When the Geiger Community Center held an art and crafts contest, I entered two categories and came home with Best In Show and First Place Ribbons with cash awards for each division.
Matching black suits that I had sewn for the head of the household, myself, and young D.J. caught the judges’ eyes along with a set of small Nativity figures that I had sculpted.
The Nativity set was sculpted because the Geiger Base Chapel did not have a set and I felt very bad about a Church without a Nativity set for Christmas. In my world, a Nativity set was necessary. There might not be room in a Bethlehem Inn but in my mind, that Chapel needed a Baby Jesus, and Baby Jesus needed a crib.
Jacksonville, North Carolina in those days was not known for having a Crafts Store so the only materials for my endeavor turned out to be Playdough from the PX toy section. I considered myself lucky to have that available and began shaping round toothpicks for my set of tools. A few kitchen items were enlisted to fill my collection of miniature sculpting products.
After Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, two shepherds, and two sheep were sculpted and painted, I affixed them to a panel and turned my sights on duplicating the project for our little home.
It was good practice and I enjoyed knowing I could sculpt whatever I wanted. I would have better tools and materials later in life but those early days taught me that I could do many things with simple items like toothpicks and kitchen products. I suppose that is when I began to scrutinize what was destined for a garbage can and place that something instead in a storage bin for “later use”. Works for me!