31 DAYS of SANTA CLAUS Day 6 Bill Evans One of a Kind Woodcarvings

Another day of working on the lake house, so no Santa crafting for me, plus I have to keep this short! I only have until my husband finished his second cup of coffee and his breakfast yogurt to get this post finished before I'm off to work.

However, I do want to tell you a bit about my collection and the amazing woodcarvings by Bill Evans. Without going into a lot of details about Mr. Evans (you can find that on his website at http://christmaswhispers.com), I want to talk about why I began collecting his work.

Santas aren't the only thing I collect. The shelves on each end and the brass candle holder with the red candle are Ross Lindblad originals. He once had a studio in Ruston, LA and created lovely cabinets, furniture, lamps, and decorating accessories. I actually have a collection of his work that includes four table lamps. 

I used to live in San Antonio and Del Rio, TX and in November or December I would visit Wimberley, TX during their Market Days on the first Saturday of the month. This was when the vendors started bringing out their vintage Santas, bottle brush trees, and ornaments. I just love it, and the weather is usually wonderful that time of year.

For a few years, there was an adorable little shop within walking distance of the market. It was a Christmas themed shop that sold Anthony Costanza, Paul Bolinger, Lyn Haney, and other hand crafted originals.

The one to the left is carved
from a cypress knee

Unfortunately, the store didn't make it, but during its heyday, I was able to purchase some pricey pieces by some of the lesser known artist, but I will get to that later. The point to this digression is PRICE. I'm talking hundreds to thousands for original hand carved pieces.

So, in 2000, I found Bill Evans carved Santas on eBay at very reasonable starting bids. Mr. Evans has definitely created his own style and has given his Santas a serious expression. At the time I bought my first pieces, I can't remember if he had a website or not, but now his work can be seen all year long and it is still very affordable (approximately $7/inch) PLUS he does custom orders!

I encourage everyone take a look at his website and add one of his beautiful works of art to your holiday decor or Santa Claus collection.

Happy SANTA CLAUS crafting and collecting!

Cypress Knee Santas, Popeyes and other ways to Celebrate Christmas!

I have just spent about 40 hours painting 8 cypress knees most of which are going to the daughters-in-laws of a very sweet man who harvests the cypress knees from his property, boils them til the bark is soft enough to pull off, and dries them in his oven.
There is nothing quite like the smell of cypress knees drying in the oven.
Why I forgot to photograph the naked cypress knees before I painted them, I have no idea, but there is something curious about the twists and knobs on the knees that just speak to me.  Just check out this LINK to get an idea of what they look like naked.  Not all cypress knees can be a Santa Claus, although I've seen other artists just slap a face and beard on any old thing (actually, I've done that as well) so I like to "find" the Santa in cypress knee.
My friend, who began bringing me his cypress knees to paint about 10 years ago, made some special requests for this year's lot that reflected the individuals who would be receiving them as Christmas gifts.

My friend's family has grown in the past couple of years with the addition of two grandson's, a 21 month old and one just born on Monday the 20th, and two more special grandsons by marriage all who call him "Popeye".
So I want to share these with you all.  The tallest of the lot is only 9 inches tall and the smallest (not pictured with this group and was to be a gift for a friend at work) was only 2 inches.
Here are some other photos of the individual cypress knees.

 

 

Geri's Gallery of Cast Off Masterpieces "Embroidered Bouquet" and "Madonna and Child Box"

I am still cleaning an organizing my studio for summer classes and I came across these two poor little cast off objects d' art.

The frame this little embroidered bouquet came in was plastic so I simply switched it out with another yard sale find (actually, from the yard sale of a fellow artist...I just LOVE her yard sales!) that I found more befitting the diligent work of the small (3x4) embroidered piece.

The next piece was a 4x6 wooden box that someone decoupaged a Madonna and Child on a background of antiqued green.  The inside had never been finished and the box lacked the structure for the lid to remain in place.

So I used some leftover mottled gold and red mat board and created the sides, bottom and top for the inside of the box and glued them in place.

Then I painted the interior edges of lid and the visible white portions of the mat board gold.






 Okay, so I haven't been doing any original work...but I'm getting there!