Daniela Mahoney (Portland) is a traditional Czech and Slovakian egg decorator and a Master Artist who participated in the Oregon Folklife Network’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program in 2012. Czech and Slovak egg decorating is associated with celebrations of Spring and new life. Mahoney, who learned from her grandmother, teaches Czech and Slovakian egg decorating to school aged kids all over the country.
Bio
Daniela Mahoney is traditional Czech and Slovak egg decorator. Born in Prague, Czech Republic, Mahoney remembers the intricately decorated eggs from childhood Easter celebrations. Under her grandmother’s guidance, she learned the basic wax resistant technique and practiced the craft through her teens. In 1980, Mahoney and her mother fled Czechoslovakia for West Germany and eventually the United States, where Mahoney returned to traditional egg decorating as an Easter-time hobby. She soon developed the craft into a full-time business and has participated in hundreds of art shows, craft shows and ethnic festivals nationwide. Mahoney also developed educational programs to teach cultural crafts as part of Czech and Slovak heritage preservation in community based settings. She became a resident artist for the Regional Arts & Culture Council in Portland, Oregon and with Young Audiences of Oregon and Washington. In 2011, the Ellis Island Museum Gift Store invited Mahoney to demonstrate egg decorating. Since 1983, Mahoney has decorated about 93,000 egg ornaments. Although she started out using the wax resist egg decorating, she has used the engraving technique since 1987. Over time, Mahoney has gravitated from traditional designs inspired by the Czech and Slovak traditions to novelty designs, such as bridges, lighthouses and even the Statue of Liberty. Museums, galleries and specialty gift stores around the U.S. sell her decorated eggs. Mahoney is a 2012 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program awardee with Oregon Folklife Network.
