As I entered the Northfield Retirement Center I read a notice on the chapel door inviting people to watch an Artist-in-Residence paint a nativity scene.
The notice depicting the different stages of the nativity painting.
Apparently there were two opportunities to see the artist, Mark Daehlin, at work. The session for final touches to his painting was on Saturday. I was visiting a resident, not going to the program, but as I left the center I snapped a photo of the artist in action. I liked his painting style.
The artist, Mark Daehlin, at work.
I thought this was a great opportunity for the residents at the retirement center.
This was how far along this painting was before the artist started his final session.
The final product was going to used during the upcoming Christmas Eve service in the chapel.
The front cover of the book The Nativity. Illustrated by Julie Vivas.
Last week my 2 ½ year old granddaughter greeted me at her door with the these words,
“Grandma, will you help me find Jesus?”
Apparently when putting up the Advent Calendar, with characters from the nativity, the cloth embroidered Baby Jesus went missing and she had been looking all over the house for it.
My heart fluttered as I heard those sweet words, and my heartfelt response… “Of course Little One, I will help you find Jesus!”
Definition of Crèche according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary: a representation of the Nativity scene.
Last December I read an article about a church in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, that permanently displays one woman’s collection of 1,000 crèches. It immediately piqued my interest and I told my friend about it. We decided right then that we would meet in Oshkosh for our next annual get-away.
This was a beautiful hand-painted porcelain crèche from Ireland.
We were not disappointed. The Algoma Boulevard United Methodist Church indeed was open and welcoming. The church office administrator brought us downstairs and unlocked the door to three rooms for us to peruse 1,000 chèches from around the world. She turned on the lights, and turned on Christmas music to set the mood, then left us alone to take it all in.
Norway
Mildred Turner started collecting nativities in 1988 to help her overcome some set backs in her life. We wanted to know more about her but couldn’t find much information. Was she married? If so, what did her husband think of all these crèches? Where did she find room to display them as she was collecting them?
Photo of Mildred Turner.
Sizes ranged from a miniature crèche, about the size of the tip of my index finger, to large public outdoor display pieces. There were crèches made from just about any art medium you can think of…colored crystal bells, Lladró’s fine porcelain, metals, stone, pottery, shells, clay, wood, fabric, ivory, yarn…the list goes on. We didn’t know what to expect but this was a wonderful display of quality crèches. Even the two crèches made of Popsicle sticks were well done.
Popsicle sticks and cloths pins and felt. This could possibly be a future project for grandchildren…
Although there were many unique crèches I think the story behind the wood-carved crèche deserves extra attention. German prisoners of war carved it during WW II. They were housed at Green Lake, about 30 miles from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Several of the men whittled this set during their free time. It is not known why this nativity set was left behind when the prisoners were transferred to another camp a few months later. It’s wonderful that this nativity scene is a part of this collection.
Part 1 of the German Prisoner’s wood-carving.
Part 2 of the German prisoner’s wood carving.
All the crèches were cataloged and we could look up individual pieces if we wanted to, but that felt overwhelming. Thankfully a lot of the crèches were labeled as to where they were from and/or the medium, although I didn’t capture the info in my photos. We spent a couple hours enjoying all the pieces, pointing out the unusual, taking pictures of our favorites.
Made from birch bark.
The stars lit up on this ceramic crèche light.
This was our first morning in Oshkosh. Our trip was off to a good start.
Additional photos:
Bright colored metallic.
Recycled Glass.
Interesting life-size mannequins.
Metal sculpture.
A Franklin Mint piece.
Made of Ivory, from India.
A unique porcelain music box nativity, that plays “O, Little Town of Bethlehem” apparently Mildred Turner’s favorite.
Counted Cross-stitch. This piece has the date 1988, the year Mildred Turner started her collection.
When I learned out about a Crèche Exhibition from Audrey Helbling’s Minnesota Prairie Roots blog I knew I wanted to go see it this Christmas season. The exhibit features several of Kathleen Putrah’s Crèches she has collected from around the world. The exhibit is in the Carlander Family Gallery at the Paradise Theater in Faribault, Minnesota.
Porcelain, through glass…tough to get a good photo.
One of my favorites…this included many African wild animals coming to the stable.
Each crèche was distinctive. They were made from all kinds of materials: wood, porcelain, glass, there were icons and paintings and a quilt. There was a large Christmas tree in the corner and it was loaded with all manner of manger scene ornaments.
A Christmas tree in the corner was full of manger scene decorations.
The display in the Gallery was fun to look at however the crèches were not identified as to where they came from. That would have added a lot of interest to the collection. I always like to hear the stories. Apparently the display is a partial collection from the many crèches Kathleen has in her home. She started collecting in 1974.
A sweet picture of Joseph with Mary kissing her baby.
I have my own mini-crèche collection. I never intended to collect them. I have six and I display them every Christmas.
It started with a gift from my mother. She purchased a manger scene, carved from olive wood, when she was on a trip to Israel many years ago. It is special and beautiful.
My own clay interpretation of Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus that I made when I was a child.
I wish I remembered what year I made this clay sculpture of the nativity scene.
My sons brought this for me from their travels in South America.
I inherited the embroidered picture of the manger scene from my mom.
My mother framed this card she received from her grandson who brought it from Africa.
In 2014 our family spent Christmas in Africa and I brought this home with me.
In 2016 our family spent Christmas in Portugal and I bought this home with me.
The créche exhibition at the Paradise Theater closes Friday, December 22.
