Santa

Well it is that time of year and it is wonderful!  Yes, I am speaking about the Christmas season with all its lights, colours, giving and receiving.  

One of my customers challenged me to make her a 4 foot Santa and I accepted the challenge.  She wants to surprise her husband with an "over the top" gift for their home.  Once I accepted the challenge, I went to work.  I learned which style of Santa she wanted and then I looked for images on the internet and in my many reference books.  Armed with about 10 photos I started by gathering possible fabrics for my project.

I started with the head of the Santa.  If the head does not convey the feeling of merriment and mirth that I want in the Santa then the Santa will not be good enough no matter how lovely the costume.

I was prepared to make as many heads as it took but I lucked out on my first try:

I loved the way this fellow looks like he has a twinkle in his eye.  I made him using knit fabric that I stuffed as usual with polyfil and then I needle sculpted his face.  I then added paper clay to enhance his nose, eyes, eyebrows and add wrinkles to his sweet face. I then  added a thin coat of gesso and painted the face.  I was quite pleased with the effect.  The inspiration for this face was from an old illustration of Santa by Thomas Nast (from the book Christmas Drawings, Dover publication).  I have always loved his cheery depictions of Santa and as it turns out, my customer loved his drawing as well.

Now on to the body:  once again I used knit fabric as I wanted a nice round belly.  This Santa would not have legs as the size would make it very difficult to have cloth legs.  Here is the body:

Notice that I made the arms with a cotton fabric and then made knit arms as the overlay to blend in with his body.  I placed him on an old lamp stand with the rod through his body and head for support.  It worked well and made him easy to move around.

Now I could concentrate on the costume.  I decided that he would have a tunic and a luxurious cape.  The customer mentioned that her home is in the Tuscan style and colours so I used burgundy, gold, and ivory with hints of greenery.  It was fun finding just the right trims for him.  

 He needed a staff so I used an old broom handle and painted it and added a finial, trim and tassels to enhance the rich Tuscan feel of this Santa.

He needed a hint of greenery so I added some and placed two wee birds on his branch.  That is what he is looking at with his sweet grin.

Here are more photos from various angles:

 His beard, hair, and eyebrows are made from Tibetan mohair-perfect for Santa.

I had a piece of real fun in my stash and I used it around the hood of his cape and around his hat.

Final photos, I will miss him when he goes to his new home!

 I added some fun toys around his belt (he is Santa after all)!

Good bye Santa!