Lyrical Island Treasures
Cape Cod Home / Winter 2013 / Art & Entertainment, History, Home, Garden & Design, People & Businesses
Writer: Matthew J. Gill / Photographer: Jennifer Dow
Lyrical Island Treasures
Cape Cod Home / Winter 2013 / Art & Entertainment, History, Home, Garden & Design, People & Businesses
Writer: Matthew J. Gill / Photographer: Jennifer Dow
On one side of a circular, silver-dollar-sized piece of ivory, Lee Ann etches, for example, an image depicting ‘a partridge in a pear tree.’ On the flip side, she writes out the corresponding verse of the song accompanied by custom etchings of the client’s family, hobbies, and home.
“It’s something I’ve been doing now since the 1980s,” she says, adding that she originally viewed the ornaments as a way to reel husbands in to purchase gifts for their wives. Papale hoped the spouses would return year after year to complete the set.
Sandy Taylor, a longtime customer of Lee Ann’s, has an entire set of the Christmas ornaments. “Lee Ann’s work is simply beautiful,” Sandy says. “It’s unique. It’s creative. What I love about her work is she tries to individualize each piece and that means a lot.”
A resident of the island who really enjoys Christmas and the holidays, Sandy says she first heard of Lee Ann’s ivory ornaments years ago. “It’s a big Nantucket thing,” she says. She has since bought ornaments for everyone in her family.