(Egg)ceptional shells

By Uthpala Gunethilake

How creative can you get with an eggshell? Well, you can draw two eyes and a mouth on it, stick on a piece of cotton-wool for a beard and call it Santa Claus. Or you could crush the shell and sprinkle the fragments around your rose bushes as fertilizer.

Few of us though could imagine turning an eggshell into a little trinket box complete with intricate carvings, gold beads and a lid you can actually open. Let alone an ornamental birdcage with miniature trellis-work or a musical bell, with an overlapping heart design. Yet such imaginative creations seem to spring easily from Kumu Armstrong, a long-time eggshell crafter.

Kumu discovered a flair for decorating eggs while attending flower arranging classes in England, in the late Seventies. "My tutor showed me a beautifully decorated duck egg and it was love at first sight," she recalls smiling. Her fascination was so great that she began travelling many a mile to attend every seminar, workshop and demonstration held in the U.K. Before long she had discovered hundreds of ways of decorating the humble eggshell. Looking at one of her own creations which reflects much patience and craftmanship, she says, "I never thought I could do something so intricate with that egg shell!"

Eggshell craft is not new. In ancient China, decorated eggs were given to the young and the newlywed as a symbol of love and new life.

The practice caught on in Europe with the advent of Christianity. The most famous creations were by Peter Carl Faberge, master goldsmith of Tzar Alexander the Third.

Kumu uses mostly duck eggs, but says that other kinds can also be used, provided the shells are sturdy. "Duck eggs have a very strong shell, which makes them easier to carve on and design. Also, they are cheaper," she explains. What about the common hen egg? "You can't do many designs on it because it's fragile and small," said Kumu.

When asked about the trimmings, Kumu displayed two boxes full of little trinkets, bits of coloured lace, beads and buttons and other such miscellaneous bits and pieces. "You can use all types of pretty little things," she says, explaining that with a bit of imagination, the simplest and most inexpensive material could work wonders.

Apart from the loads of patience and nimble fingers, you need to finish decorating an egg without breaking it, it's a time-consuming craft too, says Kumu. Much time is spent on preparing the eggshell and waiting for the glue to stick and the paint to dry.

"But you never lose interest because new methods are discovered everyday. Besides it is an intriguing craft giving you the freedom to explore your creative skills," she adds.

Kumu had never intended to make money out of her creations, but her family and friends urged her to start classes. When she returned to Sri Lanka six months ago she was amazed at how interested people were in handicrafts. "People are mad over crafts here!" she exclaims. She is eager to start classes and hold workshops once she settles down.

Kumu has been an eggshell crafter for over twenty years. She calls it an indulgence and says that the pleasure it gives her is immense.

This is evident in the way she lovingly runs her finger down a gift she has just made - an eggshell inserted within another which slides back like a door to reveal two figurines, a little boy and a goose. 'Eggsquisite'!

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