Artistic talent and a sharp eye for detail recently earned Debby McMillan a trip to the White House’and perhaps a spot in history.
McMillan, a Springfield Township resident who began dabbling in egg artistry about 10 years ago and has been perfecting her craft ever since, was chosen to represent Michigan in the White House 2008 Easter Egg Collection.
Scheduled for a tour of the White House and a meeting with first lady Laura Bush, McMillan and her family packed up the car March 9 and made a long, overnight drive to Washington D.C.’they hadn’t planned to leave until the next day, but heavy snow was in the forecast and this trip was just too important to risk.
‘The drive was just awful,? said McMillan, who took her husband and two grown daughters along. ‘But it turned out to be such a nice family vacation, it was worth every minute.?
The tradition of the Easter Egg Collection began in 1994 when the American Egg Board first selected an artist from each state to design and create a decorated egg for display in the White House.
While they were in Washington, the family enjoyed a private, unhurried tour, then took part in a small reception in the White House welcome center, where McMillan chatted briefly and posed for a photo with the first lady.
‘She was very gracious,? McMillan said. ‘She asked me which part of Michigan I was from and asked me about my egg. She just seemed genuinely interested.?
McMillan said she decided on a design somewhat simpler than those she usually creates.
Using a greatly-reduced map as a template, McMillan drew the outline of Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas on her egg, cut the pieces out and blended rich blue and green inks, to represent the interaction of Michigan’s waters, lands and skies.
‘There is no better place to view all of these elements together than from the shores of Mackinac Island,? McMillan wrote in the note accompanying her egg to Washington. ‘From these shores one can view the Round Island Lighthouse (represented inside the egg) which experiences the blending of the waters of both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Arising in the background is the enormous ‘Big Mac,? (the gold charm inside) as cars pass over and as boats and freighters pass under.?
The event was remarkable for McMillan’s family, as well. Watching her mother meet the first lady, said daughter Carey Jones of Clarkston, was special.
‘I was very proud of her,? she said. ‘I knew it meant a lot to her, so it meant a lot to me too. Sometimes I take the artistic talent in my family for granted, so it was nice to see others really appreciate the work she does.?
Jones said her mother has always been creative, and very detail oriented.
‘She’s not a mainstream artist’she does different things, hard things, and she does them well. She has a very steady hand, and she won’t stop until it’s perfect.?
But to McMillan, if a project’any project’is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.
McMillan uses a variety of eggs’real eggs, ranging from ordinary chicken eggs to ostrich, emu, rhea, and finch eggs’for her projects.
Unlike the dyed and decorated Easter variety, the eggs she creates are modeled after the jewel-studded Faberge first created in Russia.

Also unlike Easter eggs, they’re not hard-boiled’a small hole drilled in one end allows the egg to be ‘blown out.?
Once the egg is clean, McMillan draws and scores her design on the shell, applies color with ink or other medium in a multi-step process, then gets to the delicate work of cutting with a drill’much like the tool a dentist might use.
‘A lot of egg artists don’t like to cut,? she said, noting that dust generated from the cutting process is toxic and precautionary measures are crucial. ‘It’s time consuming and tedious, but I love it.?
But cutting the egg is just the beginning of the detail work. McMillan uses tiny rhinestones, beads and other embellishments on her eggs, and often applies each piece’one by one, exactly where it belongs’with a toothpick.
‘It’s time consuming and expensive,? she said. ‘But if I’m going to do it, I’m going to use the best quality supplies and do it right.?
Although McMillan began exploring egg artistry about 10 years ago, her artistic inclinations can be traced to childhood.
‘My mother was an artist,? she said, pointing out a living room cabinet that displays some of her mother’s work. ‘I was exposed to art’and took a lot of art classes’from an early age.?
Early on, she enjoyed sewing and knitting. When she graduated from high school, McMillan’s parents gave her a very large weaving loom, which still occupies part of her home.
She also learned macram?, flower arranging, ceramics and pottery and stained glass. Lately, in addition to the eggs, McMillan is working on perfecting her skill at painting on glass in reverse. Her work is displayed throughout the house’the eggs, several dozen, are displayed in two large glass cases in the dining room.
Some are based on storybook-themes’Raggedy Ann and Andy, Romeo and Juliet, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk.
Others are whimsical or Easter inspired, and many even have tiny lights and moving parts’like a child’s swing or teeter-totter. One group sparkles in red, white and blue patriotic themes.
‘I was brought up to be very patriotic,? she said, noting that her nephew is currently serving in Iraq. ‘So the Washington trip took on extra meaning. Everyone should visit Washington and everyone should spend an afternoon at Arlington.?
The best part of her artistry, McMillan said, comes when she gives her work away.
‘I can usually feel what people want for a gift,? she said. ‘Knowing I made someone happy with something I made is worth more to me than anything else.?
Except, perhaps, a homemade gift in return. McMillan doesn’t care what shape the gift takes’if someone put the time, energy and, ultimately the love into making something just for her, well’that’s the best gift ever.