Here
is a page dedicated to my grandma. She used to decorate eggs. She
stopped in the year 200 when she became too sick to do them. She
died in October 2004, so I thought this page would become a tribute
to her.
Decorating eggs, may not seem so interesting, but trust me it is.
It was one of her hobbies that she has done for many years. Below
is an article that was written in April of 1996, in the Times Picayune
(our newspaper). She has been interviewed by newspaper reporters
in years before, but thiswas the last one she did. I retyped the
article and put the pictures that was printed with it. So, take
a little look and see what my grandma did.
Artist
takes craft to a higher level
By:
Judy Creekmore, Contributing Writer
Staff
Photos by: Thom Scott
Forty
years ago, Earline Gaubert's children came home from school and
told their mother they must blow the insides of eggs and decorate
them for Christmas.
"There's
no way you can do that," she said. But they pricked a tiny hole
in the eggs and blew until they did it.
And
Gaubert was hooked. Since then she has decorated hundreds of eggs
and continues to look for new ideas.
"I
love to bead an egg, to me that's a challenge," the Hahnville
resident said.
It
is a challenge she has met and conquered many times as she tries
different designs and techniques.
 The
display cases in her home are filled with intricately cut and
beaded works of art based on ovoids ranging from tiny finch
to 10-inch emu eggs.
The
surface of Gaubert's eggs catch the eye with beads and rhinestones
or delight with tiny paper tolle flowers or delicate bread dough
roses. The cases are filled with treasures.
Gazing
inside may reveal a ladies boudoir, Cinderella in her coach,
the Madonna or a jeweled peacock. some eggs are music boxes
while others have working water fountains and lights.
Gaubert
mostly works for the pleasure she recieves from creating each
piece. She keeps some, but others are gifts to family and friends
on special occassions.
She
presented each of her four children with 25th wedding anniversary
eggs. Her grandchildren proudly placed one of grandmother's
eggs atop their wedding cakes.
Gaubert
sells a few fo her creations each year to help pay for her hobby,
which can get costly. Emu eggs run about $35 each and even goose
eggs cost $3. And there's the rising cost of rhinestones, figurines
and mechanical works.
Her
Christmas tree ornaments have been sought after for the past
few years.
The
sales also provide revenue for her to attend egg shows where
she gets new ideas, learns new techniques and buys supplies
not available through catalogs.
She
attended the first egg show and conference in Dallas in 1980
with friend Rita Elge of Harahan. Elge died a few years ago.
"I
miss her so much because I have no one to talk eggs with," Gaubert
said.
She
said the joy of creating her decorative works is only part of
the benefit she recieves from the craft. It keeps her active mind
busy, and Gaubert said that though arthritis sometimes hampers
small detail work, it also keeps fingers limber.
"I
get up in the morning and that's what's on my mind," she said.
"I do what I've got to do. Then I go to work on my eggs. I love
it."
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The
display cases in her home are filled with intricately cut and
beaded works of art based on ovoids ranging from tiny finch
to 10-inch emu eggs.
