No ordinary eggs
Ransom woman's artistic egg represents Illinois; she gives replica to Laura Bush

By Jo Ann Hustis
Herald Writer
 

Friday, March 21, 2008 9:24 PM CDT                                                                                     

 

 

RANSOM - When it comes to Easter creations, Kathy Kendall knows eggs-actly what to do.  With her, it's a shell game, and she's the winner.

Born with the soul of an artist, Kathy hatched the idea

 for a state of Illinois Easter egg to present to first lady Laura Bush in the American Egg Board's annual state-by-state egg decorating competition.
The contest is conducted each fall. It's a tradition begun in 1994.
One winning egg is chosen per state. The winners are displayed in the White House Visitors Center for the six weeks prior to Easter. The exhibit then goes into the Smithsonian Museum for permanent display. The winning artists are invited to breakfast at the White House the week before Easter.
This was a contest to dye for. "I can do that," Kathy noted, and got cracking.
She hopped - literally, on a broken ankle - to the grocery store for a dozen jumbo eggs. Back home, she pricked a hole into the shell of one egg, blew out the contents, and glued green-dyed Venetian lace on the outside. The color darkened the interior. “My husband said, ‘So, cut the lace out.' I cut around the flowers and openings in the pattern to give it an airy effect. Now it looks like sunlight glowing through the shell.”  She created a tiny woodland scene for the ivory interior, with a miniature white-tail deer, Illinois' state animal, beside a purple violet, the state flower.  A cardinal, the state bird, perches on the branch of a white oak tree, the state tree. A monarch butterfly, the state insect, flits about the minute glen. Just in case her egg would win, she created two replicas. One was to be her gift to the first lady, the second for the White House display, and the third for her own collection.
Her egg was chosen. She was invited to the White House Egg Artists' Tour on Monday, March 10. She and her husband, Gary Kendall, drove to Washington, D.C. They cradled the replica egg between them. “Everyone told me I couldn't give it to Mrs. Bush because of security,” she said. “‘Well, there's no harm in asking,' I said." Mrs. Bush stood beside the display of all 50 eggs. They introduced me. ‘This is Kathleen Kendall, representing the state of Illinois,' they said. I shook her hand. ‘It is a real pleasure meeting you,' I said. I explained the white-tail deer and such represented the state of Illinois. She said, ‘It's very pretty.'” Kathy told her about crafting the replica egg. “'Just for you,' I told her. ‘You did?' she said. I said, ‘May I give it to you?' She said, ‘Yes, to my aide.'” Kathy ran to her husband, who was in the audience. “‘Get the egg out - get the egg out,'” she cried. “He did, and I gave it to the aide. I said, ‘May I show it to Mrs. Bush?' The aide said, ‘Go ahead.' “I gave it to Mrs. Bush. She said, ‘This is beautiful. This is very lovely. Thank you very much.'” The White House photographer snapped pictures of the exchange. “Nobody from the other 49 states did this,” said Kathy. “Betcha I know what will happen next year. I hope I didn't make any enemies. “Gary said the other artists glared at me. They were a little upset. I didn't care what any of the others said. I was just so happy.”