From Goodwill to Faberge in Ben Starks’ ‘9 Eggs’

One word leaps to find: Faberge. Milwaukee artist Ben Starks has fashioned a set of nine sculptural objects, densely ornamented ovals that pay idiosyncratic homage to Faberge’s famed Easter eggs. And like the Russian goldsmith, Starks’ objects open to reveal hidden treasures—and sometimes the treasure opens to reveal another secret nesting within.

Starks’ work is featured in a new, illustrated book, 9 Eggs: The Collection. Two events led to 9 Eggs. One was personal. At age 48, Starks retired from a career in international project management after being diagnosed with Adhesive Arachnoiditis, a degenerate neurological disorder. He now had time for other pursuits. The other event was societal: Covid left him marooned and in search of a big project. 

“I started making eggs—I looked at them and decided they weren’t good enough,” for the illustrated book he had in mind, Starks explains. He scrapped the first batch of eggs and began to imagine—and work up—the more elaborate, Faberge-inspired creations collected in 9 Eggs. “I decided to do something worthy of a book, to let my creativity loose.” 

Faberge is most remembered for the elaborate Easter eggs he made in the 19th century for Russia’s imperial family, the Romanovs. He was given a virtually unlimited budget—and creative control. The tsars may have been political autocrats but culturally, they were often the best patrons an artist could want.

For his eggs, Faberge had access to gold, rubies and diamonds. Starks worked with simpler means, scouring the shelves of Goodwill for objects and materials to be remolded, refashioned and repurposed. Many of his gleaming, elaborate objects are haunted by memories of Art Nouveau; their configurations seem alive with floral and botanical shapes, wrapping themselves and encircling the ovals in metallic, crystal gardens. The largest of Starks’ objects, Cloud Bound, stands at 19 inches. The smallest, Softly Spring, is nine inches tall.

Sometimes, as work proceeded, Starks’ eggs grew as if organically with the materials dictating the outcome rather than the plan he had in mind. With Golden Ikebana Egg, “I tried to create a dragon from crystal pieces—but it didn’t want to be born,” he says. Instead, the egg sprouted floral branches.

Starks grew up in Horicon and attributes his formative inspiration to an aunt—“My Auntie Mame!” he exclaims—who collected antiques, brought him to Milwaukee to see theater and exposed him to Faberge. He intends to exhibit his nine eggs, whose extensive detailing can only be fully understood when seen in person. Meanwhile, the photography book with its illuminating text is available on Amazon.

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Friday, Dec. 1, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

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Friday, Dec. 1, 12–1 p.m.

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Friday, Dec. 1 from 5:30–8:30 p.m.

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Friday, Dec. 1, 5–9 p.m.

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Friday, Dec. 1, 6–9 p.m.

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Friday, Dec. 1, 6–9 p.m.

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Saturday, Dec. 2, 8 a.m.–6 p.m.

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Saturday, Dec. 2, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

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Saturday, Dec. 2, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

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Saturday, Dec. 2, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

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Saturday, Dec. 2, 10:30–11 a.m.

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Saturday, Dec. 2, 10:30–11:30 a.m.

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Saturday, Dec. 2, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

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Saturday, Dec. 2, 2–3 p.m.

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Saturday, Dec. 2, 6–9 p.m.

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Owen Atkinson Artist Talk

Saturday, Dec. 2, 5–6 p.m.

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