2005 White House Egg

Each year, the White House hosts a number of activities at Easter. One of these is a display of decorated eggs from each of the fifty states. Every state chooses their egg by a different method; the Texas state egg board sponsored a contest held at the State Fair. The top 10 finalists were put on display at the Capitol Building in Austin and the winner went to the White House display in the spring. My entry came in second place.

The rules stated the egg must be a chicken egg, and be decorated to represent the state of Texas. Click on the thumbnail to see a full-sized picture.

	This side features the Great Seal of Texas, with its olive and live oak branches. Surrounding the Seal are blue waves, to represent the gulf coast, and black waves to represent the oil industry. Wheat appears next to the waves, signifying the prairies and grasslands of the Panhandle, Central and South Texas. A Texas bluebonnet, the state flower, flanks both sides of the Great Seal.
	On the other side, a yellow geometric pattern takes the place of the Great Seal. This motif is based upon a quilting pattern called the “Lone Star.” Although used in modern quilting, eight-pointed stars have been used in pysanky designs for thousands of years.
	Ten more eight-pointed stars encircle the egg along an “eternity band.” Traditionally, these shapes are called rozha, or roses. Executed in yellow, these represent the “Yellow Rose of Texas.” The white curls surrounding the rozha are stylized horns, which stand for the cattle industry in our state. The red stair-stepped triangles bordering the yellow rose motifs signify the mountains of the Hill Country; and within each mountain is a pine branch to represent the Piney Woods of east Texas.