Christmas Cribs & Figurines
by Julian Scicluna
Welcome to my site about cribs and figurines!
During the Christmas season models of the nativity scene of Jesus's birth in Betlehem are a popular sight in some countries. However for those who want to enjoy cribs at other times of the year I thought of sharing some of my works here on the internet. This site is also intended to promote the interest in cribs and crib figurines in general and is dedicated to lovers of this artistic expression the world over.
At 9 feet wide, this the largest crib I have constructed so far. It was made for Christmas 2005 specifically for the local parish church. Since the church has a beautiful baroque style with lots of gilded works of art, I have framed this nativity scene in a pale gold frame. In this way the crib integrates well with the its immediate environment. The crib is made of papier mâché, wood and cardboard whilst the figurines which I modelled out of terracotta, are 30 cm in height.
click here to view this crib in detail
This 2 feet wide crib is made of cardboard, papier
mâché, plaster and expanded polystrene and has Italian
plastic figurines by M. Landi. It specially made for my friend Austin. Over
the years, Austin has been a great source of inspiration and encouragement to
me. Together we have organised several exhibitions of artistic nativity scenes
and shared a high level of enthusiasm for cribs and cribmaking.
This crib is made of cork and was built to fit inside an antique glass dome.
It was my first attempt to use cork which came my way in 
rather
strange circumstances. The cork was dumped at sea after serving as insulation
for an old freezer aboard a ship! It drifted to the coast from where I collected
it and used it in this small crib with an antique look. That is definetely a
good example of recycling!
click
here to view this crib in detail
Its cork again, only this time its natural unprocessed cork originating from Italy. This circular (360 degrees) crib has Spanish resin figurines by J. Mayo. The objective was to make the pieces of cork fit together like solid rock formation whilst allowing the viewer to 'peep' inside the grotto from various angles.
click here to view this crib in detail
This
paper crib is my latest creation to date. It is a reproduction of an antique
1900 paper crib on display in Museo Del Presepe, Brembo di Dalmine, Italy. Since
I only had a photo of the crib, I had to recreate the different layers on computer
and then print and assembe in a deep frame.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
All images on this site are the copyright of the author.
Do not use without the author's consent.
Your are invited to email your comments or questions about this site to:
To
discover the fascinating world of Paper Cribs visit:
To view my friend's cork cribs visit: Salvatore's Nativity Crib Scenes