Try to get on her Christmas card list Try to get on her Christmas card list (December 02, 2005)

Nancy Eddinger's holiday note cards capture local sites
by Jerri Long

Those who have waited each year to collect the latest artwork by Nancy Eddinger in the form of holiday note cards better hurry, because the six-year series comes to a close in 2005. This year's note cards feature a watercolor of the Museum On Main, a 1914 building adjacent to the Pleasanton arch in the center of downtown.

This recent holiday tradition all began in 2000 when a neighbor invited Nancy to participate in a holiday boutique. She began to think about what she would offer for sale and that's when the idea of creating holiday note cards with local landmarks was created.

"Since most of my family (in Pennsylvania) won't come out here, that's one way I can share Pleasanton with them," says Nancy of her endeavors.

For 2000, Nancy painted the Pleasanton Hotel with holiday swags across the front and an evening sky in the background. The time of day -- evening -- has remained, but each year the building is different: The Veterans' Memorial Building with a flag in the arched doorway for 2001 -- the first card after the tragedy of 9/11; the tiny gas station at the corner of Main and St. Mary streets with a "woody" station wagon bringing home a Christmas tree on its roof; Kolln Hardware, depicting all the things that used to be outside, such as wagons and carved bears; the white-spiraled church at Neal and First streets; and - last in the series -- the Amador-Livermore Valley Historical Society's Museum On Main. All can be seen on her Web site, NancyEddinger.com.

"I start by taking lots of photographs from lots of different angles," Nancy said. "Once I figure out the best angle, I work on my watercolor original most of the summer." For 2005, however, Nancy actually did two versions of the Museum On Main. The first included not only Santa's sleigh passing a full moon, but also the Pleasanton arch sign. "When I got all finished, I didn't like it -- it was too busy," says Nancy, who then set out to do a second version, minus the arch sign, in just one month.

Art has been one of Nancy's interests all her life. "To entertain my sister and me, my mother would draw a picture of a bride, then we would try to draw the same thing," Nancy remembers with a laugh. "Then, when we got to high school, my sister was really into art. You know how that is: I wanted to do something different, so I went into nursing." Nancy had a four-year career as a surgical nurse before she met and married Chuck Eddinger. His job took them to an area with no nearby hospital. They moved to Pleasanton 27 years ago, and Nancy has, for the last 18 years, been a teacher's aide in special education classes, first at Sunol Glen School, then at Vintage Hills Elementary School, and now (for nine years) Harvest Park Middle School.

Nancy and Chuck's son Nate graduated from Amador Valley High School and University of Southern California (He now lives in Dublin). As Nate grew older, Nancy began taking art classes again, first with Gary Diehl at Las Positas College, and more recently with Nan Rae at the Huntington Museum in Pasadena, where Nancy enthusiastically studied Chinese brush painting -- a skill she shares with classes at Harvest Park. "Anybody can do it," she insists about Chinese brush painting. "Everyone who tries it has success, because it's like handwriting, reflecting the individual's personality. There is no 'wrong' way to do it."

Nancy's local exhibitions have included a show at the Museum On Main and also the Alameda County Fair's Fine Arts Division, where she won a silver ribbon for her 1995 entry. She is a member of the Pleasanton Art League. Nancy does original artwork on commission, and she offers one-on-one art lessons. Her current student is a fourth-grader.

It is the holiday note cards that, so far, have brought Nancy the widest acclaim -- literally. "Making up and selling my Christmas cards isn't the most lucrative endeavor, but what makes it rewarding to me is capturing Pleasanton's charm and sharing it with my family and friends, and finding that they feel the same way," Nancy said. "I can't tell you how many people, even in other states and countries, have framed my cards and display them in their homes. I've been told that my cards have gone all over the world -- England, Scotland, Australia, and Japan, to name a few -- and are framed and hanging in their homes."

Those lamenting the end of an era should take heart: Nancy plans to begin a new series of local landmark note cards, one that is not restricted to the holiday season. "So many people asked if I could do cards they could use all year, so that's what I'll be working on."
How to get Nancy's note cards before they're gone

Collections of the entire series of six cards, as well as sets of the 2005 design, are available at Museum On Main and in the following downtown stores: Sincerely Yours, Towne Center Books, Mesa Trading Company and Domus. Individual cards also are sold.

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