Eggshell carving drawings. Shell carving - master class. A1. Shell strengthening

Almost everyone has known Easter since childhood. Everyone is happy to prepare for this day, paint eggs, decorate baskets and Easter dishes. Today, egg decor is popular not only for Easter. Craftsmen have created and mastered a new, magical art - eggshell carving.

Preparation for work

For work, they use both chicken eggs and ostrich, goose eggs, and some craftsmen even use the shell of a quail egg. Eggshell carving is a delicate and painstaking process, but at the same time it is interesting and varied. Try yourself in this fragile art!

Eggshell carving can be learned at home with a limited number of tools, as well as doing it for the soul or business. You just need to be prepared for the fact that the first time nothing will work out - after all, the eggshell is very thin and fragile, so it takes some time to adapt to such work, and get the necessary experience in the process of creating your egg masterpieces.

The technology for making eggshell carving is described below. The advantage of this art form is that all the tools and materials are quite accessible to everyone.

If you decide to test your capabilities in creating masterpieces from eggshells at home, then you will need:

chicken egg (raw);
simple pencil;
template (you can do it yourself);
electric cutter or miniature drill;
small sharp knife or scalpel;
paints for additional painting of the product or varnish for the topcoat;
soft cloth to place on the table;
spray varnish, acrylic varnish (transparent nail varnish can be used);
magnifier (optional);
respirator or safety glasses (for sensitive eyes).

Let's start carving

First you need to free the egg shell from the contents. To do this, we make holes at the top and bottom of the washed and dried egg with the sharp end of a knife or a thick needle. After that, you need to blow out the contents of the egg with a syringe. Then we collect soapy or clean water into the egg using the same syringe or syringe and blow it out again. The procedure must be repeated several times. Dry the egg. The shell is ready to go.

For beginners in this business, it is advisable to strengthen the eggshell so that it is difficult to spoil it during work. To do this, cover half of the egg with varnish, dry it and turn it over, then varnish the second part.

We start with a drawing - we make a blank. We take a pencil to delicately draw the chosen design onto the shell by hand. Ideas can be viewed in books, in photos on the Internet, or come up with yourself;

Next, we transfer it to the egg. You can sketch with a pencil or use carbon paper. For convenience, we attach the carbon copy with a stapler with a non-carbon part to the paper with the image, put all this on the egg and, in order not to paint the egg with a carbon copy, we work extremely carefully.

It is convenient to mark in red the places that we will cut out first.

To protect your eyes and better visibility while working, a magnifying glass will be the best assistant for you.

We cover the table with something soft (for example, a cloth or foam rubber). This will protect the shell from small cracks if an egg falls onto a hard table surface.

For eggshell carving, we use high speed cutters. A photo of the five types of main cutters is presented below:

Holes are drilled in the "red" places. First you need to cut out the marks - grooves along the contours of the pattern, while not deepening the nozzle too deeply. After that, drill the holes, which are marked in red, completely. Remember that shell carving is a very fragile art. Therefore, it is better to play it safe and leave the partitions thicker so as not to spoil the product.

After that, we cut out an openwork pattern that diverges in circles from the main pattern. We pass all the egg. This is one of the most difficult and painstaking moments in eggshell carving!

At the end, it is worth removing all irregularities with a polishing stone or a sharp knife. And now your masterpiece is ready! For a beautiful play of light and shadow, as well as for a beautiful lace pattern to be better seen, you can place a backlight behind the egg or inside.

If you want to brighten up your work, you can paint the eggshells with acrylic paint. Despite its fragility, the shell is a very durable material. If stored properly, it will delight you for a long time. To do this, the shell must be strengthened with varnish, and it is better to keep it under glass on a stand. Finished products look good when hung. To do this, it is better to tie them with a ribbon or string. Carved eggshell is a wonderful, very beautiful and effective gift that will appeal to everyone.

Here are some inspiring photos:

You can also watch a video on stained glass painting.

Gallery of masters

Despite the subtitle, I personally found only two masters: Franz Grom and Alexander Folk. By the way, the masters do not at all hide the secrets of their art, but there are few who want to try themselves in artistic eggshell carving.

Both the laboriousness and the fear of destroying, perhaps, already almost finished work with one careless movement scares off. And the work, it should be noted, is serious: there are about 3500 thousand holes for one such lacy testicle! Where to store it? How to care? Such beauty can be destroyed at any moment - and even without your participation ...

For Alexander Folk, his activities are part of the philosophy of life. It is in the egg that mythology sees a symbol of purity and fertility.

Material, egg carving tool

Several tools are used for artistic egg cutting. The photo shows that in some places the shell is cut completely and its parts are removed, and in others - that the shell is only scratched, and the edges of the scratch are smoothed out at the desired angle. These techniques are performed with the help of special tools - a drill with thin, very thin drills, as well as "scratching tools", with which it is possible to scratch the desired contours so beautifully.

The master works with a magnifying glass.

