How Egg-travagant!

Hello again, friends!

So I was/am still pretty hungry today so for the artist of the week I decided to seek out an artist who uses food as a creative medium… I found surprisingly varied and overall impressive techniques from mosaic portraits made of junk food to ornate pastries that really “take the cake” in awesomeness! But the one artist really caught my eye for her unique medium is something I’ve never seen before…

Christel Assante

Christel Assante is a French artist who carves and paints eggshells in her spare time. Without any formal artistic training, the science major began working with eggs nearly a decade ago. When asked during an interview why she tried eggs, she humbly responded, “This question is always the most difficult for me, indeed, I don’t know at all what pushes people to adopt a special technique. It happens often without knowing why. I actually likes drawing on this so symbolic shape, on this so pleasant material because very porous which allow numerous different techniques … The egg shape allows to present scenes which evolve as you turn around it. I like this idea …” She has experimented with a wide array of egg types, including ostrich, emu, quail, duck, etc—each varying thickness allows for more possibilities—yet oddly never uses those of a chicken. Depending on the egg, a project may take from 8 hours to a full week to finish. Although she has much experience in this medium, she encourages others to try it out. She claims all you need are some small carving knives, vinegar, and a tiny-small drill (preferably diamond-coated).

So if you have some free time and a raw egg, why not? No harm no fowl!

Forget Christmas in July, anyone up for Easter in October??

Viv

P.S. I could not find an official website for her work, so just Google Image search her name for more amazing pieces!

3 responses to “How Egg-travagant!

  1. I’m crazy for French language/culture/food/music/art, so I’m already drawn to this artist. Not to mention, she’s crazy talented. I love the eggs with the tiny lights inside; it makes the negative/positive space more interesting. I also love that she explored other cultures in her art. A true sign of an artist is the ability to alternate styles, which I think Assante does very well.

  2. I will never understand how anyone can make such intricate works of art out of eggshells! That just baffles me. The things people think of are truly amazing. There is so much talent in the world!

    I also love the idea of Easter in October. We should just have a year where where the government makes it national event to switch all the holidays around. Valentine’s Day in August, Thanksgiving in March, etc. Everyone in retail and advertising would go ballistic.

  3. Wow, this is seriously so cool. I mean, I would consider myself an avid egg dyer during Easter, but this is so legit. How did you even find this?!

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