A Gift from my Grandmother

My family is made up of women who sewed, including my mother, my maternal grandmother, and my aunt.  I've written about them before, but I haven't said much about my paternal grandmother, Ella Richards Nelson, who knitted and crocheted.  Her real specialty was the beautiful ceramic work she did. Here's a picture of her with my grandfather taken around the late 1960's. (I believe my mother made that shirt my grandfather is wearing.)

My grandmother has been gone a long time . . . decades . . . and she was taken from us too soon by Alzheimer's Disease.  The last time I saw her she had been vegetative for a long time, spending 100% of her time curled up in her bed.  On that last visit, however, she came back to us for just a few seconds, when I showed her pictures of my children.  She opened her eyes and said, "They've grown!"  It was the first time she had spoken in over a year.  It was wonderful to have that last bit of communication with her, if only for the briefest of moments.

She left behind a beautiful ceramic nativity that I have enjoyed for many years.  She had ten grandchildren, and she made one of these sets for several of them.  I was the only one lucky enough to receive all of the pieces in the set.

It is quite large, and so it's difficult to get a good picture of the whole thing.  She gave it to me over a period of about seven years, a few pieces each year.  The first pieces were Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus.

When she first started making them, she had a steady hand, and the faces are beautifully painted.  In fact, all the pieces in my set are perfect.  She made a set for my mom and dad some years later, and her hands were not nearly so steady.  It showed in the faces when they were held side by side, but all of her work was beautiful nonetheless.

She gave me these first pieces in 1965.  It's hard to believe it's been nearly 50 years.

The next year I received the first king and his camel.  I think these are my favorite pieces because of how beautiful the painting is.  She achieved the look of crushed velvet on his robe by first painting with gold, firing it, and then painting it again with color.  Isn't he handsome?

This is his camel.  It was to have been painted with the same burgundy as the king, but she said it was difficult to get the gold paint to fire this perfectly, and so she left it, proud of what she'd accomplished.

Here are the other kings.  After so many years, all the sequins and pearls are still stuck fast.  That was some strong glue she used!

I love the mother-of-pearl effect on this one.

While the kings are elegant and sparkly, the remaining pieces are beautiful in their humility.  The colors of the paint always reminded me of candy.  Whenever it is set up, I find myself touching and stroking the pieces.  They are delightful to look at, but somehow compelling from a tactile standpoint as well.

I feel so fortunate to have this set.  It's a wonderful memento of my grandmother.  I hope that it can remain in my family, intact, for the enjoyment of generations to come.