MariaSaracino's Blog

Today I launched my new website. I thought it would be an overwhelming project, but with the help of Shopify I was able to create an easy-to-use site. I did this so I could update and manage the site myself. Please let me know what you think. You can find me at http://www.saracinocollection.com

I’m introducing several new products that I hope you will enjoy. First are the hand-sculpted ornaments. These characters are all one-of-a-kind and look amazing on your Christmas tree. Each is hand sculpted in polymer clay directly onto a wood spool. A finial is added to the top and bottom and hand-painted in a rich old world red. A beautiful addition to your collection or as a gift. Along the same lines are my spool sculptures. These Old World Santas are sculpted on vintage wooden spools that range from 4 to 10 inches tall. These antique wooden spools add additional old world charm to my sculptures. They are stand alone pieces that look beautiful on your mantle or table.

What else is new? Teaching you how to do what I do. This year I dipped my toes into the world of teaching by offering workshops and kits that you can assemble yourself. There’s a bit of a learning curve involved when you are used to working by yourself at your own pace, but with the help of some good friends and good advice, my first few workshops have been successful and hopefully more of you will be interesting in learning some of my techniques and exploring your creative side. Here’s a little note I received from one of my students.

“I have to write to tell you how much I truly enjoyed working with you yesterday.  I am absolutely so in love with my first clay fairy that I swear, I woke during the night and snuck downstairs just to look at her.

Please feel free to add any of my comments to your blog.  I have only worked with clay on a few occasions and was hesitant at first as I have seen photos of Maria’s sculptureson her blog.  They are so detailed, I thought at first site, they were the most beautiful fairies  I have ever seen.  Each one coming to life with a unique look.

When I arrived at Maria’s studio, she put me at ease right away, with her calming, easy going and pleasant demeanour.

As an instructor, I cannot say enough, she is patient and very easy to follow.  She teaches by sculpting right along with you, showing you every step of the process to create your own beautiful fairy.

I am so pleased with my very first fairy sculpture, I cannot wait to start my second.  I would recommend this class for anyone who was ever thinking they might like to work with clay.

I also enjoyed working with Maria and was so surprised at how easy she was to follow, that I am signing up for her next course right away.  She is a true artist and anyone would be truly crazy not to take an opportunity to work with her.”

Thank you again so much

Looking forward to your next class

Kim Stevens

Spring is just around the corner and for those of you who believe in magic, you know it’s when those mystical and mischievous characters wake up from their winter slumber. What better way to dust off the winter than with a refreshing bubble bath. These little fairies find all sorts of places to wash off the winter blues and sparkle their wings.

These one of a kind bathing fairies are only 6-7″ tall and are made from polymer clay and my secret formula bubbles.
This year I’m getting ready to share some of my secret techniques and methods by offering several workshops.

Bathtub Fairies will be one workshop available in my studio. This one will also be available as an online class.

I will also have workshops scheduled for Making Silicone Molds and Resin Casting, Making a 24″ One-of-a-Kind Heirloom Santa and Making a Faerie Godmother (packaged kits include resin body cast). Classes and workshop will begin in June.

Let me know if you are interested in any of the workshops and I’ll add your name to the list. More information to follow.

The December meeting of the Miniature’s Club of Ottawa was the grand reveal for the “dress the elf” challenge.
Here are some pictures of the incredible work the members did of dressing naked elves.
Enjoy!

Recently I came across these delightful little sweater ornaments. I still have several shelves of elves that were in various stages of dress and decided to give the littlest ones a new outfit. The sweaters are embroidered with 2012 on the back. The red one has a little penguin on the front and the green one has a christmas tree. If you would like to order one or a few contact maria@saracino.ca

Canada’s Capital finally has a year round Christmas store. Tinseltown Christmas Emporium celebrated their grand opening on Saturday, September 15th. They are also the exclusive Canadian representatives of my original Christmas sculptures.

You can’t miss my old world Father Christmas along with several other one-of-a-kind pieces – they are part of the store’s window display. The store is packed with unique ornaments, collectibles and home decor for the Christmas enthusiast. On the other side of the store you’ll find home decorating items, all with an old world feel to them.  My work is right at home in this environment.  If Canada’s capital is on your list of places to visit then Tinseltown Christmas Emporium should be part of your sightseeing highlights.

Below are a couple of photographs of two special pieces, Belsnickel and Julenisse. You can listen to the local television interview about the new store at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F2KIuRMsSw&feature=plcp

WWW.SARACINO.CA

The creative juices have been flowing this summer. Sculpting will always be front and center in what I do, but I’m also applying some sculpting techniques to paintings and wall art. I’m happy to announce that two new galleries have accepted my work. TinselTown, a new “year round” Christmas shop has just opened on Somerset Street and they will be carrying my original Christmas characters. I’ll be releasing the photographs of the new Christmas collection in the next week. For art collectors, you can see everything else I do at the new “Dutch Hill Gallery” in Spencerville. The grand opening of the new gallery, located in a renovated century old barn, takes place on Saturday, September 15th. You can find directions and information at http://www.thedutchhill.com

Here are examples of some art scuptures and wall art I will have on display at the gallery.

