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Show APRIL 14, 1987 L, DsamaDEPammai Easter all year long Doris collection is Eggstraordinary By JUDY JENSEN that many of them have been given to her as gifts. I bought my first one when 1 was visiting my sister in Texas. I then got one more and people got the idea 1 had an egg collection and away we went, she What started KAYSVILLE six years ago with one purchase in Texas has grown into the best collection of decorated eggs in the state, and collector Doris Taggart is delighted to share the history of her fascinating hobby. Doris now has over 60 eggs from countries all over the world. Rus- laughed. Some of her most prized eggs are those that were made for her by her niece, Krissana Seliger. She explained that Krissana took a class where the pupils were expected to create one or two eggs in six weeks. By the end of the first week Krissana had three eggs finished. She is just an expert at this, said Doris. One thing that has helped Krissana is that she was given the tools of a retired dentist. All of the intricate-carvin- g done on the eggs is done with a dentists drill. The shell of the large birds eggs are very hard, according to Doris, and they are much easier to work with. Most artists work with goose eggs because they are so strong. The smaller the egg the more fragile it is. Doris explained the difficult time she had getting her smallest sia, Jerusalem, Thailand, and Kenya are just a few of the countries represented in her collection. The art of eggery is centuries old. The delicate hand painting and intricate carving require a very skillful artist. The egg has always been a symbol of new birth and good luck. Doris explained that the most famous collection of jeweled eggs is the Fabrege collection. Those eggs were made for royalty. Each country has their own special design and some eggs are valued at over $2,500. Doris is sentimentally attached to most of her eggs. She explained X ft ' w 9 nt 1 XX MW JM XX X X X MJf X O XX XJ" XX 'fcsieb XjK XX XX xX X xx xN XX int XX XX xx xx art XX xx XV x xV egg, a parakeet egg, to Utah. I bought it in Texas, hand carried it on the plane and when I opened it, it was in a thousand pieces. She was so disappointed in Texas that her brother-in-latold her he would take on the task of decorating a parakeet egg for her. On his first attempt, he had just finished decorating the egg and as he picked up the egg it was crushed. Undaunted, he made one more attempt. This time he was successful. The only remaining challenge was getting it to Utah in one piece. Youd have died laughing at the packaging he used to get that egg up it was a here, Doris chuckled, riot. But, his efforts were rewarded and the tiny parakeet egg with the miniscule ceramic bluebird perched on top, sits proudly among Doris collection. The intricate designs the artists have been able to achieve are amazing. One of the eggs has a butterfly carved out of it and the wings are hinged so that they are moveable. Another of Doris favorites is the egg with the ribbon braided through it and the Wheat head doll inside. The dolls head is made from a kernel of wheat which has had a face painted on it. Two of the eggs have not been blown, meaning the insides have not been removed. They are all dried up now, but the man told me to be sure not to break them in the beginning, laughed Doris. Doris has a 22 carat gold egg, a glass egg with ashes from Mount St. Helens inside it. Ukranian Easter Eggs, an egg from an ostrich, an Emu, a Bobwhite and a Quail. She has Cloisonne eggs from China and a wooden egg from Russia and a Venitian glass egg from Georgia. She was recently given a wooden d by a local egg that was artist and her good friend, Dave Lofgren. Mr. Lofgren told her he had made her a touchable egg, so that all of her collection admirers could handle it. He explained that the wood he used gets more beautiful everytime it is handled. Doris said she is not artistic at all, but since she retired as the first ever at a woman Zions First National Bank, she has begun doing cross stitch needle work. She has many samplers she has created in her home. An excellent motivational speaker, Doris has spoken in 28 states to w bach grandchild is allowed to remove one of the small metal eggs that contains a treat, from grandmothers special egg tree, something they all look forward to. When asked if the grandchildren were coming to decorate Easter eggs this year, she laughingly responded, I hope not. Doris has eggs in every room of her house, soap eggs, salt and pepper eggs, ceramic eggs that she has decorated and the list goes on and on, but there is one egg that she still needs. Doris said the egg she is looking forward to most is a jeweled egg from Thailand. She explained that her sister is hand-carve- visiting Thailand latei i.us month and she hopes to be able to get the egg for Doris at that time. When asked if after adding the jeweley egg her collection would be complete, Doris exclaimed, "Oh no! Ive asked Santa to be on the lookout for a duck's egg. I don't have one of those either. This bubbly, energetic grandmother will not stop with one more egg. She plans to keep traveling and collecting eggs for many years to come. Her favorite sampler which she said gave her the giggles when she first saw it, seems to be her lifes motto. It reads, Growing Old Isnt for Sissies. This goose egg with the delicate carving is Doris favorite. d head of the doll inside is made of a kernel The of wheat. hand-painte- STAFF - PHOTOS Doris BY JIM HASKETT egg tree with its hidden surprises is her grandchildrens favorite of her entire collection. vice-preside- nt over 2000 civic and business groups. She has served on the Board of Governors of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and as president of the Junior Achieve- ment organization. One of her greatest joys in life at this time is her grandchildren. She said she had just gotten something in the mail, that just tickles me to death. This is what life is all about, and she proudly produced a d letter from her granddaughter that had been eight-year-ol- The first egg of Doris collection (left) was purchased in d Texas. The pieces of shell removed from this and reattached (right). inverted goose egg, have been heart-shape- The ostrich egg is Doris' largest and strongest. Her smallest, the parakeet egg is the most fragile. After three attempts she finally got a parakeet egg to Utah in one piece. lov- and decorated ingly hand-writte- n with hearts. Her granddaughter was thanking her for always having a surprise for her and Doris explained that she was talking about her egg tree. The egg tree is one of Doris creations. scene on the inside of the egg. Doris Taggard proudly displays her collection of over 60 carved and decorated eggs. This emu egg is in its original form and was sent from Australia the native home of the bird. |