Scratch Egg Demos Sunday

At Matthew Curtiss House

Newtown Historical Society will host an open house and living history demonstration on Sunday, March 6, from 10 am to 4 pm, at the Matthew Curtiss Hosue. Special guest Sheila Tintera will be demonstrating and displaying scratch eggs.

The tradition of scratch-carving or “etching” eggs is a time-honored one which can be found in England, middle Europe and here in America. In the Pennsylvania German country the technique is known as oyer schritzle.

The eggs may be Bantam, chicken, duck or goose and they most often are dyed a rich reddish brown by boiling them with onion skins. The designs are then created by scratching away the dye to reveal the white undersurface.

Sheila Tintera has studied fine arts at Massachusetts College of Art, Silvermine School of Art, and with various individual artists. She is self-taught in this egg technique she learned about in a magazine article.

The portability of a dyed egg allowed her to make art and perfect her drawing technique when her children were young and it was difficult to set up oils and art supplies.

Ms Tintera’s work in oils, watercolors, pastels, prints and eggs has been displayed in exhibitions and shows in Atelier Studio/Gallery, Tarrywile Mansion, The Hitchcock Chair Museum, Oliver Wolcott Library, New Milford Library, Burnham Library and local arts and crafts shows. The New Milford Town Council appointed her as a board member on the Commission on the Arts.

Costumed docents will be available during the demonstration for guided tours of the circa 1750 Matthew Curtiss house, which is at 44 Main Street. This event is free and open to the public.