Paintings using eggshells. Painting with eggshells

Eggshells can act as a material for creating unique works of art. This skill can be an ideal solution for starting your own business.

Eggshell mosaic

Previously, in the East, eggshells were used to embody creative ideas. Talented craftsmen turned this waste material into a one-of-a-kind material from which they created masterpieces. The shell is a very fragile material; when working with it, original cracks form. This allows you to create patterns with an antique effect, which are called “crackle”, and the cracks themselves are called “craquelure”.

Creating such a mosaic is a meticulous job and requires high skill. Although the pattern is created from a fragile material, the end result is quite durable and can last for many years. Any person who expresses a desire to complete a simple mosaic will be able to create a real miracle if he takes this creative task seriously, devoting time and showing accuracy and diligence.

Eggshells are an excellent material not only for creating mosaics on flat surfaces, but also for decorating household items that have a variety of shapes - vases, dishes, stands for stationery, plates.

Just imagine that you can create unique masterpieces from this “garbage”. This facing material has a unique decorative property and most closely resembles ivory in the finished product.

Materials you will need for work:

Chicken egg shells;
base (plywood, chipboard, thick cardboard);
PVA glue or “Moment”;
paste made from flour;
tracing paper;
paints;
sanding paper;
scissors;
cloth for cleaning shells from glue;
a solid wooden stick with an absolutely smooth cut.

Technological process

To produce beautiful work, you need to have enough material available. The shells are thoroughly cleaned of egg residues, degreased in a soda solution, and then dried. In this form, they can be stored in dry and clean cardboard boxes until a sufficient quantity is collected to allow experimentation in the creative process.

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It is necessary to decide on the choice of glue. As was said, you can use PVA or “Moment”, but in each case there are some nuances. Both glues will firmly bond the shell to the surface you place it on. But when using PVA, it will be enough to apply glue only to the shell or base. And when working with Moment glue, you will need to spread both the shell and the base, and only then connect them. The second option, like the first, will ensure high strength of the finished product, but you will have to endure a pungent odor.

The next step in the work is flattening and smoothing. Looking at the eggshell, you can see a thin film on its inside that serves as a fastening material. This means that if you crush the shell, it will not crumble into small fragments, but will only break into particles connected by this film. It works very well with shells glued to any base, such as a sheet of paper. It is convenient to cut such particles with ordinary scissors into the necessary pieces - the shell does not crumble.

The work of attaching the shell is a very long and monotonous process. Its essence is to sort the source material by color, separating each shade by gluing the shells onto separate sheets. For example, we lay out a snow-white shell and glue it onto one sheet, with a yellowish tint on the other, and a brownish tint on the third.

This color distribution will allow you to quickly select exactly the shade that is needed when creating a mosaic. When the gluing work is finished, you need to cover each sheet with plywood and press on it without using much force. Under pressure, the shell will crack and flatten. It is necessary to continuously press the plywood onto the sheet for one minute in the case when gluing was carried out using PVA glue, and only a few seconds if Moment glue was used.

Before starting a business in this matter, it is necessary to thoroughly study the points of sale and calculate the final income from the product. It should be noted that such work is recommended for those people who have well-developed creative potential. Having gained initial experience and skills in this field, you can implement your work around the world. The profit from such goods is quite high, and a person who opens his own business will not regret that he devoted time and money to this type of creativity.

Examples of photographs with eggshell works:

Easter will be coming soon, which means people will paint eggs and visit each other with them. Then we invite you to master a new type of needlework - do-it-yourself eggshell mosaic, a master class is attached. Egg shells are an excellent material for creativity. Today we will analyze several master classes that will allow you to understand how to work correctly in this technique.

Preparing for work

We collect the eggshells and place them in a deep container. Meanwhile, prepare a 5% baking soda solution. Pour it into the shell and wait 5 minutes. Then drain the liquid and rinse the shells under running water.

It is best to use raw egg shells because they lose their hardness when cooked. For example, any shell is suitable for children's crafts.

To make a painting using the eggshell technique, you first need to remove the film from it. Leave it on the tray for a while to dry. Then you need to color it with food coloring. Then we put it away in plastic containers, first sorting it by color. Due to the fact that the shell is not always painted evenly, it can be used to depict not only pictures, but also, for example, to make beautiful decoupage on a bottle of any drink. You wouldn’t be ashamed to give such a gift to your friends on any holiday.

