“Growing up I didn’t have a lot of toys, and personal entertainment depended on individual ingenuity and imagination – think up a story and go live it for an afternoon.”
Photo: 'Toy Maker' Tucson 2017
The similarities are obvious: fluffy white beard, three tables overloaded with handcrafted wooden toys, is this Kris Kringle? No, he is a beloved Toy Maker at the Tucson artist market.
I stood nearby for a few minutes admiring this Toy Maker. What was his story? Was he continuing with a long history of family toy making or was he inspired by starting out making toys for his own children and then it turned into something much bigger and completely unplanned? At one time, had he been a carpenter, welder, auto mechanic, engineer, house painter or college professor? I was intrigued and wanted to know more about him!
I noticed he had the steady hands of a Toy Maker.
Children were gathered around the table playing with the toys he had made, rolling the toys up and down any available space; one little boy had a small wooden car sticking out of his pocket.
I witnessed the Toy Maker interacting and attentively listening to the children who were handling his toys. I am confident that he has observed a lot of children having great conversations with his toys. Conversations that hold imaginative and explorative stories.
I can envision this Toy Maker in his workshop sitting on a high legged stool with his grey mouthed dog by his side; carving tools scattered on the wooden work bench in front of him and his steady fingers navigating a block of alder wood through the saw. Sawdust goes airborne into his silvered hair and white beard. He pauses and looks through his silver-framed glasses at his cut-out. The workshop is filled with wooden toys in the corners, toys on the table, toys on the shelves; every flat surface holds a collection of his wooden toys. This is his life, his lifestyle; he does it for the love of what he is doing.
Here is a Toy Maker who labors with love to bring joy to children; Tucson’s Kris Kringle!
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