Christmas!

OK.  Halloween is over.  I feel I can now officially start introducing my Christmas work.  I hated to push it, bringing it up before Halloween.  It's bad enough that Thanksgiving gets shoved aside.  But now that the spooks have all gone home for the night, I think it's high time to start showing you all the wonderful holiday creations that I have been working on all summer.  (Christmas starts in July around here....I know you fellow artists and crafters know what I'm talking about.)

Since 1990 I have designed over 400 different Christmas ornaments, and handcrafted each one individually by hand from polymer clay in limited editions of five.   Exactly how many different ways can you make a Santa or a snowman?  Sometimes I wonder if the creative well is going to run dry, but somehow I always seem to come up with something new.  I honestly don't know how it happens, but I am eternally grateful that it does. 

I will be introducing my ornaments one at a time over the course of the coming weeks.  All of them are currently available in my etsy shop, so you can go browse them at any time.  So here goes....

Loading Up

 

I'm starting with one of my very favorites this year, Loading Up.  I have a thing for tiny little details, and this ornament is full of them.  Santa is getting ready for his big night, packing up his big leather bag and checking his list to make sure he's got everything.  What a disaster it would be if he left someone out!! 

 

 

This ornament has HUNDREDS of itsy-bitsy pieces of clay.  Every one of those little toys has been hand cut from colored polymer clay.  I draw the little details in with a needle tool, and I add the tiniest drop of paint to highlight the eyes.  The titles on the books and the list of 'names' are written on with a permanent marker.  Otherwise, every different color you see is a wee bit of clay. 

 

This bag is FULL of toys:  Raggedy Ann, a curly headed doll, a toy soldier, a teddy bear, two books, a car, a dollhouse, drum, football, a baseball and glove, a little pink bunny, some candy canes and a few wrapped surprises.  I love all the little details in this piece.  It is a very labor intensive ornament, but it truly is a labor of love. 

 

I've sold my ornaments to hundreds of people across the Midwest.  I have many very loyal collectors who I appreciate more than I could ever say.  These wonderful people along with my family have kept me motivated all these years to come up with new ideas and fresh ways to make a Santa.  I'm so thrilled to be able to share my work with a larger audience this year, and I hope that I will gain a few new collectors along the way.  But I will always remember where I started....with a few ornaments on a tiny tree at a little local craft show.  So many thanks to those of you who have been with me from the beginning.....you know who you are! :D

 

Have a wonderful day!

Lisa

 

PS--My ornaments are still produced in limited editions of five. I still create each one individually by hand.  They are signed, numbered and dated and come with a signed certificate of authenticity.  Until this year they have been sold under the name The Art Market.  Now they truly are A Piece of Lisa.