Eggs-ultation ! 
The image above, is a photo of this artist's submission for Connecticut, per the The Connecticut Poultry Association and The American Egg Board, to the 2007 White House State Easter Eggs Display! Now archived at the George W. Bush Presidential Library An eggcraft diorama of State symbols,in real gold and gems. Click here for the detailed DESCRIPTION of the Egg 2008 White House State Easter Egg Display Lovely online show, not to be missed ~ fine family fun! Elle Fagan was a participant last year & fan forever. Clicking on the State names brings up a larger-than-life image of each. Visit the show at the White House Website and enjoy your state's submission, and all the other's too! The web address (url) includes the year of the show, so, if you enter previous years, in the url, you can enjoy past years' shows as well, any time you wish. WhiteHouse.gov does a very nice job of showcasing these tiny "National Treasures", which are permanently archived in the Presidential Libraries after the Easter Season each year. The White House extends its hospitality to ALL, world-wide, to visit the White House, year-long, and you may enjoy a visit at Easter, and view the year's Actual Display. If you have the right focus for it, you may even wish to submit your eggcraft, for your own state, one year. Do contact me, with question and comment! The people of this nation, and all nations, are the real National Treasures! This page is an attempt to share the story of the motive, planning, development and creation of one small treasure, for this special project. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Story ~ may you find it worth the read! The apartment I enjoyed included a computer room full of sunshine, plants and wicker chairs with lots of nice cushions, which I'd been enjoying doing without, for a bit. But now they were wonderful! Healing in the feng-shui works. And with time for web-surfing, immobility was not so bad ` I was amazed at the things I'd missed online! And then I found it: WhiteHouse.gov! I am a patriot, at heart, and thoroughly enjoyed the full tour of the Nation's website. I recommend it for all Americans! Really well-done and enjoyable! It was there that I found the beautiful page about The White House Easter Egg Display. I had heard of the famous White House Easter Egg Roll, an American Event of Spring Celebration for more than a century, but the State Eggs Display was a new thing to me. The page explained that the State Egg Display was relatively new, and sponsored each year, since 1994, by the American Egg Board. Each year, one egg from each state was chosen to take its place in the National Display ~ a true All-American Show! Lifelong in the arts, I am one of those who owes a great deal to remarkable love, support and inspiration from parents and teachers in it all, girlhood thru college. The Polish "Pysanki" or "Egg-writing" was part of this training ~ a special treat for me, one spring, to learn to make the beeswax and dyed pretty eggsm taught like the eighth sacrament. Now, it was many years later, and Julia who taught the Pysanki, had passed away, at over one hundred years old, and her exquisite crafts, a star in her crown, and legacy. My own Mother and Aunts and others of the men and women who took the time, work and money to feed my arts interest, were retiring! I thought, "I'm going to become involved in this White House Easter Egg Display, and make a pretty egg, to be a song of praise and thanks to them, at this time in their lives." I was truly very injured and disabled, at that time, and I knew that I could do no such thing that year. But I had a dream, and a new dream helps, when old ones are dashed. My bonding with my Mother and the other women was wonderful, but I think to have enjoyed such a Father, too, was a special "extra". Second of three generations of DuPont his lively hands, a millwright's hands, had made the gold foil that wrapped the Lunar Landing Module, under contract to NASA. He left me money for a computer of my own, finally, and some of that very gold mylar foil, and the idea that life was a place for innovation, great work, creativity and great fun! My son, a tech authority, flew East from his home in San Francisco, and, on my new computer ( Mac, of course ), taught me a thing called "html", the language of webpage-making. Apt, I prayed for mercy, that my newly-recovered health would not backslide, while I stayed up all night, absolutely hooked on html. Soon ElleFagan.com was up and running. While limping about, I had painted some of the beautiful Connecticut Hills, especially the waterfalls that had reached out to me and helped me heal spirit and body. I had been away from this, my home state, for twenty years, and returning, there was a wonderful appreciation for "home", that I have enjoyed and shared ever since. Advancing in these new paths for my arts business, feeling better and more skilled as I went along, I tried again, and again, in e-mails and handwritten letters to connect with the Event Chairman at AEB, without success. So I called and e-mailed the office of then-Congressman Rob Simmons (R-2nd District), telling him of my desire to submit a crafted egg to the White House Easter Egg Display, and how my attempts to connect with the Sponsor had not been successful. Congressman Simmons wrote AEB on my behalf on Thursday, and on Monday, I received, at last, the phone call from AEB! The Event Co-ordinator was very gracious and friendly, and easy to talk with. She explained that thousands of requests like mine come to AEB, and that I was wise to get help in my goal. She interviewed