Egg painting

• Egg shells;
• PVA glue;
• Brush;
• Cardboard (or any other surface, everything will depend on what exactly you want to do);
• Tweezers;
• Wooden stick;
• Acrylic paints;
• Napkin for decoupage.

Step-by-step instructions for doing the job:

1. First you need to make a template according to which the eggshells will be laid out. Draw it on a simple sheet of paper, or for those who don’t know how to do this, just take any drawing and print it out.
2. You need to glue a sheet with a pattern onto a sheet of cardboard.
3. Let's move on to applying the shell. We do it as follows: grease a small area of ​​the picture with glue and place the shell on it. If the size of the shell is very large, then take a stick and press it on it. Because of this, it will crack and crumble into several small fragments. The distance between the shells should be the same.
4. With this action we fill the entire drawing completely.
5. We put it out of the reach of children and wait for it to dry completely.
6. After the drawing is completely dry, decorate it with paints.
7. At the end of the work it is necessary to coat it with varnish.

This concludes the master class.

Simple flowers

For work you will need the following tools and materials:

• Simple sheet;
• Simple black pencil;
• Set of felt-tip pens;
• PVA glue;
• Finished egg shells;
• Watercolor paints;
• Set of brushes;
• Sippy cup;
• Wooden skewer.

The technology of work is as follows.

On a regular sheet we draw a sketch, in our case these are violet flowers.

After the drawing is completely ready, we move on to the technique itself. Lubricate the flower petal with glue, as shown in the photo.

Place eggshells on it. For this action it is better to use a whole shell. We lay it so that it covers the entire surface that was coated with glue.

With a little pressure, the shell cracks, thereby filling the pattern. Just be sure to make sure that the shell pieces break into more uniform pieces.

For a more even laying, you can use a wooden skewer.

We outline the finished petals with a bright felt-tip pen; we chose black. This is necessary so that the borders of the petals do not merge.

We do the same with other petals.

After the flower is completely ready, we outline it.

We do the whole drawing in exactly the same way.

Here, the picture is almost ready.

In a small small bowl, grind the eggshells into a fine powder.

We coat all the details of the drawing with glue, and sprinkle shell powder on top. In this way, we fill the empty spaces that formed during work.

Let the painting dry completely. Then we move on to painting. For this you will need brushes, paints and a sippy cup.

We color according to the sketch, which was originally transferred to a simple sheet of paper. Here it was like this: one of the colors was yellow, the second was blue (purple). Then let the painting dry completely. And we apply different shades to the petals themselves.

Anna Nikitina

Target: teach to perform eggshell mosaic according to plan, be able to draw up work.

Tasks: Develop the ability to plan and consistently carry out your actions during production eggshell mosaics; learn to make simple crafts with your own hands; ability to use fragile eggshell.

1. Create interest in this type of art.

2. Develop fine motor skills.

3. Cultivate independence and patience.

4. Conduct safety training.

Application: The event was attended by children from grades 1 to 6, three girls and three boys.

Materials and tools for crafts from eggshells:

Eggshell, disposable small plates, gouache paints, acrylic paints, a simple pencil, an eraser, a brush, PVA glue, clear acrylic varnish, a toothpick, felt-tip pens.

Step-by-step process for completing the job.

First you need to prepare the material. Collected eggshells with the children in our dining room, then washed in warm water and dried on the windowsills.

For the manufacture of DIY eggshell mosaics, we needed disposable plates with drawings that the children drew themselves. Now let's start gluing shell. To do this, grease a small fragment of the pattern with PVA glue and place a piece on top shells. If the shell is too big, then you just need to press on top with a stick, shell will crack and fall apart into several small pieces. The children tried to make sure that between shells it was approximately the same distance. Having completed one fragment of the picture, we move on to the next.

After filling out the entire drawing, we set aside our mosaic on the windowsill until the glue is completely dry, then the children decorate the background and paint the made eggshell mosaic. Waiting for it to dry mosaic, finished mosaic coat with acrylic clear varnish.

Publications on the topic:

This is our first experience with the children not only in the decoupage technique, but also in the mosaic technique. The process turned out to be labor-intensive and time-consuming. But this.

