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.

Gourd Lamp by Geri

I am a gourd artist and have recently seen various gourd lamps and thought I would give it a try.

This is a small irregular shaped gourd grown in Douglas, LA several years ago.  Due to the gourd's assymetrical shape I just allowed myself to have some fun drilling holes in random lines and shapes then creating cutouts (usually from cracks created by the pressure I was putting on it with the drill) on the larger part of the gourd as if its growth had caused these random openings.

Tools:

Drill or Drill Press with random bits (too small: not effective for my purpose and too large: created chipped holes and splits which gives you little choice but to GET CREATIVE!!!!)

X-acto Knife (for cutting random shaped holes)

Wood Rasp (cleaning and beveling random shaped holes and opening for light fitting)

Sand Paper

Pencil (for drawing designs)

Materials:

Gourd

Gold spray paint, gourd dye, gourd wax and steel wool (I will explain)

Some form of stand.  This was just something I found at Goodwill and thought I could use it for a gourd.

Light Kit (I used the type you see for ceramic holiday houses but found one with a brown cord)

LED light (candle style comparable to 15 W bulb)  USE LED ONLY!!!!

I cut off the neck of the gourd at a point that was large enough to accommodate the  LED light and, using the wood rasp, smoothed the opening.  I dumped the seeds and debris out of the gourd.  This one was relatively easy to clean.

I drew some lines then alternated drill bits creating a series of holes.  If I split the gourd creating a hole I just used the X-acto knife.  Then I let the "art major" in me come out and looked for ways to turn my work into a better design addressing each line and shape to create a crafty work of art.

I used dyes (reds, greens, purple, and browns) as the under glaze.  Once dry, I sprayed the inside of the gourd gold (to compliment the base) and lightly sprayed the dyed outer part of the gourd then used steel wool to scratch off the gold spray paint revealing the dye beneath.  This gives my gourd a vintage burnished look that i really like.  Once dry, I gave the gourd a good coat of gourd wax then buffed to a nice finish. 

I ran the light kit with the LED candlelabra bulb through the center of the stand and inserted into the gourd.  On this particular kit I had to adjust the tension pieces to accomdate the larger opening.

My advice: Do this on a gourd you could stand to toss if it doesn't work out.  In my case, little cracks, chips and splits (common on thinner gourds) just "encouraged" my creativity!!!!  I have other, more symetrical, gourds that I will attempt to create a deliberate pattern but as for this gourd, I am really pleased with how it turned out.  I learned a lot in the process of creating it and do not consider it a "practice" gourd, but an actual work of art.  The patterns of light on the wall are delightful and you can rotate the gourd to get different effects.

Remember...I teach classes and have all the tools and materials to help you craft your own gourd lamp!!!!