Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Snowmen; My Favorite Winter Friend


There's more to a snowman than meets the eye! He's the icon of Winter, our childhood, children's books and movies, and this lovable character is everywhere! On coffee mugs at Starbucks, plates at Pier 1, napkins at grocery stores, greeting cards, door hangers, gift wrap, Christmas ornaments, holiday sweaters bound for the return counter, and so much more. And who can possibly pass up a huge field of snow and not at least think about building a snowman? Not me.
I myself have a huge collection. Every year I set out to purchase at least one thing "Snowman". My collection includes gift bags, decorative tins, soft sculptures, carvings I bought in Switzerland, candleholders, ceramic statues, german glass ornaments, Bob's boxes, tins that were once filled with chocolates, even greeting card boxes I had to save because the snowmen were too adorable to just toss out. They're so cute and cuddly, I don't know how anyone can resist them.


Do you know who built the first snowman? It was in Eau Claire, WI in 1809 by Vernon Paul and his little girl Yetty. How about the world's tallest snowman? Apparently that record was set in 2008 in Bethel, Maine as a way to put Bethel on the map. The snowman stood 122 feet and 1 inch! How did they get up there??

One of my favorite books as a child was "The Littlest Snowman". As I remember, it was a story about a snowman that came to town and brought joy. As the thermometer went up, the snowman started to melt. The snowmen went and got every flavor of ice cream and ate it, then sat upon the town Christmas tree. A northwind came and blew all the ice cream flavored snow all through the air. A beautiful written classic children's book that every family should have. So wonderful...wish I still had mine....
If you've been following my art and blog for any length of time, you know I incorporate a lot of snowmen in my art. I've painted, stuffed, glued, and glittered them and I never get tired of seeing their cherubic faces. And I'm always on the search for more to add to my personal collection.


Snowmen bring smiles to our faces. They're a way of celebrating the bite of Winter, young and old alike.

If a snowman had a voice, who do you think he'd sound like?

1 comment:

Connie Schwarz said...

Jeannine! dang girl! you missed your calling! where are all the "f"ing comments on here anyway? jeez you post some good stuff! around here in the sweltering south most snowmen are comprised of a mixture of say 50% snow and 50% yuk. as the sun comes out and the temps rise, usually just a day or two after "the big snows" the snowmen are reduced to old vessels of leaves and dog poo and sticks. like looking at old sagging harley tits. never ever fun.
save all your love for me girl!