Eggshell applique is a very interesting and exciting activity, as the crafts do not require a lot of expenses. Eggshell.

Master class on the application “Wintering Birds” using the “Paper Mosaic” technique.

Master class on the art of wet felting for children 6–7 years old “Soft mosaic” Purpose of the master class: making practical felted items. Age of children: 6 - 7 years. Production time: 30 minutes. Target master.

Children really enjoy designing different animals, insects, and birds. I suggest you make a spider with us. Following our advice.

Master class in the technique of broken mosaic "The Bell Tower of the Resurrection Cathedral." We live in a beautiful city - Shuya, Ivanovo region. Big.

Eggshells are difficult to scratch with a knife and are close to marble in hardness. It is perfectly sanded and polished, acquiring a pleasant soft shine.

In oriental lacquer painting, eggshells were pasted where it was necessary to depict a stone wall or rock covered with cracks. A scattering of small shells imitated the blooming of spring gardens.

The expressiveness of the "crackle" mosaic is given by the so-called craquelures - cracks that form a bizarre mesh pattern on the surface of various materials.

When straightened, the eggshell breaks into many tiny pieces, which do not disintegrate thanks to the thin film located on the inside. Many of the cracks that form between the shells are almost invisible. But as soon as they are developed with the help of some kind of dye, the mesh pattern of cracks becomes visible, turning an ordinary eggshell into an attractive decorative material.

Preparing eggshells

The collected shells are dipped for two to three minutes in a five percent solution of baking soda, and then thoroughly washed in running water. Usually, shells from raw eggs are used; heat-treated shells lose their hardness, their surface becomes looser and less suitable for further work. (But: for children's mosaics, you can use any shell, including those from boiled eggs, for example, the one left over from Easter eggs.)

To use purely mosaic technologies, that is, creating paintings from pieces of shells, you need to separate the film from the shell. Dry the shells and their parts, paint them entirely (fabric dyes or a range of food dyes are suitable), then store them in a dry, clean container, sorted by color. Typically, the shell is painted unevenly, which creates a large selection of colors and shades for mosaic work.

To create a mosaic or craquelure effect, the shell is not peeled from the film, but rather spread out on a sheet of paper. The inner surface of the shell is lubricated with a thin layer of glue, such as PVA (Fig. 1, a). Then lay out the shells coated with glue on a thin sheet of paper (preferably colored) and press it on top with a flat board (Fig. 1, b). After about a minute, put the board aside and forcefully stroke each shell with a wooden trowel (Fig. 1, c). The smoother is a rod made of hard wood, the oblique cut of which is polished to a shine. Individual pieces of the shell will split into smaller pieces that will adhere tightly to the paper.

After this, a plank is placed on top again and pressed down with a heavy weight (Fig. 1, d). After two or three minutes, when the glue has set, the paper, together with the shell glued to it, is smeared with a thin layer of flour or starch paste. Place tissue paper on the surface of the shell greased with paste and carefully smooth it with your palms (Fig. 1, e). A weight is placed on top and the glue is allowed to dry for several hours (Fig. 1, e).

Having glued all the prepared shells in this way, the sheets are put into a folder. In this form they can be stored for a very long time. The advantage of preparing the shell in this way is the ability to cut out the details of the future image from the sheets with ordinary scissors.

On a colored or dark background, the silhouettes of the glued shells are clearly visible even through tissue paper. This makes it possible to correctly navigate when cutting blanks on which the contours of the mosaic elements are drawn. The silhouette of the pasted shell is unique, it can give impetus to the artist’s imagination. You can fit the contours of various animals, human figures, buildings, cars, plants, and much more into it (Fig. 1, g). Having drawn the contours of a fish found on the shell, for example, they cut the shell with scissors around the silhouette, without trying to work out small details. Using scissors, it is easy to cut the shell along straight and curved lines only from the outside (Fig. 1, h). All kinds of recesses, concave cuts and holes are made with a scalpel or cutter, as well as drills after gluing the shell onto the base-substrate.

You can prepare shells that have different natural color shades. These colors can be used, for example, when working on a mosaic panel based on ancient architecture. Let's say the master has white, brown and cream shells at his disposal. White shell is suitable for simulating snow, white stone walls, brown for fortress walls and towers, and cream for buildings located inside the fortress. This is, of course, an approximate layout.

