This past weekend, I was at a local craft show/charity bazaar. There were awesome displays of craftsmanship, wood working, homemade soaps and lotions, painted gourds, baked goods and more. One booth really caught my eye and got me thinking about all the ways that chicken keepers are crafty. They have ingenious ways of turning ordinary eggs into beautiful works of art. You know, legend has it that once you are a keeper of chickens even your math skills can change. My husband wonders how a couple baby chicks can magically become half a dozen or more.
The booth I encountered had hand carved chicken eggs. There were simply beautiful. Being a chicken keeper, I know how delicate the shell of an egg can be. The designs and artistry involved in carving these eggs were evident. All I could think of was that I needed to make them into ornaments for my tree, but quickly thought about my cats and rambunctious puppy and the fact that this year, they would most likely destroy those beautiful creations. Soon, I will need to have them. The owner of the booth, was diligently holding one of the eggs to a light, making it a nightlight. Brilliant idea! They were beautiful. To see more of their work, see the Crazy Cluckers facebook page here.
These carved eggs also reminded me of the beautiful lace creations that Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm has created. In her article from April 2012, she walks us through steps to make an ordinary egg into lace, with a video even. The eggs she made were gorgeous.
There is a tradition in Ukraine of making decorative eggs from layering wax and pigments. I was part of a Farm Girl Group that took a class on this. It was a ton of fun, but most importantly educational.Since ancient times, eggs have been used to symbolize many things. The decorating of eggs is a long standing tradition. You can read about that adventure how to make these decorative eggs here.
Chicken keeping, we can often get lost in the muck, frozen water, predator watching, everyday actives but it is important to remember that chicken keeping can enrich your life. Chicken keepers are kindred spirits, reminiscent of years past when people lived to serve the land and the land served the people. They meet in feed stores and talk about things like pasty butt and bumble foot, but also at craft shows where they are able to showcase true artistry in their craft. The chicken keeping community is filled with inspiring people and a kindred spirit among those that are members.
2 Comments
Chicken keeper felt more happy than others,
Chicken keepers almost more activity than others,
Chicken keepers have more social life, and frindly, not board, making love more un keepers,
Specially after retirement,
We need more researchs about these 3 noted above,
So any animal’s universities students can study these,
If you need more support I will help,
You can study that to bring 2 groups, the first groupd keeping chicken another group not,
Then you can create an scale or emotional test, or to measure the social life of the 2 groups to find the deferential between them,
The. Result will be because of chickens keepers,
Beautiful egg carving! Thanks for the shout out! 🙂