Jewelry Display Boxes

THE VILLAGES — The art of chip carving saved Mary Wright’s life.

The Village of Santo Domingo resident said the hobby gave her something to do after she put her husband in a nursing home.

“It is very relaxing,” she said of her love of the last 14 years. “It is fun to see the pattern evolve.”

Wright has created wooden crosses, clocks, recipe boxes, jewelry boxes, among other items, which she displayed Saturday at the 18th annual Fall Craft Show at Savannah Center. More than 240 Villages vendors took part in the show, which was also held at Lake Miona Recreation Center.

Tables were set up all over the room, each with a different array of crafts from woodcarvings to jewelry to knitted sweaters: There was even a table with decorated hats.

Wright said chip carving takes at least three intensive days to create the object of your choice, whether it is a hand mirror or jewelry box. As she pointed to her wood-carved mirror, she explained that she “glues the pattern on and carves through it.”

While stating that it can be labor intensive, Wright emphasized that if someone wants to start the hobby, they must enjoy it. Wright teaches others the art of chip carving and can instruct them on the basics in five minutes.

As Village of Del Mar resident Paula Pendleton browsed through the ornament crosses at Wright’s table, she said she was happy to “see the variety of crafts” at the show. “They are not all the same,” she said.

In fact, at the other side of the room, Susan Bissey displayed different types of pottery, which she began working on less than a year ago.

The Village of Santiago resident said she taught herself at the pottery wheel and was amazed to find out “there are no limits to what you can do with clay. You can make just about everything.”

Some other Villages residents who displayed a different variety of crafts included Village of Liberty Park resident Judy Sonzogno, who was showcasing her beaded ornament covers at the craft show for the first time; Alhambra resident Mary Dillon whose table included a wide variety of quilts, crochet and other handmade items to benefit Busy Hands, Happy Hearts, a nonprofit organization which distributes handmade items to the local hospitals of Ocala, The Villages and Leesburg; and Village of Rio Grande resident Rosemary Jung, who has knitted for 45 years and was displaying a wide variety of children’s sweaters with different patterns including the most popular one: Elmo, the Sesame Street character.

Sonzogno said she began pursuing her hobby of making beaded ornament covers when she was laid off after Sept. 11, 2001.

“They are a relaxing piece of mind therapy for me,” she said of the ornaments.

Asked about the importance of her work in making handmade items to donate to the local hospitals, Dillon said: “We should be doing charity at a stage in our life.”

Also working with her hands, Jung said she “loves to create designs” as she holds up a Winnie the Pooh sweater she completed. The hobby, she jokes, “keeps her out of mischief.”

“My husband watches football, I do knitting,” she said. The sweaters she creates from scratch take 3 1/2 days to complete.

Overall, Village of Ashland resident Lynn Markle said she liked “that everything is handmade.”

“It is interesting to see the amount of creativity the villagers have,” she said.

Livi Stanford is a reporter with The Daily Sun. She can be reached at (352) 753-1119, ext. 9245 or livi.stanford@thevillagesmedia.com.

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