Friday Egg: Cherry Blossoms with Red Outlines

A simple little egg today for Friday, but making it wasn't as simple as it looks.  I started with a locally farmed chicken egg with a blueish shell.  It was a lovely color that I wanted to accent, so I decided to do an etched cherry blossom design.  Because the colors between the etched and non-etched areas were so similar, I accented the edges of the etching by dipping the etched egg in red and then washing the dye off as completely as I could.  Especially with red and pink colors, the edges of the etched areas soak up the dye and it is difficult to wash it off completely.  On this egg, it becomes a very delicate red outline that makes the design stand out.

Happy Friday!

Friday Egg: Donation to the Susan G. Komen Holiday House NYC

Today's egg is currently winging its way to New York City to be a part of the Susan G. Komen Holiday House.  My old friend Robin Wilson is a "green" designer of interiors and products and is a participating designer in the Holiday House.  When she found out she was designing the Easter dining room, she knew who to call!  We came up with a lovely design for an ostrich egg which will be a part of her display and will also be an auction item to raise money for breast cancer research. I am honored to be able to participate, and I can't wait to see photos of the display!


I started with an ostrich egg for this because Robin wanted something big, bold and eye-catching!  After taking the shiny outer layer off with acid, I waxed the outlines of the pink ribbons, blue bands and floral motifs on top and bottom.  Then I proceeded through the layers of waxing and dyeing.  I had some difficulty with the darkest blue.  The dye "took" but wasn't absorbed into the egg, so as soon as you touch it, the dye would wipe off.  Very frustrating, especially after all that work!  Sometimes an egg just gets exhausted and doesn't want to play anymore. Usually this happens when I do a lot of etching, which I did on this egg to make the designs really pop.  I let it rest overnight, then gave it a vinegar bath to refresh the shell and was able to get one more good blue dye bath and finish the job.

As for the design, I think the interlocking pink ribbons work great as a communicator of the brand but also as a pretty design element.  The robin's egg blue background is a perfect foil to the bright rose pink.  My favorite part is something I added later in the process.  As much as I like the floral garland around the top and bottom, I thought it needed some life so I added a few fluttering butterflies for interest.  Love them!  See if you can spot them as you look through the photos.

This egg is going to be a part of the auction, so if you are interested in it, please contact the Susan G. Komen NYC Chapter for more information.  It's a great cause and a lovely egg, so bid high!

Friday Egg: Pygmalion! Etched and Dyed Brown Chicken Egg

I am always delighted to see the humble brown chicken egg transformed through etching and dyeing into something gorgeous!  Of course, I love the plain brown shell too with its freckles and speckles, but it's nice to see it dressed in party clothes.

Short post today as I am doing some last minute preparations for the East Austin Studio Tour.  If you are in Austin, please come out and say hello this weekend and next weekend from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.  Search for studio #125 on the website for the location.

Happy Friday!

Line by Line in the New York Times

Line by Line

I am loving this series! It is a series of drawing lessons that is actually quite helpful. My favorite is the lesson on how to draw plants, trees and flowers.

I would highly recommend that you take a look whether or not you are an artist. It is fascinating to see an artist work, how they work, the choices they make, all the things that go into creation.

Friday Egg: Protective Red Ram

Red Ram on Black Background

I like the ram motif in traditional eggs. Spirals are traditionally seen as a protection symbol and the ram has it built right in!  This egg has a lot of protection motifs:  the "wolves teeth" that encircle the vertical eternity band as well as the tiny wolves teeth within the eternity band.  I have always like the color combination of red and white. It is so strong and jaunty and cheerful with no doubts about itself.

Side view

Top View

Bottom View

Penny for scale

I hope you have a lovely Friday.  The weather here is beautiful - sunny and in the 70's. I'm going to go have lunch with my husband and then come back and do a quick housecleaning for my daughter's birthday party tomorrow.  We are very happy that Scottyroo and Christini are coming to entertain the 22 cupcake-and-juice-fueled three-year-olds who will be running amok in our house tomorrow.

Friday Egg: Flying Turtle in Space!

A whimsical Friday Egg today!  It is a turtle with a traditional star design shell flying through a flower and dot filled space with his upside-down buddy on the other side.  The brightness of the colors against the black background remind me of folk art embroidery.   

I started the regular way with a white eggshell, then just kept adding new colors.  I washed the eggshell back down to white several times to ensure that the colors were bright and clear.  Sometimes the colors can get a bit muddy and dark if you do too many successive layers of dye without washing back to white as a background again.

Enjoy your sci-fi traditional zoological space exploration egg!

Happy Friday!

Friday Egg - Peacocks and Poppies!

Poppies and Peacocks!

Friday almost got away from me!  Lots of big things in the works, and I am starting to ramp up for the holidays.  One thing I can announce today is my participation in the East Austin Studio Tour.   This year it is two weekends, Saturday and Sunday, November 13th and 14th and Saturday and Sunday, November 20th and 21st.  The hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and I will open up my studio and be demonstrating most of each day.  We will have refreshments and beverages on offer.  We had a great time last year and  I am looking forward to doing it again.  I hope you all can come out and say hello and take a look at some of my new creations.  Speaking of which...

I made a beautiful blue Friday egg with orange poppies and peacocks.  I started with a white egg and measured out a figure-eight design to frame the poppies in the inner circles and create frames for the peacocks out of the outside of the circular shapes.  The orange is a little less intense than I would have liked, but I still like it with the cobalt blue background.

Peacock with blue tailfeathers

Traditional Rose or Star Pattern next to garland

Pretty orange poppy.  I always call the orange ones California poppies.  Is that right?

Scarlet flower detail

Peacock is ready for his close-up.

Red, green and blue garland

Red initials on the bottom of the egg.

Happy Friday!