Bunny With a Tool Belt - Shelley Beatty

Jen planned a non-stop vacation for us in Portland.
We visited B.J. at work at Intel. We went shopping. We visited Portland’s Museum of Contemporary Craft. One interesting exhibit was one in which each item of clothing had a story to it. It was bought off of EBay and there had to be a story connected with the item or it wasn’t added to the collection. One was a flapper dress from the “roaring twenties” It was the narrowest dress I had ever seen The wearer must have been tiny. The dress had blood splatters on it from a stabbing the wearer had witnessed! Quite the story.

Museum of Contemporary Craft Portland Oregon

I like the artist Hilary Pfeifer, Bunny With a Tool Belt. She has items in the gift shop. We bought the book Arfabet

Arfabet by Hilary Pfeifer

And Jenn had a surprise for me. Hilary Pfeifer lives in Portland. Jenn contacted her and arranged for us to met her at her studio. What a rare treat!! We had her sign our books.

Artist Hilary Pfeifer and Jenn

Artist Hilary Pfeifer’s art studio, Portland, Oregon

Jenn at the studio

Jack and BJ and artist Hilary Pfeifer

Walking up the driveway, even it was decorated.

Work in progress at Hilary Pfeifer’s art studio.

I had to add one more of Hilary Pfeifer’s (Bunny With A Tool Belt) nativities to my collection:

Bunny With a Tool Belt Nativity

NATIVITIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

A nativity from Zambia:

Wire and Twine Nativity from Zambia.

This Nativity is made from wire and twine by George and Faith Mushipi, who are house parents for the Children’s Resource Center, an orphanage in Lusaka, Zambia. George bends five different kinds of wire and wraps the twine for the Nativity stable and figures, while Faith hand-stitches the colorful clothing and stuffs the figures with wool. The standing figures measure 7 inches tall. The stable measures 11.75 inches tall to the top of the angel.

The couple jointly cares for the 25 orphans on the property. George is responsible for the social development of the children, while Faith does the cooking and cares for the children’s emotional and physical needs.

Wool nativity from Bolivia

This Nativity from Bolivia is made from handspun, handwoven sheep’s wool that is dyed using natural pigments. The figures are fashioned after the traditional dress of Andean shepherds and Inca royalty. Mary and baby Jesus are depicted in traditional Aymara clothing. The 10-piece set includes Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, two shepherds, a llama, a cow, and three wise men. The standing figures measure approximately 8 inches tall.

Pastor Mendoza lives in a small community, a 2-hour walk from the village of Sorata. Over the past 20 years, he has concentrated on becoming a reliable and accomplished doll maker. His wife and 5 children also help in the making of the dolls and Nativities. In this way, his children grew up learning artisan techniques.

Pastor’s community is very united, with each family focusing strongly on agricultural production. The main crop is corn, yet peas, beans, and potatoes are also popular crops. In Pastor’s community, the men take turns carrying out the responsibilities of leading the community. At the end of the year, the community responsibilities will be redistributed. Pastor doesn’t yet know what he will be asked to do for the coming year, or if he may have some time off from community duties.

Until recently, Pastor’s village did not have electricity nor a road going to it. Those in the positions of responsibility in the community spent much time and energy in the official requests for these improvements, which have proven fruitful. It is now much easier to get produce to market using the new road. With electricity it is much easier for the children to do homework or the parents to do their handcrafts into the evening hours.

I purchased these nativities from the website www.worldnativity.com.

This next nativity is by a US artist, Hiliary Pfeifer, Bunny With a Tool Belt. She has become quite recognized as an artist since I bought my first nativity made by her.

Nativity by Hiliary Pfeifer, Bunny With a Tool Belt.

This is a cloth nativity from Ghana:

Cloth nativity from Ghana.

And finally a fun nativity from Mexico that was given to me by my friend; Ellen Duckworth.

Mexican nativity.

Additional nativities can be seen at this post and this one.

The fun continues in Portland!

A few more nativities from around the world….