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Local artists polish their holiday wares for ‘boutique'
Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by EMILY BARNES
Sandra Bridgett, Charles County's featured artist for the 36th annual Unique Boutique show, stands with her handmade Santa dolls at her home in Charlotte Hall on Nov. 4.
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When Charlotte Hall resident Sandra Bridgett started crafting handmade figurines about 30 years ago, her work was the product of a love of Christmas and a desire to give gifts she couldn't afford to buy.
Instead of buying gifts or settling for presents she wasn't satisfied with giving, Bridgett tapped into her artsy side and began making Christmas decorations, figurines, angels and dolls to give away.
Though Bridgett describes her early work as "very, very crude and odd looking," she has been improving her craft for years. Most recently, Bridgett was chosen to be the featured artist from Charles County for the 36th annual Unique Boutique show.
According to the Web site for the show, uniqueboutiquesomd.com, the event is a "juried fine art and craft show bringing together the works of the region's most talented artisans." Every year, the group picks no more than 44 of Southern Maryland's artists to "exhibit their handiwork," according to a press release.
The show was created to promote the work of local artisans and also to benefit local hospices. Sarah Houde, a judge for the Unique Boutique and an artist whose clay pieces will also be displayed in the show, said every artist must donate at least one piece of work. The piece is sold at the show with all proceeds from the sale going to local hospices.
In the past, the Unique Boutique held an auction of artists' work but "things weren't getting bid up enough," Houde said. With an outright sale of the artisans' creations, she said the show is "making more money for hospice," adding that they hope to make anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 this year.
Houde said Bridgett was chosen to be a featured artist because this is her first time in the show and her art is especially appropriate for this time of year.
"She was somebody new, and we felt like we wanted to promote her as a new artist in our show and in the area," Houde said, adding that her art is "timely," and with the holidays fast approaching, it's "nice to feature somebody that does seasonal creations."
In addition to being chosen for the show, Bridgett's handiwork has been featured in Country Home and Country Living magazines and at the Folk Art Museum in New York, according to her profile on the Web site.
For Christmas in 2001, Bridgett said she was chosen to make a Santa for someone she never thought she would. With both pride and a sense of amusement in her voice, Bridgett said "the ambassador of Poland has my Santa." The ambassador at the time was Christopher Hill. With the memories of the 9/11 attacks still fresh in the minds of most Americans, she was asked to make something patriotic for Hill. So she made a Santa that was unmistakably all-American — complete in red, white and blue — Bridgett made a saluting Santa figurine sitting on a set of drums and holding an American flag.
In addition to getting recognized for her distinctive crafts, Bridgett has also enjoyed the satisfaction of making figurines for people reminiscent of her favorite time of year. "Christmas … it's my favorite time of the year," she stated in her profile on the Unique Boutique Web site. "I actually look forward to all the hustle and bustle because the memories of Christmases past always warm my heart and put a smile on my face.
"I started making my first Santas for family gifts many years ago. Before long friends started ordering them and that led to me starting a wholesale business and selling to stores around the country," she added.
For Bridgett and her husband of 40 years, who have five adult daughters and 11 grandchildren together, life has changed drastically since the days when they had small children and has shaped how she does business.
"All my girls got married and started having children," she said, adding that she has "really cut back" on the wholesale side of things and attending shows. Bridgett said she still ships her work to different parts of the country but "time is not like it used to be."
Although her work has not previously been displayed in the Unique Boutique show, Bridgett said she has attended the exhibit for years. Early this year, she was juried into the show which features the work of artists from various media. Members "try not to duplicate" media, she said.
Houde said an artist interested in being in the show must receive a majority vote to be accepted — 23 of the 45 members must approve of an artist. The voting process "keeps standards up to the highest level," she stated. It's "not easy to get into our show," because "to get that many people to agree on anything" is a challenge.
In addition to Bridgett's dolls, a range of media will be represented at the show including photography, jewelry, watercolor painting, woodworking and even an artist who specializes in carving and decorating gourds.
They "find people that are individuals as far as having something new to bring to the show," Bridgett said.
"They are very strict on who they let in," she said. "You really have to explain your process in making your creation," and everything must be handmade.
Bridgett begins her process by figuring out what kind of face she wants to use for a doll, then makes them out of clay and fires them up in an oven.
"When I have an idea, I go through maybe 50 faces in front of me and pick the one I want to work with and make that into Santa or a doll or whatever I'm working on," she said. The "faces turn out different each time" though there is inevitably "some resemblance" among them.
After the faces are made and Bridgett has a vision for an individual doll, she paints the face by hand — everything down to the eyeballs — which gives her work a "more realistic look rather than that fake doll look," she said.
The bodies are "made from wire and batting," she said, which is a very bendable material she can use to "give [the dolls] nice body form."
Finally, she makes all the outfits by hand, often hand-dyeing different materials and fabrics to make each creation unique. Each doll is a "one-of-a-kind," she said, adding that even if she uses the same colors for their outfits, no two dolls are exactly alike. "I don't clone anything."
Bridgett's process, though she said it's difficult to say exactly how long it takes to make a doll, can range from 45 minutes to two weeks. While it can be time consuming to make one unique Santa creation, doing so is a way for Bridgett to celebrate her love for Christmas and the spirit of the day.
"Christmas is Jesus' birthday and presents are always at a birthday party; and who brings more presents than anyone? Santa!" her profile states.
"To me [Santa] represents the generosity and the hope and care that we show especially at Christmas time."
If you go
The 36th annual Unique Boutique show will be held 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 14 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department social hall, Route 235, Hollywood. There will be hourly door prizes and food available for purchase. Admission and parking are free.
