Column
12
[Column Title] "The
Heart of Art"
"Mitzi's Eggscapes"
by
Nan DeVincent-Hayes, Ph.D
Mitzi Perdue of Salisbury, Maryland, is more than the wife of poultry magnate, Frank Perdue . . . she's an accomplished artist in her own right, too. Not only is she a writer whose work is nationally syndicated, and her books published by major houses, but she's also a 3-D artist. Her breathtaking cloisonne eggs rival even those created by the Faberge Empire. Perdue calls her landscapes and seascapes inside large eggs "Eggscapes."
Nan DeVincent-Hayes, Ph.D. is a former executive director of a high end art gallery.
Her eggs are exquisite, with vivid colors, fine details, and unique accessories and mechanics. Periwinkle blue, majestic purple, snow white, lime green--are all examples of the hues she decorates with, while her miniature figures dance inside, or skate, or stroll the countrysides. Some are even created to look like aquariums. And her jeweled eggs are stunning, the golds and silver sparkling, the gems shimmering. Many of her eggs are designed to lie in their natural position, while others are fashioned to rest vertically. In "Eggscape Wedding," the egg stands vertically on a golden stand resting on white laces, its outside carved in curves and loops accented in pearls and touched by more lace and white ribbons. And inside pose the finely attired bride and groom. The egg's elegance, magnificence, and delicacy don't go undetected. Because Perdue enjoys working in fantasy motifs, her work includes "The Violet Fairy's World where a female figurine poses near a pond filled with swans, and a horse stands in the background. The shell is colored in purples, pinks, and yellows over a lattice-like covering. Likewise, the shell of "The Flower Fairy" is carved with tulips and sunflowers while inside, the female figure dances amid other blossoms in a lush green flooring. The graceful curves of "Angel in Green Velvet" are noticed first, followed by the unique technique of placing an egg within an egg, of which the openings of both boast gold trim with a golden laced stand. A tiny, ethereal angel, with golden wings, seems to float inside. She does another variation of angels in "Faberge-Inspired Angel" which is made from a real double-yolk egg. Some of her other works include "Mouse House," "Constable Country," "The Wicked Witch and The Horrible Hand," "Juneau Bay." Perdue uses both rhinestones and real gems--sapphires, rubies, and others--in her decorations, having visited such mines in Sri Lanka, as well as gem factories in South Africa and Brazil, and the diamond district in New York City. Although the gems are real, Perdue doesn't buy high quality jewelry because the glue needed to attach them reduces their brilliance and refraction ability. The pearls, too, are real but lack the perfect spherical form. Still, the beauty of each of her artforms isn't in the least diminished.
The youngish-looking, blonde-haired unassuming woman glows when discussing her husband's accomplishments, and yet she plays down her own talents, and often donates to charitable organizations much of what she makes from her art--be it from writing or eggs. She's the first to say that she hadn't an idea of what to do with a paintbrush until 1992 when a back injury bed-bound her for nearly a year. During that period, a friend popped in with a decorated egg and Perdue became enthralled and spellbound by it. She tried it--simply at first--and became a huge success, having even presented one to President and Mrs. Clinton. Other renowned and famous collectors include Empress Mitchiko of Japan, and Premier Deng Chou Peng of Hong Kong. The eggs she uses are real and come mostly from geese, rheas, emus, ostriches, and cassowaries--none of which are endangered species. Using sharp embroidery scissors or a dentist's air drill that rotates at 250,000 rpms, she achieves the effects she desires. After years of practice, she breaks only 1 in 50 eggs when beginners typically ruin one in ten.
Perdue hadn't been formally educated in art. A graduate of Harvard, and George Washington Universities, her intention was to focus on business, and this she accomplished in her post as past-president of the 35,000 member American-Agri Women, among her other enterprises. When not too busy, she offers seminars and workshops, and teaches classes on egg decorating. She gives all profits from the sale of her eggs to three specific charities: Youth Engaged in Philanthropy, The Maryland Historical Society, and the National Agricultural Library Associates, which is featuring her artwork in a traveling exhibit to 34 Latin American Countries. New Moon Gallery of Maryland represents Perdue, and her eggs may be purchased through it.
Perdue best summed up her work by responding, when asked how long it took her to create one egg, "As long as it takes Frank to make twenty million chickens."
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