First Coat - The sealing secret

Norwegian - God Jul og Godt Nyttår


The painting process has begun. Tom must seal the wood and apply just enough color to tint the bare areas. My entire surface must then sanded again and a tack cloth used to remove all of the dust. I will be rubbed with a clean, dry cloth and given a final check for unwanted tool marks. The adding of color will be a gradual process to guarantee the look that sets Tom’s creations apart from other carvers’ works. Sometimes Tom applies the color all over. Sometimes only on certain parts of his figures, depending on the look he is trying to achieve. As soon as the added pigments dry, Tom will be able to begin painting me. Interestingly, another Tom, Thomas Nast, created one of the first images of me in 1863.

See you later.

St. Nick



Thomas Nast (1840-1902)

America's foremost political cartoonist and the creator of the image of Santa Claus as we know him today.

In 1863, political cartoonist Thomas Nast began a series of annual drawings in Harper's Weekly which were based on the descriptions found in Clement Moore's  poem and Washington Irving's work.

Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly in 1862; Santa was shown as a small elf-like figure that supported the Union. Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years and along the way changed the color of his coat from tan to the now traditional red. Nast popularized several political symbols: the Democratic donkey, the Republican elephant the Tammany tiger. He also gave us our present-day conception of Uncle Sam, John Bull and Columbia. The figure Nast drew, which was based on Pelznikel, the St. Nicholas of his German ancestors, is the famous Santa Claus, now known to everybody in the country.