Hundreds of years ago, European princes gratefully received ostrich eggs as precious gifts from explorers returning from Africa. The eggs were prized possessions, often placed in precious pewter frames and used as exotic drinking cups. In creating her “Ostrich Egg” series of assemblages, Florida-based artist Lenne’ Nicklaus-Ball has brought the erstwhile precious object into contemporary art and transformed it into a metaphor for memories of her grandmother. It was an opportune discovery. Nicklaus-Ball had received a collection of jewelry from her late grandmother and was casting about for some way to make use of the jewelry in her art. During a visit to South Africa, she was struck by carved ostrich eggs sold at local flea markets-the eggs were large, thick and full enough to hold full scenes and vibrant decoration. In this circuitous way, Niklaus-Ball found a way to mount patterned jewelry on the eggs, then mount the eggs in various flamboyant settings. The resulting objects are wonderful, poetic memory pieces of the taste, style, flamboyance and flair of a strong young woman.
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