me, on the spot, to be sure that I was aware, skilled and able to do the job, and then said that I sounded promising. She then explained that the egg-craft submissions come to AEB from the State Egg & Poultry Boards. She referred me to Gary Proctor, Board Member and Events Chairman for the Connecticut Poultry Association, and we said good-bye for now. I called Gary Proctor, and interviewed with him, a second time, and was told that the 2005 show had been a fine success, and that artisan for the 2006 Display was already at work at it, and that "yes!" I had been awarded the place as Artisan from Connecticut for the 2007 display! The Award, he announced with happiness and pride, included a cash grant for supplies and travel expenses to the Opening of the Display at the White House. I was jubilant, of course! We soon met in person, so that I could present folios of my work and sketches of tentative ideas for the design of my crafted egg. When we resolved, I made a foot-tall molded paper model of my submission, with its own carry-case, to present to the monthly Connecticut Poultry Association meeting, for approval. CPA liked the design, incorporating many of the State official symbols. We received the "good-to-go" / approval of the design in May...and a little break, to share the good news and outline the next steps to come. Shopping for supplies was great good fun, if occasionally eggs-asperating. I will forever be grateful to the "Manchester, Connecticut, Minerology & Gem Club" for their help, since the size and type of gems needed were not really that easy to find. The tiny pearls that line the front opening were not to be found...too large, too expensive, not good quality enough....then the club found just the right ones, for just the right money! Lucky me! The design incorporated many state icons and symbols and was to be done in a real chicken egg. Gem mining is popular in Connecticut. The red garnet, the official state gem, is found here, casually scattered on riverbanks. The crown and foliage of my design includes them. liberally. The completed egg would be shipped, by December 1,2006, to AEB Headquarters in Park Ridge, Illinois, assembled into the display, then carefully taken to the White House Visitors Center for arrangement for the show. Since lifelong arts taught me that things do happen, I assigned myself a deadline one month sooner. Thank you, good teachers, for such thinking! The final draft broke - a weakness in the shell at one point, and the weight of the gems and stained glass crafting medium was too much for it. I had hoped to skip high drama in it, and show off the cool act, but the new final draft was better in half a dozen ways: strengthening the shell at the inside, with craft liquids and carboard buttresses, an interfacing, between the shell interior and lining. Now this submission was not only pretty, but strong. As I placed the last tiny bit of foliage in place, I thought an angel lifted my hand to it, all alone at my work table, it seemed that special a moment! Next, I crafted some home-made paper pulp to make a perfect cushioning case for the egg, and a box to contain both. Bubble wrap and another box completed the shipping preparations, and the Connecticut submission shipped and arrived right on time for the December 1st deadline. Description of the completed egg: Mill fashioned in paper , paint and stained-glass craft medium. Falls crafted in stained glass craft medium and precious gems: aquamarine, danburite and zircon. Needless to say, when AEB thoughtfully e-mailed me to say the egg had arrived safely, and on time, it was a very special moment! And also time for a very Merry Winter Holiday! Now talk and emails and official mailings began to arrive about the Event that motivated all that came before. The Official White House envelope arrived in March: "Laura Bush invites you...." inside and that followed by official agenda from AEB. Two of my guests, the President of the Connecticut Poultry Association and his lady escort, traveled to Washington, DC, the day before, and my daughter and I slept on the Amtrack nite-train, which we love, and arrived early in the morning, rested, celebratory and thoroughly primped and attired. We met at the Hotel Washington for morning coffee, and found many of our group there, the excitement of the event creating a lovely sort of glow among us. AEB exec, Jacinta Le Donne, arrived and gathered us into a proper group and led to the White House Visitors Center as planned. I was impressed with the way the social and security requirements were gracefully integrated: no edge, and all very pleasant, and we were even allowed our cameras and cellphones, except in the immediate vicinity of the First Lady. I cannot speak for anyone else, but it was near-holy, to me. The culmination of several year's thought and two years' work, and commitment. Then we formed a casual line to be greeted individually by the First Lady and enjoy the photo for History! Was it the event? I don't know...but all seemed just perfectly lovely! The First Lady moreso in person than in the news stories, and very easy to meet and greet. There was no feeling of stress or rush, and yet all was completed at a nice pace and done. She greeted the Artisans ahead of me in the line, and then she greeted me, and I introduced myself, giving my name and state, and pointed out my egg in the display and talked about its symbols - nothing prolonged, just one sentence or two, in respect of the time allowed. Mrs. Bush then shook my hand again and we posed for the photos and then the crafter behind me approached for his moment, and so on. We were