Egg Carving Art
Egg carving is a delicate, complex art, not for the faint of heart. Egg carvers create designs on the eggs that are the size of small quail eggs for emu eggs, about the size of a melon. The drawings of these artists are as different as sculpture in which eggs are produced. Simple designs can include the design of the tape or the heart template, while the designs developed could include nature scenes or lace filigree.
How is it possible that eggs can be carved at all? Aren’t they too delicate for such dealing? The answer, surprisingly, is “no.” Some eggs are not delicate at all. The ostrich egg, in fact, is so sturdy that chicks cannot hatch from them on their own: they need their mother’s help to emerge. Smaller eggs, of course, require careful handling. It is not uncommon for carvers to break 10% or more of the eggs they attempt to carve. Those eggs that survive to completion, however, become examples of an uncommon form of artistic expression.
There are two forms of egg carving. In the first form of carving, the egg is “laced” that is, designs are cut out of the eggshell. In the second form of carving, the egg is “sculpted.” Both forms of carving can produce designs of remarkable detail.
