Friday, February 13, 2009

Tchotchke Challenge: Letter "C"

Some of us have so much tcotchke that we need to put it in letter categories, post it on our blogs -- and possibly give it the moment of dignity and recogniton in the spotlight that it needs before being tossed out! Check out Pamela J and God Bless Y'all Real Good! and have a look at more "small ornaments or souvenirs." And join in for the letter D day, will ya?!

Ceramics by my children. At any given time there are a few of these charmers on windowsills and dressers. They can be delicate. I believe they are usually kept until they self-destruct. Do your parents still have any of yours?
This is Celia, who used to sit on my grandmother's mantle. Isn't she beautiful? The decluttering experts say that of the many heirlooms that we might inherit, there are usually only 2 or 3 that evoke the most vivid memories of a person who has passed - and it's okay to save those and get rid of the rest. But what happens when you're the sentimental type?? Regardless, I will never get rid of this one.




China cups. Another Grandma Lucy heirloom. She collected china cups and somehow after she died, instead of keeping the collection intact, we all ended up with a few of them. Probably not the best solution, but I expect one of us will end up with most of them one day.
Combs - an indigenous craft purchased on a trip to Brazil.

Caspar. This is something that I'd be tempted to throw out if my son hadn't proclaimed that he was 'starting a bobblehead collection" a couple of years ago. This is one of only 3 that have been collected. So I'm wondering if that "collection" is still in effect...


Chaplin, Chaplin and more Chaplin. It's the S man's collection, and this is only a fraction of what's currently displayed.

Coronation of the Virgin. This retablo, a souvenir of New Mexico, was made by Christina Miller at iconconfusion.com. A retablo is a small painting, usually on wood, of a saint or holy figure. It is almost like a mini-shrine-- a place to focus prayerful energies. This one depicts "The Coronation of the Virgin" which is ironically supposed to inspire you to transcend and relinquish the material world.

We'll need some help with that in this house.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's great to have you at the Tchotchke Challenge!

I love your collection of "C" tchotchkes! I am going to follow your example, I think, in the future and list more than one in each category. I've had some trouble narrowing down my choices. It might take several more years of going through the alphabet to feature them all!

Children's ceramics--Yes, my parents kept many of those things until Dad died and Mom moved to assisted living, with Alzheimer's.

"Celia"--a very unusual, ungrandmotherly-type ornament. Is there a story behind her?

China cups--I have a collection of tea cups/saucers which my mother received as wedding presents. Maybe I'll include them under the "T" entry. Thanks for the idea!

Combs--Would love to read about your trip to Brazil.

Casper--I, too, started a bobblehead collection a few years back. I now have two bobbleheads. Ha ha ha ha ha!

Charlie Chaplin--So much more worth collecting than the very bizarre collection of Sponge Bob memorabilia I came across a few years ago. Was it a child collecting that stuff? Nope. A 50-year-old man.

Retablo--I love all things New Mexican.

Thanks for joining in and for sharing your eclectic collection of "C" tchotchkes.

Joanne said...

I just love Grandma Lucy's China Cup. The detail and color are exquisite, and I find myself comforted thinking of the coffees drunk from it, lingering in a dining room after dinner, the talks held over a simmering cup of java. Did she collect full sets, or random pieces, and where did she find the cups to build her collection? Hm, I'm sensing this is a collection I'd love to begin!

Pam J. said...

I know we're not supposed to declare winners but I gotta say: those Chaplins are very, very impressive. Most interesting in your great collection is Celia. What's that in her hair? Nails? Golf tees? And bobbleheads are fascinating. I have a Keith Richards bobblehead, but guess what? His head broke off. Is anyone surprised? I'm inspired to glue him back together today.
I'm so glad you've joined us!

Finally, I'm going to try very hard to "transcend and relinquish the material world." After we get to Z that is.

Avid Reader said...

(frantically looking around house for C's---here's what I found: clutter, cats, and more clutter.

Celia reminds me of St. Cecilia patroness of music.

Avid Reader said...

)

Mayberry said...

Ceramics: My mother actually DOES still have one I made. It is a very realistic looking slice of pizza (which makes quite a statement sitting on a desk piled with papers).

Anonymous said...

Funny that you have so many, you have to break them down into letter categories. :) We have the self-destructing ceramics and also some from my childhood. I think we need an extra house just to store children's art! I have a really hard time throwing any of it out. Cool that you have family heirlooms that are significant to you. Also that you got to go to Brazil! I'm jealous.

tina said...

You know I am pretty sure my parents have none of my clay things I made when I was a kid, but I have the ones my kids made and even one I made myself when I was a kid. I'm pretty sentimental and a packrat. Love Celia and your bone china. Our grandmother's set was also divided amongst her four grandchildren and we like it that way. A special part of her for each of us.

Pam J. said...

[Avid Reader: Your second comment on this post is my current all-time favorite comment on a blog.]

Kitt said...

Wow, that's Cuite the Collection!

I might qualify with Cookware, except it's not really tchotchkes.

Lauren said...

I think my brother also has a bobblehead collection of three, and they're all baseball players!

JGH said...

Anne, I realized maybe I did too many, though. Maybe I'll just highlight 3 or so next time? I would love to see some of your china cups.

Joanne - Grandma Lucy collected single fancy teacups so there really are no sets, but all of them are really special. She also collected souvenir spoons from places that she visited.

Pam, LOL about the Keith Richards bobblehead.

Avid, I don't think cats qualify as tchotcke - but maybe some of your clutter does. Will you join us for D day?

AWwww, Mayberry, a ceramic slice of pizza?! Who could resist it?

Karen, I've taken photos of some of my children's drawings and paintings so that I can at least have the digital copy. But that's hard to do with 3-D art like ceramics!

Tina, nothing wrong with being sentimental or a packrat. Or a sentimental Packrat :-)

Ooooh, Kitt I would love to see your cookware collection. Maybe you could post it on P day since it's pots and pans.

Lauren, I think a baseball player is a pre-requisite for a bobblehead collection. That's also one of the 3 my son has.