Talent EGGS-hibited

Local artist create elaborate artwork on eggs for silent auction

Matt Olson, Copy Editor

This Friday, Denton’s Sweetwater Grill and Tavern will host the Artist Enclave of Denton County’s EGGS-ibition. The event will feature ceramic or bisqueware eggs that have been decorated by artists across Denton County. The eggs will be featured in a silent auction, and proceeds will go to the Denton High School Family Assistance Foundation, also called Denton High Cares.

AEDC chair and DHC co-chair Susan Carol Davis said of the event: “This is the inaugural EGGS-ibition. We thought it would be an effective fundraiser because people like to go to things they haven’t been to before and have a new experience.”

Davis said of the AEDC: “We are a non-profit, strictly a networking organization that wants to offer a place for artists across all disciplines to come together as a community.”

She continued: “We network as artists, advocate the arts in Denton and volunteer as artists to give back to the community.”

One of the artists included will be Chad Duckworth, a TWU alumnus who graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a focus in sculpture.

Artists have been given free range to work with the eggs, which are four inches in height and three inches in diameter. Davis elaborated: “People have used LED lights on some of the interiors of the eggs. We’ve seen a variety of paint, anything from watercolor to acrylics. Someone used gemstones. There’s also wood, plastic and lace. We also had someone who made a garden fairy with legs and arms composed of sugar cubes.”

She continued: “They are fragile, but at the same time, they are designed to have a good stability for an artist to work with easily. People have painted them, they have decoupaged them, and they have used them in sculptures. They are created by a company on the east coast. We received a little over 40, and close to 35 have been completed.”

Davis said of the artists’ guidelines: “We told them we have two rules: the day we need it by, and to have a great time doing it.”

Speaking on the event, Davis shared: “I think [we are expecting] anywhere from 60 to 80 [in attendance]. At our poetry open mic, we had over 80. We could have close to 100. We are encouraging the artists to come and to bring friends, family and colleagues. That space can adequately handle that number of people, so the more the merrier.”

Davis made a special point to thank Sweetwater Grill and Tavern: “Sweetwater has been a great host for us. They let us use their room for our events.”

The event will be held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. and is open to the public, with no cover charge.