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The Last Page

Interview with Egg Artist 
Edna Mays Isaac

by Stephanie Ramey

Edna Mays Isaac for the past five years has cut and carved well over 2000 eggshells. She first learned about carving eggs when she saw an article in 1984 about Lew Jensen who developed the Paragrave carving system. She filed the article away for future reference.

In 1996 she ran across the article again while going through her files. Egg carving was just the change she was looking for. With over 40 years in the fiber arts business, she was ready to tackle something new. After she and her husband did quite a bit of research, they purchased the Paragrave carving equipment in January of 1997. Her "first egg was an all over cut out daisy pattern".

Being self taught, Edna gets most of her inspiration from nature. She also carves portraits and does custom orders. When asked about her favorite piece, she replied,

"I don’t really have a favorite piece, I enjoy creating beauty so generally the one that I am working on becomes my favorite at the moment. I enjoy sitting down with no pattern and creating whatever "comes out", sometimes a very intricate piece, sometimes a 10 minute wonder."

Edna has turned her egg art into a business by selling exclusively on the internet. Her web site, which was designed by her son Steven, shows off row after row of beautifully carved eggs of all sizes. She carves everything from pheasant to ostrich. She enjoys creating other types of eggs for pleasure such as a beaded egg, but sticks to carving for her egg art business.

She uses her own designs and a product called "EZ Design to help duplicate egg designs quickly and efficiently". "Nearly every design tells a story. For instance, the man that ordered "Dancing Princess" (to the right) said that he wanted "his wife in her wedding dress, without the train, her hair down, and dancing with her bouquet". "

As for tips for budding egg artists, Edna recommends, "Find a nitch, do what makes you feel as if you are sharing something of yourself, and take the time to "smell the roses" as you do your designs. I have found that duplicating a design that someone else drew just doesn’t satisfy as one that your have produced yourself. Above all, believe in yourself."

Edna can be reached in Colorado Springs, CO by email at emisaac@elegantintrigues.com  or visit her web site Elegant Intrigues at  http://www.elegantintrigues.com

Edna has provided us with instructions on transferring designs using EZ Design, read her article here.