The material for creativity is an egg. Most often - chicken, especially homemade, characterized by high strength. And often, egg carving is performed on ostrich, goose, quail eggs. Ostrich, as a rule, are chosen by beginners - it seems to be easier to cut on coarse material, although the strength of the shell of ostrich eggs is noticeably lower than that of chicken eggs.

As you can see, all the eggs are white. But sometimes the need arises for the craftsmen to embody their idea in color. Then all kinds of dyes are used, both industrial like cans of paint, and natural - beetroot, silkberry, blueberry juice, etc.

Operating procedure

This procedure was proposed to his followers by Alexander Falk.

1. To begin with, the drawing is done on paper, in full size. Using a carbon copy or just a pencil, it is transferred to the surface of the egg.

2. The holes that need to be drilled in the first place are marked with a contrasting color: these are elements of various degrees of coarseness to be cut along the contour.

3. Alexander drills the marked points with a thin drill (0.5-0.7 mm).

4. With a special scraper in the form of an inverted cone, you need to go through all the contours. We don't cut through! Volumetric contours only. Craftsmen know that eggshells are layered, and the number of these layers determines the possibilities of “volumetric” artistic egg carving.

Many admire the work of craftsmen who create openwork lace patterns from an ordinary chicken or ostrich egg. It seems that it is impossible for a novice amateur to do this, and many are afraid to even try themselves in such creativity. In fact, this is not at all the case. The main thing is to know some of the subtleties of the preparatory work, buy the necessary tools and have patience and diligence. Eggshell carving technology consists of several stages, knowing which you can try to create a simple craft at first. Let's take a closer look at the basics of craftsmanship and when people started doing this kind of creativity.

The history of this art

Eggshell carving is considered an ancient art, such creativity was especially developed in ancient China. People brought a carved egg as a gift for weddings or birthdays. At first, chicken eggs were simply painted red with natural paints, then they learned to make carved patterns on the shell. Until now, the museums of the country keep copies that have survived from the reign of the Ming and Qing dynasty. These are masterpieces of masters of the 14-17th centuries, striking in their beauty and uniqueness. Crafts were decorated with gold threads, precious stones, beads.

In many cultures, the egg was considered a symbol of fertility; it was used in many sacraments and folk rituals. Nowadays, many craftsmen are fond of eggshell carving, there are carving schools, exhibitions and competitions of works are organized in museums. The highest aerobatics of such carving is the skill of the master not only to create patterns and patterns on the shell, but also to process the surface, creating relief images.

In the article, we will tell the reader how to properly work with an egg so that it does not break, how to pre-process it and what tools for egg shell carving you will need to purchase. You will learn all the subtleties of this applied art. For novice craftsmen, we will offer you to perform simple work with simple patterns.

Preparing an egg for work

Raw eggs must be thoroughly washed before use and the inner contents removed. To do this, you need to pierce the shell from the side of the blunt part of the egg with a needle or a thin drill. In this case, the rod must pierce the white, the yolk must not be touched, it must remain intact. Then they take out the contents over the bowl with a syringe, if it is not at home, then it's okay, there is another quick way to get rid of the insides. It is necessary to make another one opposite the first hole and, putting it to the mouth, slightly blow. Then the egg must be thoroughly rinsed by injecting water with a syringe inside several times. To cleanse the entire shell, you can cover the holes from the bottom and top with your fingers and shake the shell in your hand.

To make the eggshell carving look neat, you need to remove the inner thin film. When cutting out pieces of shell, the film creates sloppy rags around the edges of the cuts, resulting in work with uneven edges. What should be done, because the film cannot be removed through the small holes? A solution of water and "Whiteness" will cope with this problem by stirring the mixture in a 1: 1 ratio in a glass jar, you need to lower an empty egg there and leave it for a while. The film of a raw egg dissolves in about half an hour, but in some cases the process may take longer, but not more than 4 hours. Visually inspect the appearance of the egg, if you see that the film has peeled off, then remove the workpiece and rinse it several times with a syringe with plain water.

Tools for the job

If you decide to try your hand and creativity in eggshell carving, then you must first of all purchase a drill and a set of drills for it. You will also need a magnifying glass, or even better, have a magnifying glass that fits over your head with elastic bands. This will help you see the small details of the selected pattern and will not take your hands. To draw a sketch, paper and a simple pencil must be present. When cutting out large areas of the shell, craftsmen use a sharpened knife or even a scalpel (if possible). Pre-preparation of eggs is carried out using a syringe. The product is decorated first by cleaning with sandpaper, then some additionally make painting with paints. For shine, the final work is opened with acrylic varnish. So it looks more impressive and will last longer.

Do not forget to cover the table surface with a soft base before starting work. You can use a thin sheet of foam rubber to prevent the craft from breaking if accidentally dropped. For eye safety, be sure to wear safety glasses, as fine dust flies in the air when working with the drill. Also prepare a small brush to brush the waste material off the surface of the egg.

