Two years ago I came across a friend frantically shaping ornaments out of Sculpey. I immediately found out enough about the project to be waist-deep in it, and it was only after I'd finished that I realized the question of "whether this was worthwhile" could be asked and may even be assumed by others to have been answered in the affirmative. The project was a Protestant/internet take on the medieval Tree of Jesse. The medieval form is a genealogy of Christ, but the modern form is more of a summary of salvation history from creation to Christ. One makes an ornament for each day in Advent (it turns out that felt is a more common media than Sculpey, which just proves the existence of Fate, as I never would have taken a second look at stupid chunks of felt.) There are lists of suggested symbols, and EWTN provides a Catholic version (though not enough entries for the entire season).
I had so much fun that Stalin would have started World War III just to be able to stop me, and I am relying on my impenetrable blogger anonymity to protect me from the Al-Qaeda's fatwa. My only regret is that I couldn't include ninjas. The ornaments have now been liberally coated with Sculpey varnish—in the vivid world which is my imagination, this will not only make them shiny, but also protect them from breaking when they are accidentally thrown across the room. And although reality and this world may not overlap as frequently as my friends and well-wishers might desire, I have never been unhappy with it, and I expect great things of the shiny unbreakableness. When the ornaments dry, and when I feel like the great effort required, I will take pictures and post them so people can guess over which is my favorite (and where the ninjas would have been most at home). Done.
