The Carver

Random Musings

2009-08-31T11:29:00.000-07:00

Well, as usual, it's been a long time. Here are some random musings from the past couple months...

- What a cold summer. This area of Wisconsin, as well as Chicago, had the coldest and cloudiest July on record. It's now August 31 and last night's low was near 40 degrees. Fall is definitely in the air.

- Be sure to check out http://www.anthonycostanza.com/ for current show info. Right now I'm gearing up for Judy Mark's Country Folk Art Fest in September in St. Charles, IL. See you there!

-I've moved my Open House date up a few weeks to Saturday, November 7th. More details coming soon on the web site.

-Check out http://www.kenlessnau.com/ if you like the quirk in art. I've known Ken for many years and he's always got a surprise or two for his fans. He's never had a web site, so this is a first for him.

-You can also follow me on Facebook. The side link will take you directly there.

-I've been experimenting, combining my carving with found or bought objects. Be on the lookout for those in the months ahead.

-Ghoultide Gathering is coming soon! Check the web site.

The Naples Adventure...Continues.

2009-07-13T13:36:00.001-07:00

Hey friends, it's been a LOOONG time since I updated my blog. Here's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. I've been spending a lot of mental and physical energy on my newest project...a home in Naples, Florida. It was one of those notorious "short sales" that we found over the winter vacation there.

Offers were made and then the waiting began. As I've been told, if you're interested in a short sale be sure to have enough patience and don't get too emotionally attached to the property, because you never know what will happen.

Nearly five months later the bank decided to accept the offer and the real work commenced. Two weeks of sweat equity in June got the new place in pretty good shape. Some pictures will be forthcoming. Plus if you ever need a great realtor in Naples, or the Naples area, I've got the man to recommend.

I promise I won't be so absent! I've already started gearing up for the fall and winter season and I'm working on some special pieces that you'll enjoy seeing.

2009-04-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

Just A Few Of Many Antique Easter Pieces

That Inspire My Carvings.

2009-04-06T14:26:00.000-07:00

Kitchen Privileges

2009-04-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

The Easter Parade

2009-04-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter To All!

2009-03-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

Folk Art Festival

March 20-22, 2009

Kane CountyFairgrounds

St. Charles, Illinois

If you're in the Chicago/St. Charles, Illinois area this weekend, come on by and say "Hello"! It's a great show, great venue, good food, and many interesting artists to visit with.

www.folkartfest.com

2009-02-17T06:44:00.000-08:00

VACATION OR NOT, STILL CARVING

I can never be far away from my carving. Here in Florida I have no vise, large tools, or special chisels, so I'm a bit restricted in what I can carve. Basically, it has to a piece I can hold in my hands, no larger. So here's a sneak preview of some of the pieces I've been working on in preparation for the the Kane County, Illinois show next month. www.folkartfest.com

Of course I'll have larger pieces I created pre-Florida and still more that I'll be finishing once I return to Wisconsin. In the meantime, visit my web site at www.anthonycostanza.com, stay warm, and think of the warm spring days just around the corner.

2009-02-17T06:28:00.000-08:00

TROPICAL HOME BASE

A couple photos of the landscaping surrounding my Florida home-away-from home.

One very contented temporary Floridian, Bijou, the Shetland Sheepdog. Who does, by the way, miss his favorite thing...snow. No fear, he'll be back to that soon enough.

2009-02-17T06:21:00.000-08:00

CORKSCREW SWAMP SANCTUARY

About 20 miles inland from Naples is the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, the premiere Audubon bird sanctuary in the USA. I may not have spotted the elusive painted bunting, but I did see an abundance of native and "wintering" wild life, all in a setting fit for the T-Rex in Jurassic Park to appear at any moment. "Primordial Ooze" kept coming to mind as I walked the boardwalk through lichen and moss covered towering cypress trees, many hundreds of years old.

2009-02-17T06:08:00.000-08:00

FLORIDA 2009

Cold, snowy Wisconsin it's not. For those of you who know me well, I'm not what you call a "vacationer". I always felt living on a lake in beautiful Wisconsin was a vacation in itself.

Ahh, but the last several winters, colder and snowier than usual, began to test my mettle and in the fall of '08 I made a decision to "vacation" this winter in Naples, Florida.

It's a beautiful area with the Gulf Of Mexico to the West and the beauty and nautre of the Everglades to the Southeast.

2008-12-25T07:21:00.000-08:00

2008-12-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

2008-12-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

Brrrr. Winter has come to the lakes and woods of Wisconsin. This grouping of Belsnickles is keeping watch under a feather tree in the living room, with the cold, frozen and snowy lake providing the appropriate backdrop.

My Thanksgiving weekend Open House in Illinois was very good. It's always a fun time because I get a chance to see collectors and old friends that I don't see at any other time of the year. Here's a couple examples...Ralph and his wife Candy stopped by. I've known Ralph since 2nd grade! Then I have three very good customers who've become friends of mine through the years and it's always great to see them. Janet, Cindy, and her mom, Barb. Lots of other new and "vintage" customers and friends as well stopped by. Thank you all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-22T06:59:00.001-08:00

Greetings, Friends.

