THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 9, 1995 TAG: 9504080110
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Twenty years ago, Dot Meador was working for a florist who sold expensive decorated eggs for the Easter holiday.
``I think I can do that!'' Meador said she told her doubting-Thomas boss.
Meador went home and with cuticle scissors, punched small holes in each end of a hen egg and blew out the yolk and white. Then she cut an oval window in the shell with her scissors and placed a miniature Bible on some straw inside the egg. As a final touch, she glued silver rickrack around the oval.
``Now, I have to laugh,'' Meadow said of her amateurish effort.
But that egg was the start of something special, Eggs by Dot. Today, lovely decorated eggs cover most every surface of Meador's living and dining rooms. There are tiny painted finch eggs, large ornamented ostrich eggs and every size egg in between, all beautifully embellished.
``Ostrich eggs are so thick that you must use a diamond cutter to cut them,'' she said.
Most of Meador's typical Easter eggs are made from goose eggs, which are a little larger and stronger than hen eggs. This time of year, decorated Easter eggs perched on small egg stands are leaving little room for eating on her dining room table. Many eggs have oval windows that feature tiny Easter scenes with miniature figurines such as bunnies and chicks.
Others are hen eggs painted to look like edible chocolate Easter eggs. They are decorated with colorful bread dough flowers and do look good enough to eat.
Although every egg in Meador's home would be a wonderful Easter gift, the majority of them go well beyond being purely a seasonal adornment. Meador's eggs are year-round beauties with form and function.
For example, she makes turtle (the only round egg) and finch egg earrings and pendants. Ostrich eggs are decorated with decoupage and are then made into small lamps, clocks and picture frames.
She has created a small musical jewelry box out of a goose egg. The egg is cut in two, hinged back together, then decorated and lined with satin. A tiny music box plays whenever the egg is opened. Smaller eggs, minus the music box, are decorated in the same way to be ring boxes for very special occasions.
``Wedding eggs'' for the top of a wedding cake are decorated with satin ribbons, pearls and gauzy fabrics. Miniature bride and groom figurines stand inside the ovals. Some of these also are equipped with music boxes.
A huge ostrich egg has four oval windows, each featuring a ballerina figurine. The egg installed on a mechanized base can turn slowly as a music box tinkles ``Dance Ballerina.'' Large Christmas eggs feature holiday scenes, and one has a music box that plays ``Silent Night.''
Although some of Meador's eggs sell for $100 and up, ``Eggs by Dot'' is not a money maker, she said. Supplies are expensive. For example, an ostrich egg alone costs about $20. Smaller emu and rhea eggs cost around $16.
``I could take a big trip to Hawaii if I could just sell all the supplies I have,'' she said. ``You couldn't get your money out of these things to save your life, but they do make beautiful gifts.''
Meador decorates her eggs at the kitchen table, but she wouldn't have room for food if she kept her supplies in the kitchen. The garage is her supply room. Cabinets and boxes of decorative baubles, bangles, beads and glittery fabrics line the walls. She also cuts her eggs in the garage.
Cuticle scissors have been a thing of the past for a long time. Now she cuts her eggs with a dental drill powered by a compressor. A ``dust box'' and fan keep the air clear of the tiny shell particles. When she cuts eggs, the garage smells like a dentist's office.
Meador has been interested in crafts all her life, she said. She was raised during the Depression and learned to make many things by hand out of necessity. ``We had to dress our dolls and make play houses,'' she explained. ``We made our own entertainment; there was no money.''
Today, crafting is not out of necessity, but by choice.
``It's therapy,'' she said. ``I can get completely lost working on eggs. I'd rather buy supplies than give my money to a doctor!''
If you are interested in giving Meador's eggs for Easter, call her at 721-5924.
P.S. KEEP YOUR BIRD BATH FULL. Thirsty song birds are migrating through the area now.
THE STUMPY LAKE BALD EAGLES have abandoned their nest, reports raptor expert Reese Lukei, who went to check on the pair Wednesday. Not only was mama not on the nest, but the birds weren't anywhere to be seen. Has anybody seen the pair flying around the Stumpy Lake area recently? MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net.
ILLUSTRATION: Photos by Mary Reid Barrow
Dot Meador uses a dental drill to cut a variety of eggs. A huge
ostrich egg has four oval windows, each featuring a ballerina
figurine. The egg installed on a mechanized base can turn slowly as
a music box tinkles "Dance Ballerina".
by CNB