American Flag & Bald Eagle Decoupage Ostrich Egg

Size:
Width: 6 inches
Length: 6 inches
Height: 9 inches

This ostrich egg has the American Flag and the Bald Eagle on it. Decoupage is the art of cutting and pasting cutouts to simulate paintings on a wood, metal, glass or in this case egg surface. Each egg takes twenty seven days to decorate, with several coats of lacquer applied to acquire the matt finish. First the background is painted once it is dried a few coats of lacquer are applied with a light sanding between each layer, then the decoupage images are applied, several more layers of lacquer are applied with a light sanding between each, the egg is finished with some gold accents. By applying the art to the egg in this way it gives the egg a multi-dimensional appearance instead of a flat appearance.

All about Egg decoration.

The decorating of eggs (eggery) is a time honored tradition that has been around for hundreds of years.
Eggery is the art of decorating hatchery shells in the style of the famous Faberge egg. Carl Faberge, the father of modern-day egg decorating, used precious metals such as silver, gold, copper and nickel to construct an egg-shaped figure, then decorated them with rubies, diamonds and emeralds.

Over the last 3 centuries many cultures have developed endless methods of decorating eggs. The Moravian and Ukrainian (Pysanky) batik-designed egg patterned geometric fantasies, and their designs differ according to region or origin.

The practice of decorating ostrich eggs dates back centuries, and originated with the San or Bushmen who live in dessert regions, for them the egg symbolizes life, not just because an egg is a sign of fertility, but because the eggs were used as vessels to carry and store water, which in itself is life sustaining but when in a dessert region critical.

The custom of decorating eggs has many associations. The art of eggery did not begin with the Easter egg, although we don't know who the first decorator was, we do know that painted eggs as edible gifts were given by a Chinese chieftain in 722 B.C. to celebrate spring fertility festivals.

About the Fish Eagle or Bald Eagle


The African Fish Eagle is the similar to the American Bald Eagle. The female is about eight pounds with a wing span of eight feet. The male is about five and a half pounds with a wing span of six feet. They have a very distinctive appearance of a mostly brown body and large powerful black wings. Their head, breast and the tail is snow white, the hook shaped beak is mostly yellow with a black tip.

Fish Eagles breed during the dry season, when water levels are low. They are believed to mate for life, They often have two or more nests, which they re-use frequently. The nests grow larger as they are re-used and built upon over the years, some reaching six feet wide and four feet deep. The nest is mostly made of sticks and are placed in large trees.

The female lays one to three eggs, which are white with a few reddish speckles. The female does most of the incubation, The male will sit on the eggs when the female hunts. It takes forty two to forty five days to hatch. The eggs often hatch a few days apart, and the oldest will usually kill the younger ones. The chick stays in the nest up to seventy five days. After about eight week it is capable of feeding itself and will usually go outside of the nest two weeks later.

The fish Eagle feeds mainly on fish, which is surveys from a perch in a tree, it swoops down and snatches the fish from the water with its large clawed talons and flies back to a perch to eat. They also feed on waterfowl, small turtles and baby crocodiles.

About the Ostrich.

The ostrich Struthio camelus is a large flightless bird native to Africa (and formerly the Middle East). It is the only living species of its family. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at speeds of about 74 km/h (46 mph), the top land speed of any bird. The ostrich is the largest living species of bird and lays the largest egg of any bird species.

The diet of the ostrich mainly consists of plant matter, though ostriches do eat insects. The ostrich lives in nomadic groups which contain between five and 50 birds. When threatened, the ostrich will either hide itself by lying flat against the ground, or will run away. If cornered, it can cause injury and death with a kick from its powerful legs. Mating patterns differ by geographical region, but territorial males fight for a harem of two to seven females.

Ostriches are oviparous. The females will lay their fertilized eggs in a single communal nest, a simple pit, 30 to 60 cm (12–24 in) deep and 3m (9.8 ft) wide, scraped in the ground by the male. The eggs are glossy and cream in color, with thick shells marked by small pits. The eggs are incubated by the females by day and by the male by night. This uses the coloration of the two sexes to escape detection of the nest, as the drab female blends in with the sand, while the black male is nearly undetectable in the night.