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Tonya Papanikolas ReportingEach year, the First Lady asks an artist from each state to decorate an Easter egg to go on display at the White House. This year it seems they picked the right Utah artist, since she paints nothing but eggs.
Carolyn Kemp is an artist who paints with acrylics, but her canvas is a little different than most.
Carolyn Kemp: "I actually use eggshell as canvas."
That's right, Carolyn paints eggs of all sizes. Large Ostrich eggs were wedding gifts to her children.
Heidi Molinaro, Daughter: "She's been blessed so much with this great gift, and it's something that I'll treasure always."
She also paints regular chicken eggs, and even tiny quail eggs. They may look large on TV, but the button quail eggs are actually about as big as her thumb.
Carolyn Kemp: "My brain is so accustomed to focusing in on a tiny space. It's the only way I know how to paint."
Carolyn's scenes are so detailed, many people first think the eggs or paintings are fake.
Carolyn Kemp: "Oh, everybody asks, 'how did you get that decal on there so smoothly?'"
Each hand-painted egg takes about 40 hours to finish and they all hold a special place in her heart, but one particular egg has a special purpose.
Carolyn Kemp: "This one is for the white house Easter Egg display."
Each year the country's first lady asks an artist from each state to decorate an egg to put on display. This year Carolyn got the call.
Carolyn Kemp: "I was so excited to have the privilege of doing it."
To represent Utah, she painted the state seal on the top of the egg. A pioneer scene extends across the rest, with covered wagons, a pioneer father kneeling in prayer with his little girl and the beautiful mountains of Utah. She says they were the hardest to paint.
Carolyn Kemp: "I have done mountain scenes, but always on larger eggs, so I have teeny, tiny trees."
Carolyn also designs Ukranian eggs using beeswax and dye. She sells her pieces for anywhere from $25 up to $3,000.
