Skip to main content

Christmas Countdown Characters #10

Jingle Belle - watercolour, pencil and ink sketch - Wilma Simmons 
J is for Jingle Belle 
These Christmas celebrities are becoming more curious as the month progresses. Jingle Belle is a very modern creation of comic  book writer Paul Dini. Jingle Belle is the teenage daughter of Santa Claus. Jingle Belle has a a strangely elfin look, and is forever a teenager - well, Santa and Mrs Claus don't seem to age, do they?  The Jingle Belle comics were first published in 1999 and the stories mostly relate the antics of a rebel teenager and her contentious relationship with her famous father. 
There are constant complaints of a non existent social scene - just a few elves and Eskimos to hang out with and practically the only excitement she claims  is to sneak a joyride in the old man's sleigh.
In spite of all that teenage angst, there appears to be a "Christmas" side to Jingle Belle. Here is an extract from a story she tells about a time when her father, Santa was having a bad day and thought of quitting Christmas were entertained.  

"Look dad ( Santa Claus) ," I  (Jingle Belle) said, "You’re beating yourself up because you feel you can’t give any meaningful gifts. Things like comfort, reassurance, or the strength to face one more uncertain day. But you forget, those are gifts most people already have, and whether they realize it or not, they exchange them with each other every day. When they help each other, when they listen, or smile, or even just leave each other alone. I don’t think you can give anything more meaningful than that. I don’t think anyone can."
My hand strayed toward the pile of toys on the table. "As far as the big ticket items go, I think they’re pretty well set. Still, if you want to give something extra, I hear a little foolishness ain’t bad. God knows there are a lot of kids down there who’d like to see there’s still one adult who remembers how to laugh. I’m pretty sure most of them would welcome a visit from a not so irrelevant, not quite outdated holiday icon,"  ... . Santa call it quits? Not this year, No way.   (from http://www.jinglebelle.com/)  Jingle Belle?  Not such a difficult  teenager after all! 

Another  contender for the letter J  is Joulipukki a Finnish Santa Claus, literally translated Christmas Goat. and of course  at Christmas, J is always for Jesus.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

#SeptTextileLove26 … Introduction.

  A last minute decision to join #septtextilelove26 … so here I am #stl26day1 … Wilma from Newcastle, NSW , Australia , stitching in my garden - my favourite way to spend the day.  I love working with textiles and found objects and as I get older, I enjoy and appreciate the gentle calm of stitching even more . #septtextilelove #empresswu seam collective #SeptTextileLove — 2026 edition! What began back in September 2017 has grown into something truly special — a welcoming textile community that comes together every single year! What makes #SeptTextileLove truly stand out? It’s the connection! Every day, we at seam go through all your wonderful posts and choose three to highlight and celebrate. It’s the conversation between participants, t— and it all comes together in our final prompt on Day 30: “Your favourite post from another participant” — a beautiful way to lift each other up and wrap up the month together. All of September: one textile prompt a day. Respond to as many o...

Stitching Stories of Strength

  Last month, I was interviewed by Sian Goff , textileartist.org and here is the resulting article  Member Spotlight: Wilma Simmons  Stitching stories of strength When Wilma Simmons retired at 55 after a career as a high school principal, she made herself a promise: whatever came next would be creative. Two decades later, that promise has grown into a practice rooted in storytelling, sustainability, and a deep respect for the women who came before her. Based in Newcastle, Australia, Wilma has become a fixture of the textile art world, a longtime volunteer at the Timeless Textiles Gallery, a two-time solo exhibitor, and a member of Stitch Club almost since its very first year. Talking with her, it's easy to see why her work resonates: every piece carries a narrative, and every material has been chosen because it means something. Wilma Simmons , Thorax with Eucalyptus. Wilma Simmons , Wall, inspired by Ana Buzzalino. From clay and jewellery to cloth Wilma's crea...

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks ....  The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and  message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or  my husband or from off cuts gifted to us  from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks.   Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt  or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...