Covid Claus

Jim,

I had an idea for a Christmas ornament a couple of weeks ago. Taking a basic Santa that most of us have carved and putting a facemask on him. Kind of having Santa, like everyone else, needing to wear a mask. I made 5 of them, painted them in traditional red, but adding the colors scrubs. Blue and green. I posted it on my Facebook page and within a day, I had request for 26 of them.

Ed Stover suggested I send it into Woodcarving Illustrated. I did and received a note back asking permission to use the letter and photos in an issue. I did, so it might be in an upcoming edition. 

Bill Schneider 

Ed Stover,

Here is the letter I sent to Woodcarving Illustrated.

I received a response this morning, asking permission to use it in ” future letters “.

I was going to send it to our club. Who should it go to?

Thanks for pushing me to do this.

Bill

Letter to Wood Carving Illustrated sent by Bill

Greetings,

I am a subscriber and woodcarver from Villa Hills Kentucky. I am a member of the River Valley Woodcarvers in Northern Kentucky ( suburban Cincinnati).

My focus is on Christmas and specifally ornaments. In addition to working on larger scale carvings, I typically give away 60 to 70 ornaments each year as gifts to family, friends, coworkers and customers. 

Admittedly, I haven’t progressed with my talents to match those in my group, but my joy is in giving a lasting gift to those that appreciate them.

Recently, I was enjoying a sunny day on the patio with my wife while I was carving. It struck me, that in the middle of this pandemic, that I should do something different this year. 

After a few attempts, I came up with this, an adaptation of a common Santa ornament. I added the mask to it and I call him Covid Claus. I made a few more and painted them blue and green – Santa in scrubs. 

I posted the photos on Facebook. It was a huge hit. By the morning I had 26 requests. The all over red was the runaway winner. 

My mentor from our group suggested that I send it in to your magazine, as it is a current take on an old idea. 

I’m sure readers will, if not already, take this idea and come up with some creative carvings for this Christmas season.

Attached are the photos of those ornaments. 

Respectfully, 

William ( Bill ) Schneider