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Friday, April 3, 2015

24 Fantasy Eggs!

This posting requires a little explanation. For the last dozen or so years of my mother's life, I created a Christmas advent. Each advent was centered around a theme, and the most popular by far was a year of imagined eggs, each with an imagined history. They're all collages. And though these were originally a Christmas advent for her, they are now my Easter gift to you, my blogging friends. Let me know if you have a favorite.

Happy Easter!
























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16 comments:

  1. Mark, these are so imaginative; very creative! A difficult choices, I love several; however The Midnight Blue Egg speaks to me with the water and jeweled timepiece!

    xoxo
    Karena
    The Arts by Karena
    Ellipsis: Dual Vision

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    1. Dear Karena,

      To me, the Midnight Blue Egg seems to have a mysterious quality, which is why I suppose it belonged to Mata Hari. Because it is indeed a timepiece, I think that band in the center rotates.

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  2. Hello Mark,

    You put Faberge to shame!

    What a totally fabulous and fun idea this is. We love them all, especially with their potted histories. However, if we were to be lucky enough to be given one, then it would be the Golden Egg. Simple, Stylish and Shimmering. Yes, it would serve to remind us that geese are to be treasured.......one never knows where precious jewels will come from in life!

    Wishing you all joy this Eastertide!

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    1. Hello, Jane and Lance,

      You have opted for simplicity, and as Leonardo da Vinci is reputed to have said, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." But surely you have also picked one of the rarest eggs, a good addition to your portfolio. Happy Easter!

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  3. Hello Mark, We often look at things through the lens of something else, and you have extended this concept by using the egg as a mask to interpret so many items. The real treasures here, however, are the captions which you have provided! I can imagine your mother's delight in such a present.

    While I was drawn by the Golden Egg, the Midnight Blue, the Aurelian, and the LaFarge, my provisional choice is the Jack-in-the-Box egg, assuming the emerging figures are appropriately surreal.

    --Jim
    PS: I love this month's button with its colorful spatter effect, almost Jackson Pollack-esque.

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    1. Hello, Jim,

      The figure in the Jack-in-the-Box egg pops out the window every half hour, spins around, and then leans over the ledge to wave, perhaps to Fabergé figures.

      I'm glad you like this month's antique button. It's a Victorian composite, and one of a number of composite buttons that I've collected, all of which look like a marble or granite.

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  4. Dear Mark, Thank you for this sensational Easter Gift. It's not only the beautiful eggs but also the attached history lessons which make this a very special post. I have many favorites but the Aurelian egg conjured up vision of mysterious places, places which were once real and are now gone forever.
    Wishing you a vey Happy Easter.

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    1. Very tasteful, Gina. I know that Fabergé made some mosaic Easter eggs, so you're in good company. Of course the Aurelian Egg is decorated in micro-mosaics. Happy Easter to you and Gene.

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  5. Almost impossible to choose as each is a little gem but I would go for the Mandarin egg, if pressed. A man of endless talents, you are, Mark! I hope your Easter was a very happy one.

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    1. Thank you, Barbara,

      I believe the Mandarin Egg was comissioned by the Dowager Empress, a difficult client if there ever was one! I had a lovely Easter, including a crabcake dinner overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, which is about 15 minutes from my house.

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  6. What a thoughtful gift to give your mother! You make it hard to choose, they are all magnificent. I love the Canaletto, Jack-in-the-box and feather and will be looking diligently for the locked egg- ruby is my birthstone!!

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    1. Hello, Theresa!

      When I was making the Canaletto Egg, I was remembering that there was an English branch of the Fabergé business, and that Fabergé had craftsmen of several nationalities. I was thinking in particular of the Coronation Egg — the one with the miniature coach inside — which I believe was executed by an Englishman.

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  7. Oh so wonderful, Mark. What a creative and inventive and loving son you are. My favorites are the Jack in the Box and The Winter Egg. Though I must say it was very hard to choose. The Locked Egg gives rise to a story book idea - no?
    I hope you had a very Happy Easter, my friend.

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    1. Dear Yvette,

      The Winter Egg is one of my favorites, too. Unfortunately for Napoleon, the scene on this particular egg foreshadowed an eventual and disasterous retreat from Russia.

      My mother was a fun person to gift, Yvette, because she had a most unusual combination of traits. She was a person of worldly sophistication who nonetheless took child-like pleasure in the simplest of things. I can attest that such a combination will smooth many of life's pathways.

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