De Shae Villoch

The fifth of seven children, DeShea was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, to Mattie and Watson Uhls. Her father was a mechanic and farmer, and her mother tended the home and worked the fields alongside her husband and children.
Shy and introverted DeShea was a dreamer. She loved animals, particularly the magestic horse. Her dreams took her to places unknown °V sometimes on one of her pretend Stallions, and sometimes as one of the herd. She was known to "gallop" into the woods where she often remained for hours at a time. It was not unusual to find her snuggled in a hollowed out oak tree being entertained by God's creatures scampering about their daily business without fear of the little human in their midst.
DeShea aspired to be a writer of children's stories or a dancer. She married young to a "city slicker" ~ her first and only date. By age 24 she found herself a single mother of two: Sandy and Keith. Keith was born with multiple birth defects accompanied with mental retardation. By necessity Sandy played a mother's role while DeShea worked several jobs to support her family.
A tall Texan lured DeShea away from her beloved family and beautiful hills and valleys of her birth place. Their marriage was of a short duration, and eight years later she met Mr. Right. Julio and DeShea Villoch have a small emu farm, "Big Bird Villa," in Odem, Texas. Their birds produce the emu oil for dShae's Essentials, the farm's private label health and beauty products. Emu farming was the opening to DeShea's adventure into egg art.
In August, 1997, a guest speaker at a farmers' meeting happened to touch on the subject of carved emu eggs. Displayed was a simple but impressive hummingbird silhouetted against the beautiful aqua blue shell layer. Upon learning a dremmel drill was used to create this lovely piece of art,
DeShea's thought processes went into high gear. She wondered if carving emu shells would be a good outlet for her son. Keith had been in depression since the closing of a sheltered workshop where he enjoyed wood working. A woman with a mission, DeShea took over her husband's dremmel and proceeded to experiment. As she learned she taught Keith. Her instincts were right on the mark. Keith came back to life with this newfound outlet.
As Keith carved silhouettes, DeShea "prettied" them up. It wasn't long before both Mother and Son were hooked. Curiosity and boredom with silhouettes challenged DeShea to experiment with all layers of the rare emu shell to create different effects. Silhouette art soon progressed to animal portraits. And yes, her first portrait was that of an Arabian horse. DeShea's childhood dreams have now come full circle.
DeShea's "egg play" turned serious three months later with her first commission. A major oil refinery purchased eight limited editions of "The Lonesome Dove" for their annual Dove Hunt, a fund raising event for The United Way charity. She has since created over 100 commissioned pieces of a wide variety of subjects: angels, birds, flowers, pet portraits, seascapes, domestic and wildlife.
DeShea's unique carving technique on the emu shell propelled her hobby into a profession. She has recently expanded into other forms of eggery but scratch art on the emu shell continues to be her first love. She encourages anyone interested in scratch art on the emu shell to just jump in; trace a design or picture onto the shell and begin playing with the different layers.
"Egg art," says DeShea, "is a wonderful stress release."

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