given some time to mill about the display and enjoy seeing all the submissions close-up, then White House staffers placed a clear lucite cube over the entire display to allow all Visitors, to follow, to get close to the State Egg Display, without fear of damaging it, till Show closing on April 24th. At that time, the entire display was archived with things that will go to the George W. Bush Presidential Library. A delightful "National Treasure" to be enjoyed there in Easter seasons to come, and available to all visitors , by arrangement. We were fortunate in the weather, and as we emerged from the Visitors Center Show Opening the breeze and sunshine were a treat! Washington DC celebrates is famous Cherry Blossom Festival at Easter, too. Mrs. Bush had new trees installed to replace ones that had died, and so the show of pink blossoms was profuse! All the group was in fine spirits, walking outdoors to the Banquet Room nearby, and we owned the town, for a minute! Technicolor! In chat at the grouping in the morning and again at the luncheon I learned I was in "pretty good company". New friends from Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, California, Washington State, and many more.....and though I am a Connecticut native, some of my happiest years 70-84, with my late husband and little children were spent in North Carolina, so I insisted on a hug for this year's Craftsman from the Tarheel State, for memory. The luncheon itself ,at historic and elegant Hotel Washington was the best, but the great talk and the sun shining "just that way" made it the thing. The American Egg Board people were perfect....friendly, pleasant, celebratory and easy to consult with question or comment. They seemed delighted with us all, and shared memento gifts with us, and the food and comfort was very nice. The White House Tour awaited, though, so on we went. The White House This is difficult to get into one modest commentary. I love Washington, DC, and have visited many times, for art, history and romance and Red Cross Work. My late husband and our son and daughter, then 6&8, rented a neat Georgetown Brownstone and enjoyed the Bi-Centennial events for a week...and we visited the White House at that time, for the first time. This visit was like to an old friend and yet new...odd feelings, as I wished my late husband were along with my daughter and myself, and we cell-phoned my son later, at work in San Francisco, and included him in,for a minute. Still, the memories and the respect and love of country and delight in the beauty of the White House and its decorations was wonderful...it felt nice to have "favorites" to see again and share more fully with my daughter than possible when she was six...I will not tell our secrets: which were our favorites, but all of it was done too soon, and time to get to the train. I havee included at the foot of this page, text and image about the White House and I hope you realize that it belongs to ALL Americans, and that all good people, worldwide, are invited to visit, and think a bit on how much our lives are enhanced by our identity as Americans..how much we have to give and receive in the Third Millennium, because of all that has been built and organized, all over the world, by those who came before. I think that visitors leave with a better appreciation of our place in today's world, and a desire to do our part maybe a little happier and better than before. God Bless America! I hope you enjoyed my story, and that you will let me know your thoughts and correct my omissions or errors as need be. I like, very much, hearing from my site visitors. ....Thanksomuch ~Elle Fagan The Display Opening Connecticut's egg, as in close-up, above, may be seen near the top of the side facing front.  The White House Visitors' Center features alcoves of displays and films to enrich the Visitors' experience, so the background is dark, like a movie theater. But the eggs dazzled and this photo will dazzle me, always. "Eggs-actitudes", post-scripts and Egg-notes: On June 19th I was able to attend the Connecticut Poultry Association's Annual Poultry Day Banquet, and speak to the membership and guests about my wonderful "Egg-sperience", for which they paid. My talk was happy, backed up by PowerPoint 6-foot images of the egg and its description, and I truly enjoyed both the banquet and talk thoroughly. It was so nice, as told of some detail of the project that inspired or challenged, or made me smile, to look out on the audience and see that they enjoyed it , too! It was also a treat to meet others of the membership in person. I had actually only met two of them before that evening. Details of the dinner will be found at the Connecticut Poultry Association site, and are worthy of the visit. The group helps state poultry and egg farmers to produce and share some of the best on earth! They also give college scholarships to tomorrow's Poultry people, and area prizes for Eggs-quisite desserts! Recipes available on request. The Thank-you List You can imagine the length of this list at least twice what it appears. So many helped, from start to finish ! But let me try: To be honored with such participation is a grand thing! I love my country and have served, but to get to add to the 'All-American' fun ... what fun! God Bless America ! About "National Treasures" A silly, but sincere, and very special "thank you"! The moment was tense - the egg had broken and only a few weeks to re-do it and submit, with its vulnerabilities corrected, so it would not break again! A health issue popped up and needed attention, and my "right-hand" man had to be elsewhere, due to a