DATE: Sunday, August 3, 1997                TAG: 9708030159

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: GUY FRIDDELL

                                            LENGTH:   53 lines

EGGS JEWELED AND BEADED GO OVER EASY ON THE EYES

Peter Carl Faberge, who fabricated fabulous Easter eggs for the czars, would be fascinated with Egg Art '97, a major exhibition that Karen Farber of Chesapeake is directing at the Virginia Beach Pavilion Convention Center Aug. 16 and 17.

This will be the fifth edition of an annual show that draws artists, dealers, collectors and spectators from along the East Coast.

They mingle in the Pavilion's six meeting rooms, where bejeweled artworks ranging in size from finch to ostrich eggs are displayed.

Decorated eggs were found in tombs of the pharaohs, but the inspiration for many contemporary artists is the work of Faberge and, particularly, the royal Easter eggs he fashioned from gold and silver and precious stones as gifts to Russia's royal family.

Faberge would be interested, I think, in today's kaleidoscopic eggs that, shaken slightly, disclose endless colorful designs.

Such ornate eggs range in price from $10 to $10,000. One created by Farber, which is valued at $225, will be raffled Sunday, Aug. 17, at 3:30 p.m.

The raffle tickets cost a dollar each, and the amounts of the purchases are tax-deductible. The proceeds will be donated to the Hampton Roads Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Asked her favorite art object, Farber replied, ``Whatever egg I happen to be decorating at the time. If I could do only one, it probably would be the kaleidoscope.''

The price of a creation depends on the materials she uses, the intricacy of the design and the time expended. The egg for the raffle is in a turtle shape with a gold-plated stand to match it.

She works from 10 to 40 hours on one object. Most of them are beaded. She teaches a six-week course, usually in the fall or winter months.

Her great-aunt introduced her to the art, and her mother and grandmother also fashion and collect eggs. Her granddaughter, Jessica, will start a collection this year with a Christmas ornament.

Her husband, Randy, photographs the eggs and, using a dentistry drill, helps cut filigree designs in the eggshells.

The family participation is by way of becoming a dynasty, already extending five generations.

``We do not take any of the eggs from the wild,'' Farber said.

Most of them are infertile eggs from hatcheries that make a business of cleaning and sanitizing them for sale.

The show will be open Saturday, Aug. 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission price is $3 with a 50-cent discount with a coupon clipped from The Virginian-Pilot during that weekend. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/The Virginian-Pilot

Karen Farber...

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