Bonnie Dorner of West Point is the winner of the 2005 White House Easter Egg Artistry Contest organized by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Poultry and Egg Division, in conjunction with the American Egg Board.

Dorner's egg has been sent to the American Egg Board, which will work with the White House in creating the 2005 Easter Egg Display. One egg from each state and the District of Columbia will make up the display.

To create her depiction of Nebraska, Dorner cut out a heart-shaped opening of the egg that was outlined in ruby crystal and pearl chain. She used "Nebraska, America's Heartland" as the theme of her egg. Inside, the focus is on agriculture with a tiny tractor, farmer and farm animals. There is a cutout of the state along with the State Capitol. A ruby and pearl trimmed heart is on the back with a ruby N on each side. Dorner was also the winner of the 2003 competition.

Dorner's egg was chosen from an assortment of eggs entered by several amateur Nebraska artists. Second place went to Vicky Gellinger of Bancroft. Gellinger's acrylic-painted egg expresses "Nebraska, Possibilities...endless" and features Lewis and Clark, the Archway Monument, a farm scene with farm animals and ears of corn, fine arts and theatre, the State Capitol, and the Nebraska State Seal on top of the egg. Gellinger was the winner of the 2004 competition.

Veronica Kiuntke of Columbus received third place. Kiuntke hand painted the Western Meadowlark, Nebraska's state bird, on her egg. With its colorful plumage, the bird is shown in scenes of its natural environment of fields, pastures, open grasslands and prairies where the popular bird can be found throughout the state.

Each artist decorated a large, blown-out chicken egg to depict special feature(s) of Nebraska. In this and previous years, artists adorned eggs with painted and dyed landscapes and symbols as well as feathers, grains and beads. The entries were displayed for public viewing and voting at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Morrill Hall in Lincoln from August through October.

The White House Easter Egg Artistry Contest has been an annual event. The Poultry and Egg Division of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, in conjunction with the American Egg Board, hope to sponsor the contest again next year.