This piece is called “The Bath” and is 18″ wide x 14″ tall. Glass bubbles accent the bath scene.

Below is a series of three “Birch Tree” three-dimensional wall art. Sizes range from 48″ x 12″ to 7″ x 16″. I use a combination of wood, acrylic and wax.

Last but not least is my acrylic and polymer mermaid. I used metalic paints to create a sea shell finish. 48″ x 9″.

Stay tuned next week for information on TinselTown and my collection of Father Christmas from different parts of the world.

Here are the photos from St. Piux X Prom 2012. I designed the masks, background and centerpieces and 5 graduating students spent a couple of weekends helping me assemble and complete each of the components. It came together beautifully and the atmosphere at the Chateau Laurier (Ottawa’s Castle Hotel) was perfect for the theme.
The last photo is of my beautiful neice Samantha and her prom date Joe.

I have three beautiful nieces and as each one graduates from high school, I am recruited to help design and create the theme for their proms.  When Candice graduated the theme was an evening in Paris – the Eiffel tower welcomed the students and canvas sketches of Parisian themes done in blue and red decorated the room.

Four years later Samantha is graduating and the theme is a Venetian Masquerade. Together with the help of the prom committee, we spent several weekends working on the display and the masks.

Here are some of the masks we created and the work in progress.  I’ll post the finished work on Friday – the day of the prom.  One more prom to help with in three years when Ciera graduates.

Everyone deserves a “wee bit o’Irish luck” at this time of year. You don’t have to be Irish to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day – if you like to wear green and you enjoy a pint now and then, that’s all the reason you need.

Leprechauns are the mischievous cousins to Santa’s Elves. If you’re lucky enough to catch one you will be rewarded with prosperity, health and endless happiness. I’ve got a dozen of these little guys sitting around looking for a home. If you are interested in one, just drop me an email with your mailing address and I’ll invoice you through PayPal. They’re $20. each, shipping is included. I’ll be shipping by Priority Post on Tuesday morning (February 28th), so let me know.

elves@saracino.ca

If you’re interested in a little Leprechaun history, check out this video  – http://www.history.com/videos/leprechauns#leprechauns

Want to make something delicious to treat your family and friends . . . here’s an easy cake pop recipe . . . York Peppermint Pattie Cake Pops !

Bake a package white cake and set aside to cool. In the meantime pulse 24 snack size York Peppermint Patties in your food processor and place in a bowl.  When your white cake is almost cool,

crumble it or pulse it in your food processor and add it to the peppermint patties.  Mix well and form into two-bite size balls. Place on a cookie sheet and freeze for 20-30 minutes.

Just before you take them out of the freezer, melt some green candy coating in your microwave. Drop a few balls at a time into the candy coating and roll around. Gently lift them out and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Because the balls are cold the coating will set right away. You can go back and add some flourish with swirls and criss-cross patterns.  Enjoy!

Check out one of my earlier posts for another delicious St. Paddy’s day recipe.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Even though it’s over, the twelve days of Christmas continue, leading up to the Epiphany and the arrival of La Befana. According to Italian tradition you should not take down your tree until January 6th. That’s the day the three Kings visited Baby Jesus and the day La Befana visits all the children. La Befana is the Italian gift giver, but she is also known as Babushka in Russia. There are several different versions of the story, but this is my favourite.

La Befana was one of the inn keepers who turned Mary and Joseph away on their way to Bethlehem. According to the legend, the night before the Wise Men arrived at the manger they stopped at the inn of La Befana to ask directions. They invited her to come along but she replied that she was too busy. Then a shepherd asked her to join him but again she refused. Later that night, she saw a great light in the sky and decided to join the Wise Men and the shepherd bearing gifts that had belonged to her child who had died. She got lost and never found the manger.

Depending on what region of Italy you are from her appearance ranges from a benevolent old woman to a witch like hag. She always carries a broom and food treats.

The Befana you see here was part of a two year exhibit at the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec.

On the left is a close-up of the hand detail on this original one-of-a-kind sculpture. This version of La Befana is my interpretation of a more benevolent northern Italian Befana.

An excellent children’s book is “The Legend of Old Befana” by Tomie dePaola.  The traditional Italian poem that children sing as well as a more indepth history of La Befana and a few different versions of the story can be check out the following website . . .

http://www.historyandwomen.com/2009/12/legend-of-la-befana.html

http://saracino.ca/storeBefana.html