14 Mar Looking Back on The Big Egg Hunt
In 2013 the Jack and Jill foundation ran a fundraiser with their BIG EGG HUNT. I was sorting through some folders on my desktop recently and found all my photos of the event and the process shots I took of it along the way. And I realised I didn’t have a record of it up here on my website.
This was the first of three projects that I did as fundraising campaigns with The Jack and Jill Foundation. It is a wonderful Irish charity helping to support and care to families with critically ill young children and babies.
The following year they gave us a giant PIG to work with and then they started their incognito art exhibition the year after that. This is me with the finished piece. I titled my egg The Golden Age.
The initial Idea
All of the artists were given a plaster cast giant egg to work with. Before you were accepted to take part you had to pitch your design. I wish I could find my initial design sketches, or even the email with my proposal. But alas it has been lost to the ages.
My Inspiration
From what I can remember I centred my theme around childlike wonder and storytelling. A reflection of the Jack and Jill foundations own aims in helping children. The quote I chose was from JM Barrie’s writing to wrap around my egg.
I am youth, I am joy, I am a little bird that has broken out of the egg – JM Barrie
I called my Egg sculpture – The Golden Age. This was a reference to that point in childhood when all is golden and innocent. JM Barrie’s writing has always reflected this childlike wonder perfectly to me.
The making process
I used metal leaf to represent this value. Which I then (very) painstakingly applied to the eggs surface, shaping it around the lettering. I can’t even remember how many hours I spent on the gold leaf. But it was worth it.
For each of the letters of the JM Barrie quote I hand cut them from a vintage map of Dublin city centre. I also used the map for the tiny little birds that danced around the sculpture.
My egg went on display in Clerys Department store. All of the eggs were part of a giant egg hunt, It was a fantastic idea as families went all over Dublin searching out the eggs, it was a great way to get the public involved.
They were all later auctioned off. At the time I remember mine was bought by a big company somewhere in Dublin. But, and here is the terrible thing. I can’t remember who they were. So if you do happen to spot it out in the wild let me know. I would love to come and visit it once more!
