Extravagant eggs
By Brenda Neugent
Published on GoDanRiver.com on June 26, 2008
Lenne Nicklaus-Ball wanted to pay tribute to her effervescent red-haired grandmother after she died, but it wasn’t until a trip to Africa a few years ago that she discovered her canvas.
There, the Florida-based artist learned of the custom of decorating ostrich eggs as a honor for loved ones, and thanks to the collection of costume jewelry she acquired from her grandmother’s estate, her next artistic venture was born.
“What inspired me about the eggs at first was their unique ability to become a canvas for color. I began decorating them and finding ways to stand them, using traditional egg stands and other simple devises,” Nicklaus-Ball said on her Web site. “I’m not sure exactly how it came about, but the wooden horses I used in some of my first pieces became inspirational for finding ways to ‘transport’ the eggs and give them movement.”
Nicklaus-Ball’s works, a fanciful bejeweled and feathered exhibit, will go on display Sunday with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History, 975 Main St.
The touring exhibit is one of three upcoming shows (the others include Ron Clark and Suzanne Jackson) booked by the museum from Katharine T. Carter & Associates, and is ideal for summer months, according to executive director Lynne Bjarnesen.
“In the summertime, we like to something fun and funky, but still serious art,” she said. “Then classes and camps are based around the idea.”
The creative and playful ostrich eggs — with pearl necklaces, glittery rhinestone earrings, feathers and gold, among other embellishments — have already served as creative inspiration for students who were thrilled by Nicklaus-Ball’s elaborate, extravagant pieces, featuring names like “Sahara Strut,” “Miami” and “Palace Retreat.”
And although the works are different from her previous artistic roots — Nicklaus-Ball began as a graphic artist, and later added abstract paintings, ceramics and beaded handbags to her artistic repertoire — they ultimately reflect her glamorous grandmother, and her influences of other aspects of Nicklaus-Ball’s life.
“She was always impeccably dressed for the day,” Nicklaus-Ball said on her site. “In her closet, my grandmother had more than 200 hats, and dozens of gloves of all lengths and styles.”
Her style is showcased in equally impeccable fashion through Nicklaus-Ball’s sculptural pieces, which are glittery and glitzy, fashionable and free-spirited, a tribute to what must have been a colorful and vibrant woman.
“The P. Nunn Collection: Lenne Nicklaus-Ball” will go on display Sunday at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History. The exhibit runs through Aug. 24 in the museum’s Schoolfield Gallery.
Also on display at the museum is a collection of serigraphs by Ron Kleemann, Tom Blackwell and Ralph Goings from the museum’s collection. “Photo-Realism” runs through July 13 in the museum’s Jennings Gallery. For more information, call the museum at (434) 793-5644.