Shell mosaic by direct set

The painted shell is broken into pieces using tweezers. When developing a skill, the shell can be broken quite accurately, the resulting elements will have a certain shape - triangles, squares, thin strips. Depending on the creative tasks and the scale of the work, sometimes it makes sense to first prepare pieces of the shell, sorted by color, and then start making the mosaic. For small chamber works, breaking off elements can be done directly during the typing process as needed.

Mastic or adhesive is applied to thick cardboard or a sheet of plastic. Then the outline of the picture is drawn. Pieces of shell are placed in place with tweezers in accordance with the picture. The work is dried and then coated with colorless varnish. For quick-drying adhesives, you can use a brush to apply the glue to the shell or directly to the place where the element is glued, but this method is more labor-intensive and time-consuming.

Making a mosaic by removing the shell

All work is carried out on separate boards, which act as the basis of the mosaic set - the backing. The prepared shell is cut into polygons with straight sides (Fig. 2, a). At the same time, they try to ensure that they have right angles whenever possible. This will make it easier to fit them onto the base. One side of the board is completely covered with shell, carefully adjusting the cut out polygons to each other. Each polygon is pressed as tightly as possible to the base with a smoothing iron.

Crackle mosaic technology

Then, on the shell glued to the board, draw the contours of the intended image with a simple pencil (Fig. 2, b). The figure shows the sequence of making a mosaic set with an image of an elephant. In areas where there should be a background, excess shells are removed with various cutting tools. To drill blind holes, use gimlets or a small drill. Carving, as well as chipping of the shell, is done with a scalpel or a blunt knife. The engraving is applied with stichels. The work begins with drilling (Fig. 2, c1), then engraving is carried out along pencil lines (Fig. 2, c2), after which they begin to chip away the shell in the areas reserved for the background. Having completed the mechanical processing, remove the tissue paper glued to it from the surface of the shell. First, the paper is carefully moistened with water using a brush (Fig. 2, d1). After some time, the soaked paper is easily separated from the shell (Fig. 2, d2). Sometimes small seams remain at the joining points, into which small shells are glued.

At the next stage of work on the mosaic set, we begin to identify the craquelures. In this case, the background is painted in some color, for example, black, dark brown, dark blue (Fig. 2, d3). It is convenient to use mascara for these purposes. The mascara contains an alcohol solution of shellac, dyes, glycerin, bile and antiseptics. Thanks to the presence of bile - a surfactant - mascara easily penetrates into the smallest cracks, carrying with it all other components. Having filled the cracks between the individual shells, the ink not only colors them, but also holds them together. This is facilitated by shellac, which after drying does not dissolve even with water.

For reference: Crackle is a network of thin cracks on any surface, a technique for visually aging interior items using special varnishes, additional processing or the use of shells.
Craquelure (French craquelure) is a crack in the paint layer or varnish in a work of painting or the varnish coating of an object of decorative and applied art.

After making sure that the mosaic set is painted evenly, use a slightly damp cloth or swab to remove excess ink from the surface of the shell (Fig. 2, e1). After waiting until the remaining ink has completely dried, they begin sanding the mosaic with fine-grained sandpaper mounted on a wooden block (Fig. 2, e). They sand the surface of the shell very carefully - after all, the eggshell is so thin that in some places it can be easily removed completely. After finishing sanding, replace the sandpaper with regular writing paper. It also has abrasive properties due to the presence of koalin and chalk in it. The polished surface of an eggshell acquires a soft shine and vaguely resembles old ivory or marble. The dark matte background emphasizes and enhances the expressiveness of the mosaic set (Fig. 2, f).

Mosaic set with mastic background

If the background occupies a significant place in the mosaic set, as, for example, in a composition with images of owls, then there is no point in completely covering the surface of the decorated object with the shell (Fig. 3, a). After all, approximately half of the pasted shell will have to be removed later. In this case, it is better to paste over the shell only those areas where the mosaic images will be located directly.

