31 DAYS of SANTA CLAUS Day 8 Sad Day for One Anthony Costanza Santa

I did an update on my post (Day 3) when an Anthony Costanza Santa that I won on eBay arrived in the mail broken.

I was so excited about receiving this Santa. He was about two inches taller than the tallest on I have already. Most of my Costanzas are about ten inches or less. 

But today, I had to take him to the post office to file a claim. They had to keep him and told me he would be tossed in the trash once the claim and been accepted. This made me terribly sad. I doubt I will ever find this exact one from the same "generation" as the other pieces in my collection that is actually signed by the artist, nor will I be able to find one at that price.

Perhaps the Lord did no mean for me to have him.

Yet still, I have been searching eBay for Costanzas that I can afford and I found this one. 

He was manufactured by Enesco, but I think he will go well with my other Costanza Ded Moroz by Enesco.

The Costanzas I purchased in the 90's (Silvestri) have a different face and artistic style. This one is very similar, but if you compare the other faces, I think you'll notice the difference.

I almost always paint my Santas with blue eyes. Most of the Costanza Santas I have collected have brown eyes, with the exception of Ded Moroz.

This next Costanza Santa in the chimney is from around the same time frame as my original collection and was a product of Silvestri as well.

As you can see, he is also signed by the artist and he will look great with my other traditional Santa by Costanza.

I am still waiting for these to arrive in the mail. Lets hope they make it intact.

I just love the way Anthony Costanza carves his Santa's faces!

And then there is this guy. He's only about 6.5" tall. At first the seller was asking a lot for the opening bid. The seller claimed it was wood, but I sent them a message to explain that since it is marked Silvestri on the bottom, and numbered, then this piece is actually made of resin. 

I also asked them (since the auction ended without a bid) if they would please re-list this Santa with an option to make an offer. They did, and when I made a very reasonable offer, they accepted. So, as of now, I am still expecting him to come in the mail.

All photos from this blog were pulled from their original eBay posts. Once I get all my Santas in, I will add them to my collection for a wonderful group photo to share with you.

I did not get to craft any of my own Santas today because I was substitute teaching art for grades Kindergarten through fifth. Teachers who work multiple grades every day must feel as though they have a split personality due to the way they must adjust their teaching and classroom management skills to every level.

But I just loved meeting all the new Kindergarten students and seeing how much my other students have grown and changed over the summer. The best part of being a substitute is that I get to "spoil" the students, like a grandmother, then give them back.