What An Artist Created From A Simple Eggshell Is Incredible. And Fragile.

When you think of intricate carvings, you’re probably not thinking about eggs. However, and luckily for everyone, an artist who goes by the apt moniker of eggdoodler, absolutely does. The U.S.-based artist used an ostrich egg (which is technically a single cell! Science!) to carve an incredibly detailed, 360-degree image of the African plains.

The eggshell, carefully hollowed out, was even more carefully carved to show an elephant, a rhinoceros and a giraffe in their natural habitat, and features the finest of nuances. The project took over 1,000 hours to complete, and the artist, to avoid breaking the fragile shell, employed many a tiny incision using carving tools with diamond and carbide tips. All that hard work paid off, and resulted in this incredible piece of art, titled Africa. Besides the sheer display of craftsmanship, it’s also a moving metaphor for the fragility of nature.

After completing Africa, eggdoodler has created some other egg pieces. Lately, he’s been using emu eggs, which are dark green and have multiple layers, each with a different color, which lend themselves to some striking compositions.

Eggdoodler’s craft is time-consuming, but the striking results make up for it.