Work on a mosaic set begins with the prepared drawing being transferred to a wooden base. Then they cut out generalized silhouettes from the shell with scissors and paste them onto the base. After the glue has dried, the excess shell (shaded in our figure) is removed with a scalpel or cutter (Fig. 3, b). Typically, cutter marks spoil the surface of the background, and in large areas this is very noticeable. However, flaws can be removed by filling the background with a layer of special mastic flush with the glued shell (Fig. 3, c). The most commonly used mastic is epoxy glue filled with graphite, stone dust, and brick powder. You can paint mastic with any dry pigments, as well as oil paints.

The mastic is carefully applied to the background areas with a wooden spatula or a sculpture stack. Once the mastic has completely hardened, the mosaic set is carefully leveled with a file. The mosaic is then moistened with clean water. Tissue paper pasted onto the shell gets wet and is easily separated from it. All that remains is to use a brush and ink to reveal the craquelure on the surface of the shell. If the mastic is painted, for example, dark blue, then blue ink is used to develop the craquelure (Fig. 3, d). Finally, the set is sanded and polished. The entire surface of the mosaic, including the background, acquires an even soft shine.

Mosaic with multicolor background

The background can not only emphasize the beauty and expressiveness of the material used in the mosaic, but also actively participate in the color scheme of the composition. In this case, the parts made from the shell will serve as partitions, separating one section of the background from another (Fig. 4, a).

Mastic of three colors - brown, black and red - is prepared in different jars. First, fill the background areas with brown (Fig. 4, b) and then with dark red mastic (Fig. 4, c). To obtain a speckled background, black mastic is mixed with shells crushed in a mortar (Fig. 4, d). To prevent the mastic from spreading, edges made of thin cardboard are glued to the edges of the board with the mosaic set. After the mastic has hardened, the sides are removed, the mosaic set is carefully leveled with a file and the remaining tissue paper is removed. The shell is covered with black ink. As soon as it penetrates deep enough into the cracks of the shell, its excess is removed with a slightly damp cloth. After a few minutes the ink has dried and the set is sanded with fine-grit sandpaper mounted on a wooden block and then polished. The black speckled background of the mosaic will appear to be made from many individual shells.

The use of a particular shade of shell will depend on the nature of the image and the task facing the artist.

Mosaic on turning products

Wood products made on a lathe can be successfully decorated with eggshell mosaics (Fig. 6). When turning on workpieces, small recesses of no more than 0.5 mm are selected in advance with a cutter. The mosaic elements are glued onto the surface to be decorated and carefully rubbed onto it with a smoothing iron (Fig. 6, a). Then the product with the mosaic set glued to it is tightly wrapped with some kind of harness (belt or rope), tightly laying the coil to the coil (Fig. 6, b). To prevent the glue protruding from under the shell from sticking to the bundle, the product is wrapped in newsprint in advance.

After the glue has completely dried, the rope is removed, and the areas where the shell is not glued are filled with epoxy mastic (Fig. 6, c). When the mastic has hardened, begin sanding the mosaic set. You can grind directly on a lathe, taking the necessary precautions, or manually, attaching sandpaper to a wooden block with a grooved recess corresponding to the diameter of the workpiece (Fig. 6, d). After identifying the craquelure on the shell and subsequent polishing, the wooden parts of the product are painted dark with stain. Finally, the entire product is rubbed with wax mastic or varnished and polished.

How to ensure that the picture has an interesting texture? You can apply textured plaster to the base, but then the image must be covered with an additional layer of varnish. It is better to create a light relief using egg shells. This natural material is easily fixed with ordinary PVA glue, paints well and looks original.
Today you will learn how to make a simple painting with a textured base.
To work you need to prepare:
- a sheet of thick cardboard (preferably from a packaging box);
- eggshells (dried);
- a tube of PVA glue;
- a napkin with a bright pattern (three-ball);
- scissors;
- wooden frame.

First, cut the cardboard to size to fit the frame.
Spread the top corner of the base with PVA glue and begin gluing pieces of eggshell.

Make sure that the pieces are placed at small intervals and the base of the picture is visible.
It is better to apply glue not to the entire surface, but in parts, gradually gluing the shell.

This is what the base of the picture looks like, completely filled with pieces.

Now take a napkin with a picture and match the picture to the size of the base.

Cut off the desired part and separate the topmost (colored) layer of the napkin.
Spread the base of the picture with PVA glue, on top of the shell, and glue the colored fragment.

All that remains is to attach the base to the frame.
The picture is ready!