By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Easter has come and gone,but Christina Cooper does her egg decorating year-round. Brooksby’s resident egg artist turns ostrich, rhea, goose, and emu eggs, among others, into elaborately decorated scenes made with Swarovski Austrian crystals and tiny trinkets. Her current collection of 62 eggs drew attention recently while on  display at Brooksby, and it prompted more admirers to become involved in the craft.

Over the past ten years (six of them at Brooksby), Cooper has created eggs for all occasions. From an ostrich egg-turned-carriage to Cooper’s personal favorite—a tiny sparkling snow scene with penguins—each egg reveals a different theme.

“I’m working on them all the time,” says Cooper, who was recently profiled in the Boston Herald for her talent. “It’s my passion right now.”

New craft uncovered
A talented quilter and embroiderer, Cooper was on the board of directors of the Wakefi eld Arts and Crafts Society when she first happened upon egg art. The society was planning a class taught by Faberge-style egg artist Sophie Chetwynd. When not enough people signed up, someone asked Cooper if she wanted to join.

“I thought of Easter eggs and said I wasn’t really interested,” Cooper recalls. But it wasn’t long before she changed her mind. “When I went and saw Sophie’s eggs, I got hooked.” Cooper now attends Chetwynd’s class every Tuesday, where she gets the sterilized eggs and most of her design ideas. She works on her eggs in the second bedroom of her Brooksby apartment home.

“I took a second bedroom just so I would have room for my crafts,” Cooper  says.

Sharing the art
Cooper has shared egg art with Brooksby through a number of workshops she and Chetwynd have held on campus. Her recent display seemed an effective advertisement for her workshop, as passersby couldn’t help but inquire about the craft.