HOLMSTAD RESIDENTS CREATE LIFE-SIZED NATIVITY FOR ALL TO ENJOY

After months of cutting, sanding, priming and painting, the 14-piece, life-sized nativity created by a group of Holmstad residents will slowly come to life on Dec. 13, when The Holmstad opens its doors for the annual Christmas Open House.

Beginning at 2 p.m., volunteers will perform a live nativity using the wooden structure shed built by Holmstad residents. On Monday, Dec. 15, the entire 14-piece nativity yard art will be erected and on display until after the first of the year. The nativity includes Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, three wise men, an angel, a little drummer boy, and livestock.

“This nativity was a labor of love by our residents,” says Josh Anderson, executive director at The Holmstad. “Our residents poured in more than 100 hours creating life-sized figures for not only our residents to enjoy, but for the entire Batavia community to view and appreciate this holiday season.”

Holmstad Sales Director Kathy Viney initiated the project back in the spring, when she obtained the life-sized patterns and approached resident Chuck Taylor. Chuck had worked on Kathy’s holiday projects before; one year he cut from wood a pair of life-sized ice skaters, which are featured each holiday season as part of the skating scene in front of Michealson Health Center. Every year the community creates additional yard art to add to The Holmstad’s growing outdoor holiday décor.

“My first thought was ‘No way, Charlie,’” Chuck recalled. “This is a huge project. But it turned into a small community effort between the Creative Arts Center and the woodshop.

The woodshop recently expanded under the tutelage of new resident Wayne Glassman. Just in time, says Chuck, “for him to take this project under his wing and run with it.”

Ten woodworkers helped cut each of the nativity’s 14-pieces using 4’ x 8’ x ¾” exterior grade plywood. Some figures, like Joseph and the three wise men, measured upwards of six-feet tall. The camel and the bull each required an entire 4’ x 8’ sheet of plywood.

After sanding and brushing on the final coat of primer, the figures were moved to the Creative Arts Center, where resident Lupe Cervantes used her talents to sketch out each character by hand.

“I worked a lot of years in all realms of art,” says Lupe, who graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and spent an entire career as a commercial artist. “I’ve done illustration, hand lettering, design, but I never worked with house paint before! This project was a lot of fun.”

Lupe and Chuck worked together to mix the paint colors and provide direction to the novice resident artists. While sheer size of the figures made painting feel a bit like a “paint-by-number” project, says Lupe, Chuck credits her final brush strokes with giving each face a more human feel.

“The angel was the most artistic,” he says. “And Lupe put the final touches on the baby Jesus I was working on. Just beautiful.”

Lupe spent the most time working on Joseph, by far her favorite of all the nativity characters. “I worked longer on his face than anyone else’s,” she says. “I wanted him to look young and when I was finished his face seemed so calm.”

In addition to Lupe and Chuck, the following residents rolled up their sleeves and spent hours cutting, sanding or painting the yard art: Jack Franklin, Walt Raczynski, Harvey Kallberg, Wayne Glassman, Rueben Helander, Wes Ryd, Don Lindman, Richard Fronczak, Marilyn Thorsen, Al Blotch, Anna Hoecke, Mary Lou Pierson, Don Ashton, Phyllis Howat and Louise Popovich. Creative Arts Assistant Amy Haywood helped organize residents’ volunteer time; and the maintenance department ordered materials and will set up the nativity.

The community can view the live nativity during The Holmstad Christmas Open House on Dec. 13, beginning at 2 p.m. In addition to the live nativity, families can also take a ride on a trolley to view the community’s outdoor holiday décor; visit Mr. and Mrs. Claus and their favorite elf; and listen to holiday music. There will be face painting for the kids, holiday snacks, and raffle prizes, too.

Beginning Dec. 15, the complete nativity yard art will be displayed outside The Holmstad’s Town Center.

The Holmstad is located at 700 W. Fabyan Parkway, Batavia, Ill., 60510. For more information, contact 877–226-7310.

About The Holmstad

The Holmstad, a faith-based, not-for-profit continuing care retirement community, is located at 700 W. Fabyan Parkway, Batavia, Ill. It is administered by Covenant Retirement Communities, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit senior services providers. Covenant Retirement Communities serves 5,000 residents at 15 retirement communities nationwide and is a ministry of the Evangelical Covenant Church. For more information on The Holmstad, call (630) 870-4100 or visitwww.TheHolmstad.org.