Every Christmas from 1978 to 1996 my mother designed, created and sent out over 200 handmade ceramic Christmas ornaments. The steps were tedious but they were a gift from her heart.
First, she poured plaster into a paper cup and when it dried she etched a design in the side with the larger diameter. The design, which included the year, had to be created in reverse so that the ornaments came out correctly. Next, she poured slip (clay that is thinned and has the approximate consistency of cream) onto the etched design to make the ornament. When it was partially dry she would carefully lift it off the plaster mold and place it onto a cookie sheet, poke a hole near the top and let it dry completely while pouring the next one. Once she had made 15 - 20 ornaments she would then fire them in a kiln creating bisque porcelain ornaments. The next step was to coat each ornament with glaze, which gave the ornament its color and then. once again, fire them in the kiln. This process continued until she had all 200 plus ornaments. The final step was to attach a red ribbon through the hole. The ornaments were then placed in bubble wrap, so they didn’t break, and mailed.
Not all the ornaments made it through the process in one piece and there were times when my mom had to “borrow” mine to send to someone. The year I decided to put all the ornaments in a shadow box I realized I was missing several. I was heartbroken. My mom had died earlier that year and I so wanted this as a memory. My mother-in-law who knew my mom well gave me her entire set…a gift from her heart.
© Nancy Scheitler 2014