studiopage

When I got into poultry, we had a plethora of eggs. Of course hatching them was a thrill, but soon we had way too many birds. That’s when I discovered the exciting medium of wax resist egg decorating, and in particular, pysanky (Ukrainian eggs). I plunged into that medium in 1999. After some initial experimenting, I was eager to learn the symbolism of the various motifs and colors used in this ancient medium.
In 2001, I was fortunate to receive a Minnesota State Arts Board grant to study one-on-one with master Ukrainian egg artist, Luba Perchyshyn, co-founder of the Ukrainian Gift shop in Roseville, MN. This was an exciting opportunity. Luba is so humble and unassuming for a woman who is an icon herself and a true master of the art. She encouraged me to enter my eggs in the Minnesota State Fair, which I did for several years. The competition is held in the Bee and Honey Division.
I’ve taught several pysanky workshops. My students have been as young and 4 years old (with a parent helping). It’s so much fun sharing this exciting medium with eager learners.

I started River Oaks Studio back in 1995. At that time I had original oil, pastel, and watercolors paintings for sale. Over the years the studio grew to include graphic design services, wax resist eggs, and now fiber art thanks to our sheep. Check our Studio sale page for currently available items.

I was chosen to create the Minnesota egg for the 2005 White House Easter egg display. It was a great honor. My family and I attended the artist’s reception and toured the White House in March 2005. I got to meet First Lady Laura Bush and show her my egg. She was so gracious. I enjoyed meeting several of the other egg artists who displayed eggs, there was an egg from each of the 50 states.
To represent the state of Minnesota, I did a wax resist egg depicting the Northern Lights over a snowy landscape of rivers and pine trees. The egg itself will become part of the Bush Library someday. The annual White House Ester Egg display is sponsored by the American Egg Board. Sorry I can’t scan the official White House photo due to copyright restrictions.

Since getting our sheep, River Oaks Studio has evolved once again and now includes fiber arts. I have learned so much in the past six years. Skills such as how to skirt a raw fleece, then wash, card, and comb it so it’s ready to be spun into yarn. Which brings us to spinning -- I had no idea it would be so relaxing and so addicting!
And then there is felting; wool can be wet felted or dry felted with felting needles. It’s been exciting learning all these new skills. I’ve knitted and crocheted since my high school days, but now I get to use yarn from my own sheep!
The photo at left shows a Shetland lace scarf made from hand-combed and hand-spun Shetland neck wool - the finest fleece on the sheep. The scarf is on a tanned grey Shetland sheepskin which is washable and incredibly soft. We send our hides to Buck’s County Fur Products in Quakertown, PA for processing. Buck’s does a great job with longer fleeces and we love the fact that the hides are washable.