by John Elmore
3. December 2010 13:52
Bob Bishop, 92, spent many years doing intricate work with his hands, carving and painting St. N
icholas figures and more. Now he enjoys looking at them. You can, too.
Bob and his wife Charlotte live at The Terraces at MapleCreek, where their daughter, Jane Varda, recently worked with Terraces activity assistant Linda Cross to set up in the lobby a display case of many of his Christmas figurines. “I really like the egg-shaped ones,” Charlotte said with a smile, referring to the Mr. and Mrs. Claus figurines.
Bob recalled that his working with wood began some decades ago after they found a two-level barn that contained a complete workshop. Charlotte said, "It had everything in it." One day she went to a craft fair. "She told me she wanted one of those Santa figurines," Bob said. "I thought about it and told her, 'I can make that.'" And his love of wood carving was born. “I don’t know how many of those little St. Nicholas figures I made and gave away to people in the neighborhood over the years,” he said.
Jane remembers, “Dad would make drawings in all three dimensions and plan out each piece. Then he would pick up a piece of wood and begin carving.”
There are also two Christmas reindeer figures that Jane pieced together for the display. “I saw a reindeer like that in a Macy’s catalogue,” Bob said. “I liked it so much I decided to make my own.”
Bob loves art. He signed up for the watercolor painting class offered at The Terraces. “He had painted before, so he really took to it,” Jane said. “Since his stroke, he has had to learn to do everything with his left hand – and even so his paintings are pretty good.”
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