The Obligatory Easter Egg Post

Gary Lemaster

First, I'd like to wish a Happy Easter to all of my readers who celebrate it. I thought a fancy egg post would be most appropriate today, and a real expert at this sort of thing is egg shell artist, Gary Lemaster. (I thought my friend, Tracy Broback's children might especially enjoy this one.)




Gary LeMaster is the artist who creates these incredible carvings.




Gary writes:

"Almost everyone asks me what the eggs are made of, thinking that no one in their right mind would attempt to carve a real eggshell. They see that they are "egg-shaped" but assume that they are either ceramic or plastic. Despite that, they are - in fact - real eggshells, constructed primarily of calcium carbonate and produced in their original form by real geese, ostrich, rhea, emu, turkeys, chickens, etc."






"First, I empty and clean each egg. After the egg has dried, I use a lead pencil to sketch the details of my artwork directly on the shell. I then cut away appropriate sections of the design or engrave the surface of the shell (or both), using a variety of diamond and carbide cutting tools. My tool of choice is a dental handpiece powered by an air compressor which generates over 400,000 rpm's for the burs to do their job."





"Once the egg has been fully worked, I use my hands and an abrasive cleanser to remove any remaining pencil marks. The egg is then submerged in two bleach baths to disintegrate any membrane residue from the inside surface. Finally, the egg is signed and sealed with three or four coats of lacquer. It is then placed on a stand inside a glass dome to preserve and enhance its beauty. Each egg is, of course, signed and
dated by the artist and comes with a signed and dated certificate of authenticity stating the title of the egg and avowing that each egg is made by hand."





Gary has a web site called, "The Eggshell Sculptor" Click HERE to see more of his beautiful work.