You probably know I collect and use old holiday for fun and inspiration. Christmas, Halloween, the 4th of July, Thanksgiving...if it's holiday-related, I'll most likely be interested in it. In fact, it'd be pretty hard for me to list all the holiday antiques I have, but here's a sampling. And I do mean "sampling"! There's always more. And of course, Christmas has the most.

Christmas

Belsnickles

Feather Trees

Victorian scrap ornaments

Czech Bead ornaments

Shiny Brite ornaments

Tinsel Strings

Old Beads

Aluminum Trees...yep, love 'em!

Japanese Santas

Santa Postcards

Putz Sheep

Pot Metal Reindeer

Wax Angels

Christmas Gift Boxes

I also belong to this great organization http://www.goldenglow.org/

It has amazing conventions around the USA every year, with super museum collections, active buying and selling of Christmas (and other holidays), and plenty of collector room hopping and room shopping during the evenings. It's really a fun event.

Thanksgiving

Turkey Candy Containers

Thanksgiving postcards

Halloween (After Christmas, the biggest collection)

Pulp Jack-O-Lanterns (1920s - 1950s)

Metal Noisemakers

Metal Tambourines

Halloween Party Goods

Halloween Games

Halloween Postcards

Pulp Witches

Pulp Cats

Pulp Devils

Anything German (if I can find it)

Easter

Pulp Rabbits

Pulp Chicks

Easter Candy Containers

Old Easter Baskets

Easter Postcards

German Easter (again, if I can find it)

4th Of July

Bunting and Banners

Flags and Flag Holders

Patriotic Childrens' Books

I also pore over internet sites looking for holiday images to inspire my carving. I don't often hit a "carver's block", but if I do, this helps me.

Enjoy the turkeys on display. Most are candy containers and some are just party favors. Those by the decorative kale are a combination. From left to right: A Bethany Lowe reproduction, an Anthony Costanza reproduction in resin, a glass turkey candy/relish covered dish, and an old pulp turkey, which are very hard to find.

In the month ahead watch for Christmas images. I haven't decided the "theme" for this year's decorating but trust me, I have a lot to choose from!

2008-11-09T07:15:00.000-08:00

Now Presenting...Slideshow!

I added the slideshow feature, a great suggestion made by Robert Brawley, a friend and collector of my carvings. For now I selected 20 seasonal pieces, but I'll be changing it often.

In the meantime, check out Robert's blog at http://enchantedholidays.blogspot.com/

First Snow and My Amish Friend

2008-11-08T09:18:00.000-08:00

Frost on the pumpkins. It's a beautiful thing. The three small pumpkins are not sugar-coated, but "sugared" with frost. One very chilly, damp morning several years ago I walked out onto my enclosed porch and discovered these little guys, looking like something Martha Stewart would execute. Not Martha this time, but Mother Nature and her beautiful handiwork.

The other three shots are from our bit of overnight wet, heavy snow. The deck overlooks my old cottage workshop and you can just glimpse the roof. My woodburner is cranked up today, that's for sure. I knew those 70 degree days wouldn't last the week.

Yesterday I took a trip to our local Amish market. It's a destination every week during the growing season for fresh produce, garden plants, and fresh cut flowers. But throughout the year there's also an Amish co-op store for the Amish community and us "English", as they call us. Literally, it's soup to nuts, plus bulk spices, homeopathic remedies, kitchen utensils, kerosene lamps, old fashion candies, and a whole lot more. Oh, and no electricity. Skylights and gas lamps for really dark days.

My Amish buddy Melvin (he's the cashier on an old adding machine) told me this joke. Why did the old lady take her tail-less cat to Wal-Mart? Well, she heard they were the world's largest retailer! A bit of Amish humor.

Carving Of Another Type

2008-11-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

My handiwork. Certainly a different kind of carving!

Holiday Season 2008

2008-11-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

I've just updated my web site (http://www.anthonycostanza.com/) with all new, original carvings for the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Pretty weird doing that when it's in the 70s, it's November, and it's Wisconsin! We're having some unusually warm weather.

But I'm not letting this warm spell fool me. Cold, snow, and winter are just around the corner. As always, I hand-carve, paint, and finish each piece myself. My tools are pretty straightforward and simple, I guess. An x-acto knife is my primary tool of choice. Small chisels always come in handy too. I use mostly old-fashioned watercolors for my painting. At auctions and flea markets I'm always searching out old watercolor tins. They just have a very different look and "feel" from those you can buy today.

This month I lost a long-running show that I've done for oh, probably 25 years. In fact it was the first show I ever did. It was at the high school I taught at for 19 years AND the high school I attended "way back when". Times change and the school eliminated the show from its fundraising schedule. It really was a fun, nostalgic time for me doing the show. I got to see friends, colleagues and collectors I never saw anywhere else.

But if you're in the Illinois area the Saturday after Thanksgiving, come visit me at my Open House. Details are on the web site.

As with all blogs, this will be a work in progress. I hope you check it regularly. I'll be adding links to other blogs and web sites in the days and weeks ahead.