In need of drawing time today, I sat by the Chirstmas tree and did some quick line renderings of the ornaments. Poor things only get out once a year, so it was a nice way to appreciate their detail.
Earlier, our daughter remarked (in that disdainful teenager way), "Mom, the tree always looks the same". Yes, I guess we could go all Decorator Theme different each year, like maybe the white tree with hand-blown glass owls and eggs I saw in a posh gift shop in Chicago last week. But I love the sentimental connection with so many of our ornaments. Some go way back (before our teen was even a twinkle!) There are the dried citrus slices that I made the first year we were married- still translucent and evocative of simple times. Small, feather-light copper letter stencils, each with one of our initials, wave slightly in the warm currents of the house. There are wooden snowflakes and straw stars from Germany and velvety birds and shiny fish...Some are even made with the then-small fingers of the Disdainful One herself!
My friend Melissa makes fabulous doll ornaments- some with animal heads, others are human (one looks like Emily Dickingson!). I have several of these creations. They are clothed in begiling little print dresses and clutch a small item, a wreath or a holly leaf.
One of my old-timers is a tiny white angel; "The Macaroni Angel" we call her. She is made entirely of dried pasta, painted white. Her body is a penne or rigatoni; her wings are one bow-tie pasta; her arms are an "elbow" variety (of course), as are her tiny ringlet curls! It kills me to study how finely someone once made her long ago for a church bazaar.
Another anticipated face is one of those teensy chenille santas, glued into a gilted milk weed pod. The use of a treasure of nature to nestle a santa into has always charmed me.
Our tree will be up for the 12 days of Christmas, a family tradition (we put our tree up later than most, too). Then one by one, these miniature wonders will be stored again until next December. Sweet dreams, ornaments!
