Teen keeps old art form alive

John Grexa opens the delicate door to his Faberge egg house. • Photos by Tom Victoria

By Tom Victoria

John Grexa is preventing an old craft from becoming a lost art. The 18 year old is recognized internationally as a master egg decorator, forging designs from shells of every size.

“It’s an old art form,” he said.

First gaining prominence as pysankys, more commonly known as Ukrainian Easter eggs, in Eastern Europe during pagan times before Christianity, the artwork later was highlighted by the Faberge eggs in St. Petersburg, Russia, beginning in 1885.

John uses shells from various birds, including ostriches, geese and finches. He’s filled many areas of his family’s house in Hartford, Ohio, with the ornate artistry.

“I’ve made four curio cabinets,” he said.

John’s handiwork has grown to the point that he is renting a house to store much of it and create more work space. During annual crafts shows, several of which he started, he offers a number for sale.

“You can’t keep every single one,” he said.

His creations cover various themes, including holidays and nature. Among his nature scenes is an owl in the woods. Another depicts penguins waddling and gliding in an icy terrain.  

Holiday fare boasts a number of scenes celebrating Christmas. One striking egg spotlights Santa Claus with a coloring twist - copper being the second hue used with white.

John said employing unique colors is one of his specialties. Along with bringing a different shade to Santa, John has used combinations unique to decorative eggs such as coral and blue.

A red egg, which is held by a skeletal hand, contains a smaller bony character with ruby eyes in his skull’s sockets.

In addition to eggs designed to simulate a traditional tree ornament, others portray a character inside with an open front.     

Another unique ornament made of a Finch egg has a blue-and-silver glittered teapot pouring the drink into a sparkling cup.  

Along with a craftsman’s dexterity, such delicate work requires patience to ensure the glue hardens with all the components in the right position.

“I had to hold it for five minutes,” John said.

Most creations take him three to six hours. He estimated the longest time frame to complete an elaborate work using multiple eggs was 10 hours over two days.

John holds up one of his Christmas tree eggs.

By decorating the eggs with plastics, jewels and glitter, the eggshells’ tendency to crack is mitigated.

“There’s a lot of glue,” John said. “It strengthens the shell.”

But the artist needs to have the right tools for the job when dealing with such fragile pieces. John uses a specialized instrument to make precision cuts to the shells.

“It’s a drill,” he said, comparing it to dental devices.

John uses wood for bases. He buys specialized figurines for some of the pieces.

As if fabricating the eggs weren’t enough, John also operates a business selling the minute hinges used for the doors and windows that are part of the finished products’ architecture.

Operating out of the Grexa family garage, Hartford Hinges has customers, other egg decorators, across the globe.

John always had an interest in birds. When he was a child, he would seek out nests and attempt to name what species of bird laid a particular egg.

But it was in sixth grade at Badger Middle School when John discovered Ukrainian eggs. His fine arts teacher, Lori Seinar-Roknick, brought them into class one day.

The pysankas, which are designed using beeswax, caught the 12-year-old’s eye. However, attempts to replicate the work did not turn out well, so John was convinced to take a class teaching the Faberge style.

Decorating a goose egg in the class at Alcraft Egg Artistry in Brookfield, Ohio sealed the deal. He eventually took over the hinge business from Alcraft owner Ruth Jennings with his parents’ assistance. 

“I purchased the hinge business,” John said.

John, a freshman taking business management at Youngstown State University, has made enough money to repay his parents and sustain his egg decorating.

“This is all self-funded,” he said.

John checks on the other artisans at a past Holiday in Hartford event.

But John said displaying his art at events is not necessarily to seek profit; he likes meeting people.

People are often surprised to see someone, especially of John’s age, still practicing the art.

“That certainly comes up a lot in shows,” he said.   

In recent years he has been profiled by several newspapers and two international magazines.

John interacts with other egg decorators in different parts of the world.

“We all share ideas,” he said.

John also teaches the art form at Alcraft.

He’s raises roughly $10,000 each year with a spring craft show at Badger High School, his alma mater, for the school’s Fine and Performing Arts program.

The vendors for the event peaked at 200, which John said will be tapered off a little for logistical reasons.

He helps organize the Holiday in Hartford event at the township’s municipal buildings. Last November, he ran the set up in the police garage, which include his and others’ eggs, pottery, woodwork, among other fare.

“He truly is a gifted young man,” Seiner-Roknick said.

She said John’s works will be ranked more highly as he matures in age.

“He’s a genius at it,” Seiner-Roknick said.