Book about Nicodemus with Ellen Jennings bookend camels  

Nikodemus ornament


This little Nicodemus ornament has a family connection.
Chester Nicodemus, 1901–1990, was an Ohio potter. He taught at the Columbus Art School from 1930 to 1941 when he became a full-time artist. A home studio and showroom neighbor describes him as a "kind, quiet man."

Chester Nicodemus
My aunt Ellen Jennings was first his student and then his protégé at his pottery. She designed many small animal sculptures in the arts and crafts tradition.

The sculptures she made were turned into molds, then cast in a local clay and fired in Nicodemus's hand-built kilns. The distinctive Nicodemus glazes were added, then the sculptures were fired again. The iron-rich clay they're made of has a warm, reddish color that shows through the glaze, resulting in rich surface shades. (Except for her polar bears, which were made of white clay.)

All Nicodemus molds and glazes were destroyed when he died, but some of his sculptures, and those of Ellen Jennings, can be found online.


My siblings and cousins inherited collections of Ellen's sculptures. My daughter calls them "the family jewels." We sometimes give them to very treasured friends, but have hung on to most.

The sizes of the sculptures range from 2 to 5 inches tall.

Chinese boy by Ellen JenningsEllen made sculptures in a variety of other media. These were generally human figures. However, I believe this Chinese boy is her only human Nicodemus piece. It's also larger than others, about 10 inches tall.
Polar bear by Ellen Jennings Elephant mother and child by Ellen Jennings
Lion cub by Ellen Jennings Koala mother and child by Ellen Jennings Sad and happy ducks by Ellen Jennings Kangaroo by Ellen Jennings
Three different Ellen Jennigns squirrels   Four different Ellen Jennigns pigs

Some of the sculptures are utilitarian: bookends, a bank, "cactus planters" that have held everything from hairpins to toothpicks.
Camel mother and child bookends by Ellen Jennings   Squirrel bank by Ellen Jennings   Small elephanat cactus planters by Ellen Jennings   Ellen Jennings bear holding toothpicks
         
    Two Ellen Jennings polar bears with different Nikodemus glazes   Multiple copies of the sculptures were made from the molds, but the glazes make each piece unique. Not only were different glaze colors used, but the thickness of the glaze changes the amount of detail held and the amount of underlying clay color that shows through.
Four Ellen Jennings bears with different Nikodemus glazes   Four Ellen Jennings squirrels with different Nikodemus glazes
Two Ellen Jennings cats with different Nikodemus glazes   Two Ellen Jennings mother and child koalas with different Nikodemus glazes   Two Ellen Jennings bear cactus planters with different Nikodemus glazes  

 


When my father was in an army band in World War II, he was walking down Fifth Avenue in New York one day, feeling homesick and discouraged. He glanced in a high-end jeweler's window and there, snuggled among the gold and gems, were his sister's animals.

I had a pale version of this sensation when I was visiting my sister in Ohio one time and found them for sell at the Columbus Museum of Art.


  
 

Sadly, Ellen died before I was born. She suffered a head injury that made her an invalid: during this period she worked on tiny sculptures on a board on her lap. These pieces were not molded, each is completely unique.

Ellen suddenly passed away at 33 years old.

 Two tiny Ellen Jennings hippos Five tiny Ellen Jennings elephants  
 

Two tiny Ellen Jennings bears, one with cigar and one mother with child

 

Ellen's animals are tokens that embody the paternal half of my family. The bear with the cigar is my grandfather, Pop. The bear mother is carrying my brother.

  
 

 
  Ellen Jennings chess set   White Ellen Jennings chess figures   Example of many book illustrations of the Steadfast Tin Soldier  
Sepia and white photo of soldier and his wife playing chess with Ellen Jennings chess figures.
I never understood why Ellen made elephants the pawns in her chess set, but the back row is perfect, if you ask me.

Based on their body language it looks like Mother is doing very well, making my father think hard.
 

 


Regrets
1. I met Nicodemus, I think in the 70s. He asked if I was interested in doing sculptures, implying he would give me a shot.
Intimidated, I declined.

2.

I've broken some Ellen pieces. I was shattered when the Chinese boy fell, it was painted with different glazes. Fortunately, I didn't have the only copy.

And what's the point of treasures hidden in boxes? I still think it's better to live with them, and accidents happen.

But why did I have to put him on that shelf?!
           
Broken off head of Ellen Jennings Chinese boy with three colors of glaze   Ellen Jennings lion cub that has been broken and glued together Tiny Ellen Jennings giraffe with horns and one ear missing Tiny Ellen Jennings mother with joey, with one foot and one ear missing

 





  



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