VOA标准英语2012--Artist Carves 1,600 Eggshells a Year

 

Artist Carves 1,600 Eggshells a Year

Carving¹ and sculpting² eggshells, with a dental drill and sanding disk, is not a job for the heavy handed. For Tina Kannapel, it's a passion. 

“Because an egg is a continuous arch, it has a lot of natural strength," she said. "You will see eggshells where I have taken out so much that it looks like lace. And the whole trick to that is having regular connections between the different pieces of the lace, so the eggshell stays intact.”

Tina Kannapel carves, sculpts³ and sells about 1,600 eggshells a year. She buys infertile⁴ eggs that have already been emptied - from bird breeders.

“The ostrich⁵ eggshell is very hard," says Kannapel. "It's like china.”

She uses all kinds of eggs, including Emu, goose, pheasant and parrot eggs.

The process begins with designs printed on paper and then glued to the eggshell. 

“You need the paper to stabilize⁶ the face of the eggshell, so if you are going to have to carve through paper, you may as well have your design on the paper,” she explains.

Eggshells have hard and soft spots. The paper reduces the chance of chipping. 

Kannapel has more than 300 designs that include animals, portraits and geometric forms. 

But whatever the design, carving always has to start at the most difficult part of it. So if the eggshell breaks, hours haven't been lost. 

"When you are working with cats and dogs and human beings, the most difficult thing is the eyes so you always start with the eyes," she says. "Because if you mess up the eyes, you mess up the design."

As Kannapel works, her three Abyssinian cats keep her company. Two are camera shy, but Jackson is fascinated by the lens.

“They walk all around the carved eggshells and they don’t bother them at all, in fact, he’s loving them.

Once the carving is finished, the eggshell is cleaned - first in warm water to release the paper and then in bleach⁷.

“What the bleach does is it eats all of the organic material in the eggshell and when it is completely sterilized⁸, there won’t be any bubbles coming up,” she says.

In the historic town of Occoquan, near Washington D.C., the Artists' Undertaking⁹ Gallery includes some of Kannapel's carved eggshells. 

This heron looks painted. But there's no paint. The colors emerged during the carving.

“This is an emu eggshell. It has three layers," says Kannapel. "The outside is such a dark green it looks black. The layer underneath¹⁰ that is teal or blue and the layer underneath that is a paper thin white and I carved between the three layers.” 

Kannapel's eggshells range between $30 and $400 apiece.

Insurance against cracking is not included.

1 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

2 sculpting   

雕刻( sculpt的现在分词 )； 雕塑； 做（头发）； 梳（发式）

参考例句：

• The quality of the result is determined by a Craft( sculpting) check. 由手艺（刻）定决定结果质量如何。
• Another difficulty in the process of ice sculpting is time control. 冰雕过程中的另一项困难是时间的掌控。

3 sculpts   

雕刻( sculpt的第三人称单数 )； 雕塑； 做（头发）； 梳（发式）

参考例句：

• The Tennessee River sculpts the east side of the Cumberland Plateau. 田纳西河刻蚀着坎伯兰高原的东部边缘。
• Stress sculpts the brain to exhibit various antisocial, though adaptive, behaviors. 压力陶铸下的大脑，虽能表现出各种适应性的行为，但却有碍人际关系。

4 infertile   

adj.不孕的；不肥沃的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• Plants can't grow well in the infertile land.在贫瘠的土地上庄稼长不好。
• Nobody is willing to till this infertile land.这块薄田没有人愿意耕种。

5 ostrich   

n.鸵鸟

参考例句：

• Ostrich is the fastest animal on two legs.驼鸟是双腿跑得最快的动物。
• The ostrich indeed inhabits continents.鸵鸟确实是生活在大陆上的。

6 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

7 bleach   

vt.使漂白；vi.变白；n.漂白剂

参考例句：

• These products don't bleach the hair.这些产品不会使头发变白。
• Did you bleach this tablecloth?你把这块桌布漂白了吗？

8 sterilized   

v.消毒( sterilize的过去式和过去分词 )；使无菌；使失去生育能力；使绝育

参考例句：

• My wife was sterilized after the birth of her fourth child. 我妻子生完第4个孩子后做了绝育手术。 来自辞典例句
• All surgical instruments must be sterilized before use. 所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。 来自辞典例句

9 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

10 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。