Surface treatment

Experienced craftsmen, who make complex ornaments when carving on eggshells, specially keep the peeled shells in special solutions for several hours. This helps to increase the strength of the material and to whiten the surface. This is often done with embossed drawing.

Since our article is intended for beginners in eggshell carving, this processing process can be skipped. It will be enough to thoroughly wash and dry the shell both outside and inside.

Drawing a picture

At the first tests, you can prepare the egg and drill holes with a bur in strips or circles. Then try to draw a simple drawing with a soft graphite pencil.

You need to cut along the contours with a small bur, moving it smoothly along the line. You need to hold the egg firmly, but without pressure, so as not to crush the product. After each strip, gently brush away dust with a stiff brush so that the line is clearly visible. Then the work can be continued further.

For convenience, when working, those places in the drawing that will need to be cut out are best painted with a red pencil.

It is better to make the jumpers between the holes thicker so that the fragile shell does not break off in a thin place.

To shine the surface of the craft, you can cover it with oil or rub it with felt.

It is better to store the product on a stand or hang it on a ribbon.

Now you know how to make such wonderful carved eggs. Be sure to try to prove yourself in this art form! Good luck!

Every Russian person is familiar with Easter from childhood. Everyone is used to helping mothers get ready for this day and paint eggs, decorate Easter dishes and baskets. However, egg decor is now popular not only for Easter, but all year round. Some Russian and foreign craftsmen have created and mastered a new art - carving on specially prepared eggshells. They use both chicken eggs and goose, ostrich eggs, and some especially sophisticated craftsmen manage to cut even quail eggs in the shell. Carving is an interesting and varied occupation, you just have to try yourself in this art!

Looking at a carved egg, it's hard to believe that anyone can do it all, even without professional tools and artistic skills. How to carve a prepared eggshell at home, we will tell you in our master class for beginners.

Learn to carve eggshells in a simple master class

Tools and materials for work:

Raw chicken egg
Clear nail polish or acrylic polish, spray polish
Children's pear syringe or aspirator (you can do without them)
Simple pencil
Template (you can do it yourself)
Electric cutter, miniature drill or electric manicure set - what is
scalpel or small sharp knife
soft cloth or sponge to place on the table
magnifier (optional)
safety glasses and a respirator - for sensitive eyes and noses

All tools and materials are fairly affordable, this is one of the advantages of this art form.

Start. Let's start carving on eggshells:

To get started, you need to free the shell from the contents. The standard way, of course, will not work. To correctly make the workpiece, you need to make holes with the sharp end of a knife or a thick needle on the top and bottom of the washed and dried egg, then blow out the contents with a syringe or an aspirator, or you can just put your lips to the smaller hole and blow hard. After that, pour soapy or clean water into the egg using the same syringe or syringe, then blow it out in the same way, repeat the procedure several times. Dry the egg. The shell is ready for further work.
For beginners, the next step is to coat half of the egg with the varnish of your choice, dry it and turn it over, then varnish the second part as well. Thus, the shell is strengthened, it will be more difficult to spoil it during work. But experienced craftsmen omit this step, because in their experienced hands the shell does not crack.
The last step in preparing for carving is to place a sponge or soft cloth on the table behind which you are working. If an egg accidentally falls on a hard surface, it can break, and the mat will prevent this.

We disassemble the egg shell carving technology

Select the required template. You can spy on ideas in books, in a photo on the Internet, or come up with yourself. Next, you need to transfer it to the egg. You can use carbon paper, trace around the cut shape, or just sketch with a pencil.

It is worth starting with smaller parts and holes. For convenience, they are painted in a contrasting color, for example, red, as in the photo.

Holes are drilled in the places painted in red.

Saw out the marks - grooves along the contours of the pattern, without deepening the bit too much. The drawing should not fall out entirely.

After that, drill the holes, marked in red, completely.

Next, start cutting through the outline of the drawing. If you cut it out entirely, it will simply fall out, so you need to leave the partitions for which it holds in the shell. It is important to remember that shell carving is a fragile art, and it is better for a beginner to play it safe and leave the partitions thicker so as not to spoil the product.

After that, an openwork pattern is cut out, diverging in circles from the main pattern. You can pre-line it on the egg with a pencil or give free rein to your imagination.

At the end, it is worth grinding off all the irregularities with a scalpel or a sharp knife, brushing off the dust with a brush or blowing it off, after which the egg must be varnished.

How long can carved shells be stored?

The shell, despite its fragility, is a very durable material. When stored properly, it can last for a very long time. To do this, it must be strengthened with varnish, as described above, and it is better to keep it under glass and on a stand. In addition, hanging eggs look great when they are tied by a ribbon or string.

At exhibitions, lights are placed behind the eggs or inside to make the lace pattern better visible, as well as for a beautiful play of light and shadow.

Be that as it may, a carved shell is an amazingly beautiful and effective gift that everyone will like. But it is better to remember that such a present can only be given to an adult, or the result of several hours of work will become unusable in a matter of seconds.