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Nativity Artist Profile: Christine Coffman


Woodcarver Christine Coffman
Woodcarver Christine Coffman

We first encountered woodcarver Christine Coffman in 1999 at Salmon Days, a salmon-spawning and arts festival in Issaquah, Washington. We had been collecting nativities for 10 years, and her nativity figures were unlike anything we had seen.  Among her hand-carved wooden people was an aged man bent almost in half, supported by his staff; a shepherd looking straight on, joy radiating from his face; and seated Mary and Joseph leaning in to share a tender moment while Jesus slept peacefully. For us, it was love at first sight, and our Coffman set has been a favorite ever since. 


Coffman Nativity Set
Coffman Nativity Set

Christine was introduced to carving at age 12 by her dad.  She thought a donkey pulling a cart would be a fun subject for a school history assignment. Her father showed her how to transfer a donkey pattern onto a piece of yellow pine and cut out the outline with a coping saw. He gave her a pocketknife and instructed her on how to work with the grain of the wood. Thus began a lifelong passion, hobby and vocation.


She kept carving, and in the early 1980’s her church asked her to carve her first nativity set. She has since carved hundreds of sets.  “I do feel a deep satisfaction that people would choose my work for such a special occasion.” Carving nativity sets is a favorite subject, even her Etsy shop name is Nativity.  “Over the years I found that I did not want to carve a 'thing.' It was more that I wanted to carve an emotion or a story. And what a huge multi-faceted, multi-character story is the Birth of Jesus. There are so many peripheral characters that you can bring in to round out the scene. They can be portrayed with different types of clothing or styles of hair or beards or crowns. One idea leads to three more.  Another reason I had to carve nativities would be the traditional stiff Baby Jesus. There just had to be a better way to depict Him.”  Carving the baby is still her favorite piece.


Lifelike Holy Family
Lifelike Holy Family

Christine carves with hand tools, using a bandsaw only to cut away excess wood before beginning to carve. “I just need to draw the view from the front. I cut out the idea on my bandsaw, sit in my La-Z-Boy rocker, and start to block in the idea with my carving knife. I constantly turn the piece as I carve so the entire carving is getting done at the same rate. The carving changes shape from the original drawing just because it wants to. By carving it all over a little at a time, I can adjust the length of the arms or tilt of the head or age of the person easily.  For serious things like a Nativity, I draw all the figures for the set at one time, making sure they all agree on their mood and that there is interest in different heights and body types and clothing.”


What makes Christine’s art distinctive is her talent for expressing personality and emotion through posture and facial expressions. How does this magic happen? “The personality comes out because you see it. I do like what you can do with the carving of different expressions of a mouth, or the tilt of a head.  In real life, the whole face doesn't always show or both shoulders or all 10 fingers. One of my favorite Baby Jesus' had his face squished on one side because that's what babies do when they rest on their side. I can just let the pieces develop as I carve without putting pressure on myself to make it perfect. Doing art shows really helped get feedback about doing more detail and trusting that someone else will connect with the work.”


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Selling at arts and craft shows led to some adventures. At one show, the wind tried to turn her outdoor booth into a box kite and fly it away.  At another, a rainstorm flooded the grassy show area, and a group of men literally picked up her booth and carried it through 4 inches of water and mud. 


Although shows were fun, she found it was not a good way to sell her work. She had a website for many years but then shifted to Etsy when that came along. “Once people find my site (’Nativity’), we've already established that they want original hand-carved art, and they are able to easily look at what else is out there and compare my work to others. I try to keep the prices where someone like myself could afford to buy something.“ 


Christine accepts custom orders, and I recently commissioned her to carve an innkeeper, wife and bulldog based on photos of my wife’s parents as a birthday gift for my wife. Christine delivered, and this makes a favorite set even more special and unique. 


The Innkeeper, his wife and bulldog, based on my wife's parents.
The Innkeeper, his wife and bulldog, based on my wife's parents.

The best art experience is to be drawn into a scene, to feel the emotions of being present.  When I look at Christine Coffman’s 5” wooden figures, I feel the joy of the shepherd, and relief of the old man at seeing his Savior, and the wonder of Mary and Joseph as they begin their life as Christ’s parents. What more can you ask of a nativity set than that?


The shepherds' joy at finding baby Jesus.
The shepherds' joy at finding baby Jesus.

 

 
 
 

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