Skaneateles illustrator Patience Brewster enjoyed simple yet abundant family Christmas traditions growing up in Plymouth, Massachusetts. “My mother made our house feel festive without being lavish,” Brewster, one of six siblings, recalls. “She made our crèche and together, we made most of our own ornaments.” In 1999, when Department 56 asked her to create a Christmas ornament line based on her quirky greeting card designs, she was thrilled. Brewster designed ornaments, called Krinkles, for several years. When her contract ended in 2009, she and her husband launched their own company simply called Patience Brewster.
Today, Brewster’s intricate art, ornaments, decorative figures, home items and cards can be found all across the United States, Canada, and Europe. It is amazing how successful her brand has become considering the first step in her professional journey was being persuaded to take her artwork out of a drawer. In 1978, her husband Holland encouraged her to show her drawings to some children’s book publishers. What followed was a very satisfying 25-year writing and book-illustrating career and greeting-card design work.
Brewster’s emphasis now is on her ornament line, designed from her original art.
Subcontracted craftsmen and artisans create 3D figures from Brewster’s 2D art, often drawn from various angles. The sequence begins with a hand-carved wooden sculpture of the image which is then used to make a mold. Stone resin is applied into the mold by hand to create the figure, which is sanded, primed, then individually hand-painted and decorated. Throughout the steps, Brewster oversees the progress and makes adjustments to the design as needed. This painstaking process results in one-of-a-kind pieces.
© 2021. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Patience Brewster. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
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| Patience Brewster |
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