Vegreville Chamber of Commerce to design a sculpture dedicated to the 1975 centennial of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. While Sembaliuk developed the concept, pattern, colours and motifs of the sculpture, computer scientist Ronald Resch and two Ph.D. students from the University of Utah created a computer program to create a three-dimensional model of the egg.

Sembaliuk used the colours bronze, silver and gold in the design of the egg to represent the prosperity of the Ukrainian Canadian community and the "good earth" of the Prairies that helped the community survive. When finished, the egg was constructed out of containing 524-star patterns, 2,208 equilateral triangles, 3,512 visible facets, 6,978 nuts and bolts, and 177 internal struts.

Sembaliuk was involved in other projects involving Alberta's Ukrainian-Canadian community, including the logo for the Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company, and the visual asthetic of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village.

Personal life
In 1956, Paul married Patricia Korpus of Regina, SK. The couple settled in Edmonton and had five children. His daughter, Larisa Sembaliuk Cheladyn, is an artist and illustrator.

He was involved in the Ukrainian Canadian community, supporting various initiatives such as the Ukrainian Bilingual Program, Heritage Days, multicultural programming, political campaigns, and the University of Alberta Malanka celebrations.