Many years ago, I’m thinking about twenty or so, I was inspired to make a set of wise men for my mom for Christmas. These “men” were a labor of love and I enjoyed every second of their creation. The fabrics were rich and the jewels were shiny and fabulous. I used clay for the first time, fashioning heads and hands. They were magnificent and Mom was thrilled to receive them as a Christmas gift and she displayed them for several holiday seasons.
Fast forward to the year of George, an active beagle puppy. I wasn’t present, but the story is that George ran into the house and headed straight toward the wise men. For some crazy reason he chomped on one of the men’s heads before leaving him for dead. My mom packed them up and handed them over to me for repair. When I opened the box I was horrified by the devastation! I couldn’t even take them out of the box. Up into the dark, creepy crawl space they went. Each year I moved the box farther back into the dark shadows but I couldn’t forget about them.
A few weeks ago I decided to resurrect the men and see what I could do to bring them back to life. They were a bit wrinkled, their beards were a little wild, and the trim on their robes was a little loose but hey, I could work with that. Before long, the robes were pressed and the trims were reattached. After a little hair and beard trim two of the men had been restored to their majestic selves. It was time to tend to the unfortunate third. Off with his head! I worked the new chocolate brown clay in my hands until it became soft and pliable. Before long I had shaped the head and added all the facial details. This guy was really coming to life. I painted his eyes and reassembled all the pieces giving new life to this injured soldier.
Refreshed and reunited, these guys don’t look like they have spent the past six years in a box in my crawl space. They now stand proudly waiting to usher in the holiday season. Merry Christmas my wise men.
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