ARTISAN collective Dungog by Design has presented a collection of works by emu egg artist Frank Slip throughout the month of August.
Born in Dubbo, Frank and his family settled in Dungog in1960, before moving to Old Bar Beach in the 1970s.
It was here that Frank opened his gallery, ‘Wandjina’, which housed a museum featuring Aboriginal art, fossils, artifacts, Australian antiquities and his hand-carved emu eggs.
Frank discovered his talent for carving while boarding in Coonamble in 1945.
The landlady, who used emu eggs in all her cooking, gave Frank some eggshells that he began scratching.
Frank settled on using his Stanley knife, which gave him more control and better results when carving through the eight-to-twelve layers of very fine, delicate eggshell.
Every fine, delicate layer of shell exposes a different colour, ranging from dark blue to bluey-green and creamy-white.
A great deal of care, patience and artistic ability is required to achieve the designs.
Frank’s love of everything Australian is displayed in his designs that are primarily of Australian wildlife.
His works, which included many commissions, have been enthusiastically collected by both Australians and visitors to our shores.
By the time of his passing at age 92, Frank had carved over 1,000 emu eggs, some of them now being offered for sale by his daughter Leonie.
Up next at Dungog by Design on Dowling Street is the “Common Ground” exhibition, which runs throughout September.
The exhibition will be officially opened on Saturday, 30 August from 2-4pm and features an array of local artists.
“Come and enjoy an afternoon of art, conversation, and community,” organisers said.
“See how each artist has brought Common Ground to life in their own unique style.”
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