Eggshell Sculptures by Christel Assante

French sculptor Christel Assante uses eggshells to create these wonderful pieces of art.



Assante creates custom designs for buyers, working in mostly quail and goose eggs. Each egg takes her about 3 to 4 days to sculpt. The eggs are lit from a small bulb placed inside through a hole in the bottom.



"I always use true egg shells, because I like the material and the magic of the result sometimes so fragile, that's the most interesting for me. I carve from the ostrich egg shell (the biggest) to emu egg shell, and also nandu, goose, pheasant, duck and quail egg shell. I do not work at all with chicken eggs !!"



"I tend to prefer nandu egg shell which is thick giving me more possibilities. The result is really worthwhile. Unfortunately, these eggs are difficult to find. I can also use the emu egg shell. The dark green color is beautifull but its shell is thinner, so less comfortable to carve."



"I find shells thanks to friends, neighbours. In the past, I also had geese and my mother had nandus and all sort of birds ... Sometimes, people also keep for me some eggs. For goose egg shells, I prefer the ones coming from Gers where they are large and thick!!"



"It is not necessary to have lot of material to start carving eggs, a knife and some vinegar are sufficient to begin with, then you can buy a mini drill. Those of good quality have good peformances and avoid most of vibrations (which remain the true problem). Then, don't forget to use diamond coated drill for the best result ..."



"I always bring my equipment with me when I exhibit to show people ... but, the best is to practise, at the beginning, sometimes I spent one week on one egg without being sure of the result !!! But, I am very stubborn and I remade the same model until I succeeded."



"The highest difficulty for carving egg is to respect the structure of the shell. The more holes you drill, the more difficult it is to keep homogenity. The less you keep, the more fragile are the remaining part, as for any other material... "



"I am often asked the time to create a work, now I am used to, I need 8 hours to carve a goose egg shell and one week for an ostrich egg shell ..."



The process start with a sketch made with a pencil on the egg shell, taking into account of the shell's curvature. Followed by engraving and carving. And finally, painting.





Source: art-et-artisanat-du-monde

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