Part of this newsletter features work by Daniela Mahoney and is written by Teresa Mahoney:

Traditional eggs – Egg ornaments made by workshop participants at the Victoria Czech Heritage Society in Victoria, TX using the traditional color-resist method with hot beeswax, candle flame and kistka (drawing tool).

Teresa Mahoney was crowned the 2008 1st Runner Up at the Miss Czech-Slovak US pageant. Teresa represented Oregon and she is the daughter of Daniela Mahoney, both continue to preserve our wonderful culture. Here is her mother’s story…. 

Czech Egg Artist & Cultural Educator Celebrates 30 Years 

It’s been a busy season for Czech folk-art preservation this year! 2013 marks Daniela Mahoney’s (my mom’s) 30th anniversary as an egg artist and cultural educator. And I couldn’t be more proud of the work she does! (See video I produced for her here).

This year, she traveled across the country to teach cultural weekends (a concept she recently developed) where organizations can invite her to give lectures, art demonstrations and teach hands-on cultural crafts. Participants can experience everything from various methods of Czech egg decorating to Slovakian wheat weaving. It’s all very hands on, and most all, very fun!

In 2013 alone, she’s taught cultural weekends at T. G. Masaryk Czech school (Chicago, IL) the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (Cedar Rapids, IA) and the Victoria Mall on behalf of the The Victoria County Czech Heritage Society (Victoria, Texas).

In addition, the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library recently included her in their oral histories collection, a recorded interview that tells the story of how she transitioned from the Communist Czech Republic to Germany, and finally to the US. (see here).

By day, she’s a social worker living in Oregon, but her true passion still remains: to preserve and promote the Czech and Slovak heritage. Here’s to many more years of spreading tradition!

To try some heritage exploration at home, Daniela has a line of activity books that encourage educational cultural entertainment. For updates on Daniela’s work and travels, please follow her Facebook artist page or “Czech” out her new website at danielam.com!

Click here to see the entire newsletter (pdf).