Eggventions

Life Vessel Art

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Here is an egg I created several years ago for my oldest daughter who studies Japanese. I discovered by accident that dye is lighter on areas etched with acid. So, I combined etching and dying to create a three-dimensional effect to the accordion folds in the Japanese fans.

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Here my the latest Eggvention. It is a pysanky goose egg inspired by Russian babushka dolls and Russian Orthodox church choirs. This video shows how the egg was made.

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Here is the latest Eggvention from Emily, ostrich eggshell earrings. Beautiful! 

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This goose egg is one of Emily’s latest creations, it is titled orange bouquet and was inspired by origami paper.

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This is the first ostrich egg I carved. The design was inspired by a line art flower design I stumbled across. I call the egg Flower Power because is has a sixties hippie feel. The flower designs and circles were created in PowerPoint in multiple sizes and printed on 8 ½ x 11 adhesive paper. The stickers were then applied to the egg and outlined using a carving tool with a small bur. Then, all of the stickers were removed and the design was carved. Ostrich eggs are extremely tough and take a long time to carve. But they are beautiful and worth the wait

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I’m happy to announce that my daughter Emily, who has created beautiful pysanky eggs for many years, has talked me into showing and selling our work for the first time. So, Eggventions is now the combined work of Bruce and Emily Davis. Emily created this egg for the show, along with many others that we will post soon.

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This brown chicken egg is another in the starflower series. The first step was to dye the egg red inside by squirting a small amount of fire engine red dye inside the hole with a syringe, shaking the egg and then allowing it to dry for a day. Next, the starflower pattern was drawn on the egg and waxed with a kistka. The egg was then etched by dipping it in muriatic acid until the desired color and depth was achieved. This step was repeated for each layer of the design. The wax was then removed, revealing the three-dimensional design. The last step was to carefully carve the starflower pattern in the eggshell with a carving tool.

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This egg is part of a series that I'm calling starflower. The eggs are first dyed inside by squirting dye inside the hole with a syringe and shaking it. For this egg, the dye was orchid. After the dye dries, a design is drawn on the egg, waxed with a kistka and etched in muriatic acid. Next, the wax is removed revealing the three-dimensional design. Last, holes are carved in the egg with a carving tool allowing light, and the beautiful dye inside to show through.

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Here is my latest eggvention. I created it for my wife Nan for our 30th wedding anniversary. The outer egg is an emu egg that is carved with a filigree and poppy design. The filigree design was also carved on a chicken egg, which is suspended inside the emu egg on a copper chain. Suspended inside the chicken egg is a pearl. The entire piece hangs on a curved copper wire that inserts into a black base with the words “30 Years of Love” carved into it. Nan’s love of poppies and copper was the inspiration for the piece. The pearl is the traditional 30th anniversary gift. It’s hard to believe we’ve been married for 30th years. We have two wonderful daughters and a great life together. I’m truly blessed and am happy to say that Nan loves the egg.

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I’ve carved a few goose eggs, but this is the first I’ve done as a pysanky egg. I should have tried this years ago because goose eggs are a lot easier to work with than chicken eggs! Mainly because goose eggs are larger, but also because their shell absorbs dye better than store-bought chicken eggs. This egg was inspired by a Japanese paper pattern of cherry blossoms. After the pattern was drawn, the egg was dyed brown. Then the outline was waxed and the egg was dipped in muriatic acid, which took the shell back to white. The pink inside the blossoms and the green leaves were hand-painted using a small sponge brush, then waxed. Next the egg was dyed red, waxed again, then dyed black.

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Here is a pattern you’ll find in nearly every “How to make Pysanky Eggs” book. If you’re a beginner psyanky egg artist, don’t be afraid to try complicated patterns. They are not that much more difficult than simple patterns, just more time consuming. I created this egg many years ago, so I don’t remember how many eggs I created before attempting it, but I’m going to guess less than ten. So go for it! You’ll learn a lot about dividing eggs into a grid and be well on your way to creating your own designs.

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This was the second goose egg I ever carved. The final result was an accident and not a happy one for me. Although many people tell me this egg is one of my best, it’s not what I had in mind. The design was supposed to be a series of three-dimensional squares that appear to be linked, like a chain. But while doing final touchups on the edges, the carving tool blew the egg out of my hand and a section broke. I removed other sections in an attempt to modify the design, but more pieces broke. It was one of those heartbreaking moments where you wish you could click “undo.” I eventually had to stop because the egg became too fragile. After some time had passed I came to like the egg. Someday I’ll carve the original design, or maybe do a “Square Egg” series.

Update -- While attempting to secure this egg to a base with tacky wax, I broke it into several pieces. It is possible to glue eggshell pieces together with crazy glue, but I think this egg is beyond repair. I'm glad I took a photo of it.

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This egg was inspired by a Japanese print. The flowers were completed first. I applied the grey dye in the flowers using a small sponge brush. After the flowers were completed, the egg was dyed light blue. The light blue areas were waxed, then the egg was dyed dark blue. The last color dye was black.

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This egg was created using a fun technique called etching. Unlike Pysanky eggs, where you work from light colors to dark, with etched eggs you work from dark to light. So, the dark brown areas on the egg were waxed first. The egg was then dipped in a bath of muriatic acid. I use a toilet bowl cleaner called The Works. Be careful! Muriatic acid is nasty and the vapors can hurt your lungs. But don’t fret, working on an egg while wearing rubber gloves and a mask makes you feel like a more serious egg artist. Repeat the process of waxing and etching until your design is finished. Don’t etch the egg too many times or the acid will eat through the shell and your work will be for nothing.

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Here’s a simple Pysanky egg that anyone can do. Use a fine kiska on a white chicken egg and start drawing flowers. Fill the shell with different sizes of flowers, stick in a few leaves and stems and dye the egg in one color. Remove the wax and Voilà! You have an amazing egg that looks very similar to those created using a scratch technique in a fraction of the time.

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The first egg I carved was a goose egg that I named Circles and Waves. It’s the first post on my Tumblr if you’d like to see it. This egg, which is the second in what is now the Circles and Waves series, is an Emu egg. The egg is not dyed. The dark green is the natural color of the shell, which is slightly textured and layered in color from dark green to light green and eventually to white. The light green is where the outer shell has been carved away. If you’ve never personally seen an Emu egg, I encourage you to search for a store that sells them. They are so beautiful, they can be displayed as they are. They are truly an awe inspiring sight.

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This carved goose egg was inspired by a pattern I found while searching "Japanese patterns vector." Vector art usually consists of simple geometric shapes, lines and curves. If you're looking for design inspiration include "vector art" in the category your searching. E.g. "celtic vector art." I spent about 6.5 hours on this egg from design to final sanding. It was created using a Turbo Carver.