death in the family... what "theater"! to have such things pop up at the last minute! I needed backup of the spirit... but what sort? I had already been praying, as much as one is allowed... That week a movie named "National Treasure" (released 2004) was airing on cable television. I smiled....couldn't hurt...after all, it might inspire just right, and help me absorb the idea that my little eggcraft would be, indeed, archived at the Presidential Library. So I tuned-in. It did the trick! I got it out in DVD and played it, as needed, on occasion, and it became a neat sort of "backup music" to cheer me, and level me out, from the dip, for this last-minute bit of the work. I am playing it one more time tonight and have purchased a copy, to be a permanent part of my DVD collection, for the rescue of the spirit it created for me. About the movie: Disney/family-friendly, takes place in the present, but is about our Founding Fathers and their times. It is a great treasure-hunt adventure, starring Nicholas Cage, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Harvey Keitel, the amazing Sean Bean, and the famous Christopher Plummer, sporting a wonderful All-American soup-strainer mustache and flashing eyes and loving smile as he begins the story-telling, to his young grandson, that inspires the man-hero he grows up to be, and, indeed, the rest of the film. Such moments, between family members, do inspire for a lifetime, and they need to be featured more and more...it is what it is all about. The historical references are so enticingly done, that it should send us all to online search, from curiosity and love of country, to follow-up, back-up and fill-out the references. I liked also, that exciting discoveries, throughout the treasure hunt, give us one more reason to respect and celebrate our History and our Patriotism. None of the success in the hunt could have happened if Historical fact, people, places and things, had not been respectfully documented and preserved. I do recommend this film, for all Americans, and happy to advertise its sequel National Treasure ~ Book of Secrets about mysteries around the time of Abraham Lincoln. Soon to be released. eggs-oneration for the egg My late husband was corporate and somewhat medical-related, we were at the fore about cholesterol and the egg took a lot of abuse in the 70's and the controversy almost disrupted our normally-happy breakfast table once or twice: the yolk issue was no joke...however, since that time, we are smarter about a lot of things.....here is the latest on it, from Yale researchers through the American Egg Board site newsletter... I hope you enjoy it! AEB Site AEBphone 847.296.7043 AEBnewsletter march2005 New Research Finds Eggs Are Heart-Friendly AEB and ENC collaborated with the prestigious Yale Prevention Research Center to inform the public about a new scientific study published in the March 10, 2005 issue of the International Journal of Cardiology, which finds that eggs are not detrimental to cardiovascular health. The study indicates that egg consumption does not appear to adversely affect blood vessels in healthy adults, suggesting that eggs, and the dietary cholesterol they contain, may not be directly harmful to cardiovascular health and can be consumed as part of a heart-healthy diet. According to the research, participants who consumed two eggs daily did not show increased levels of either total cholesterol or LDL (bad) cholesterol. As a result of these findings, the lead researcher, David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., admits he has added eggs back into his diet. To generate broadcast coverage of the study’s findings, AEB sent video footage via satellite to media outlets nationwide. The video footage included interviews from ENC’s Don McNamara, Ph.D., as well as one of the renowned authors of the article. In addition, a news release describing this study has been distributed to various newspaper and magazine journalists’ in our efforts to educate the print media about these eggciting findings. To date, stations in major media markets across the country, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Detroit have broadcast stories about this egg-citing research." Stay tuned as we continue to generate the public’s awareness about the wealth of health benefits that eggs provide.Including my introduction to it all, through my activities, per the Connecticut Poultry Association, as the Connecticut Artisan for the Annual White House Easter Egg Display 2007, sponsored by the American Egg Board. Referenced and linked notes about AEB, the Connecticut Poulty Association International Egg Craft, and how all are helping to bring the best to all of us in light of Third Millennium needs and options. News: The American Egg Board The Connecticut Poultry Association , its President, James S. Rock, and its local Representative, Gary Proctor, were referred to me by AEB' s Ms. Jackowski, and, again , a revelation. I have enjoyed the experience of the many facets of this project. The Egg has become big news again, for anumber of reasons, and the this project gives me the opportunity to learn and share about poultry, as well. Today's Poultry Managers are often scientists, as well as farmers, in the classic mold. Every day their work saves lives, developing healthier, hardier strains of poultry, and protecting them and the public against poultry-borne diseases. They also work internationally, learning from countries whose experience existed before there was an America,and helping less developed nations do the same, and sharing our advanced science and technology, as well. |
