It's ironic that while I don't 'do' christmas, neither the religious one nor the secular one, don't feel compelled to get a tree or decorate the house or make endless batches of cookies or even succumb to the obligatory gift giving, I love christmas tree ornaments. Well, not all. The simple balls, glittery or not, don't do anything for me. I have a few antique ornaments and a few others I've bought over the years from fellow artists that I display year round on a metal cup hanger thing I found at an estate sale years ago. I have a few others that aren't on it as all the hooks are occupied. I mostly don't buy the ones I like because I don't put up a tree and unless I have a way to display them, what's the point?
The antique ornaments are left over from the hand blown German ones my parents bought when they first married and a few have survived the years. I have a bird,
a little bear,
a frog,
and mushrooms.
My sister Pam has more of them as she actually puts up a tree though they aren't on her tree this year because of the Demon Duo and their first year with a tree.
A Santa, the only one she could readily find a picture of.
I remember the Santas, a church with a steeple, a pinecone, a table lamp, a swan, a basket of flowers, a trumpet, a house. I'm sure there were others. To be honest, I had to do an image search for antique german blown glass christmas ornaments to jog my memory for some of the ones I couldn't readily call to mind.
From artists...a gilded dragonfly wing by Fahan Sky McDonal on the left and a turned wood ornament by Thomas Irwin on the right,
this one a gift from Kathy Barnard which hangs in my window but the camera would not focus on it there,
a little birdhouse from a gallery in Canada,
and my little robot made from watch and clock parts I picked up at an antique store.
A few others that hang in various places...these two stars picked up at estate sales,
another little blown glass bird,
and a dragonfly my sister gave me.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.
