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Thirty Acres and a Drill

Thirty acres just outside of Muskegon, Michigan are home to ostrich, swan, peacocks, geese, ducks, pheasants… and an egg artist. Like many egg artists, Tina Boes came into egg art after exploring other art forms. In her case she enjoyed painting, various types of crafts, and photography, which became her focus, no pun intended. As her career in Retail Loss Management soared, she found herself traveling more and with less time for artistic expression. Things fell into place in 1999 when family matters brought her back to her hometown of Muskegon, Michigan. As she settled into a new job, she found that she had more time for artistic outlet. Although photography was still ‘there’ the age of the digital camera was pushing it to one side and she eventually sold off all her photography equipment.

Her interest in egg art came when a co-worker brought in a souvenir from a trip to Africa. It was an ostrich egg with roughly carved elephants circling the egg. The idea of egg carving intrigued her so much that she purchased a Dremel tool and began exploring the possibilities. Along the way she met other egg artists, aka ‘eggers’, made many new friends, and collected a number of birds that supply her with eggs to carve. Encouraged by her success, she moved from carving with a Dremel tool to a high-speed drill. “It is much faster than using a Dremel,” Tina says. Her husband, Jim, is supportive of the hobby turned profession and assists in the creation of brochures, CDs and runs her booth at shows. “He is understanding of the time I devote to carving and encourages me to try new things,” says Tina.

In addition to the assorted birds, she has two cats and a large “Heinz 57” dog. All three get along well with the assorted birds. She plans on adding emu to her menagerie this year. “The geese and the ostrich start about the same time...right about now. I'm starting to get an Ostrich egg here and there, and the geese are laying daily. The pheasants and peahen will start toward mid summer, and the ducks will lay all spring and summer long,” says Tina. “Adding emu will keep me supplied with eggs during the winter months.”

Tina has been featured in numerous magazines and won many awards for her egg art. Finding that she has a talent for teaching, she has expanded to include teaching egg carving. Most of her classes are held one-on-one in her home studio, but she recently agreed to teach six classes of ten students each on emu egg carving. The classes are being sponsored by the Montana Emu Association and will be held in conjunction with the American Emu Association Convention in Missoula, MT July 5-7.

For more information on Tina Boes and her art, visit her website at http://www.carvedeggshells.com
For more information on the emu egg carving classes sponsored by the Montana Emu Association click here.