I usually paint a set of Christmas egg ornaments during the summer months. And, I have been known to play Christmas music while painting. I did that a little earlier in the summer, but in the past few weeks, I've been working on something very special to my heart. For a brief two years, I lived in Ohio in between 20 years that I spent working overseas. During that time, I painted a nativity set for my mother. I spread the project over two years. If you know my standards, you know that I put a lot of detail and time into my work. For the first year, Mom got the Holy Family, an angel, and the shepherds. The second Christmas, she received the wisemen and camels.
It was an incredibly time-consuming labor of love.
I always assumed that eventually, someday, the set would be mine. Things didn't work out quite as expected. Mom loved the nativity set and kept it on display throughout the year. That was the good part of the situation. But, sadly, Mom struggled with dementia for twelve years. At one point in the battle, she feared that people would break into her home and steal everything she had. To prevent that theft, she held several items to her chest as she roamed the house. And, nearly every day, she dropped and broke some of her treasures. Sad to say, the nativity figurines were not immune.
When I moved back to Ohio, about 15 years ago, there was no trace of the nativity. I figured that all of the pieces eventually were tossed in the trash as they were broken. And, I held on to that belief, never really understanding why my brother didn't pack the set away.
A little over a year ago, my brother sold Mom's house. As my sister and I helped pack up the belongings, she discovered a box hidden somewhere in the garage. Half of the long-lost nativity set was discovered, mostly undamaged. I found some plaster for ceramics and fixed a few chips. I repaired the existing pieces to the best of my abilities. However, I was missing three camels, two wisemen, and Mary's left forearm.
The original set was painted more than 30 years ago. Vintage ceramics like that are not easy to locate. Even with the joys of an internet search, it was very hard. I successfully located one shop that offered the set, but the man who ran the store was very sick. He wasn't in any condition to check his shop, and he certainly couldn't create any new pieces.
That connection was a no go.
Months later, I found another connection. Thank you, Internet images searches. The second location was in Canada. I successfully found a woman who could create the figures I needed and merrily send them to Ohio! Ho! Ho! Ho! I must say that the postage from Canada cost about as much as the actual ceramics. It didn't matter. I was getting the long-awaited pieces to re-complete my mother's set.
When you see the figures, you'll see the detail. The first time around, I didn't need bifocals or a magnification lamp to paint the ceramics. That is no longer the case. While I painted away to my heart's content, I set up a painting workshop in my living room. I spent about two days or more on each figure. At the same time, I binge-listened to episodes of Simon & Simon, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Scarecrow & Mrs. King. The shows are oldies but goodies, just like the nativity set I painted.
I have the set on display in a hutch that once belonged to my mother. Yep, it will be on display throughout the year. If I ever start to display signs of dementia, give me an arsenic brownie and pack up the nativity for someone else who will appreciate it. It doesn't need to be repaired a second time. It would be hard to find anyone else patient enough to bring the set back to life.
