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Just a bit of personal history: I began
making/dressing dolls in the 3rd and 4th grades. I lived with my paternal
grandmother in the third grade and she taught me to sew and crochet.
When I entered the 4th grade we were to study South America in Social
Studies. A report on some aspect of each country was required.
Having sewn for a half a dozen blond
plastic 11" dolls must have given me the idea to dress them in
the native costumes illustrated in my American Peoples' Encyclopedia.
The teacher must have approved the idea for I removed the mohair wigs,
sanded the shoes off to make bare feet and converted 3 women to men
by filing off the bosoms and using tape layers for men's chests.
Then I used brown shoe polish to give
them a more native coloring. Finally wigs were fashioned from frayed
black satin; braids for the women and bowl haircuts for the men. The
strands of Texas grass were used to fashion sandals and to crochet sombreros
with the coloring supplied from sun melted crayons. None of the dolls
had underwear as that information was not given in the encyclopedias
but tiny shirts and blouses had embroidery designs.
One intricate hat was constructed of
wire and beads and that hat was recently shown to me by my sister who
had rescued my dolls when I left for college. When she showed me the
beaded hat, all of the memories came flooding back. How, as each country's
reports were completed, the dolls came out of the cabinet beside the
principal's office. The costumes were removed and new ones made. Only
the sandals, a few sombreros and serapes could be used for another country.
Then some years back I realized a life
long dream; to make porcelain dolls. The dolls were as large as 48"
but none smaller than 8" until I discovered the quality molds of
Parker/Levi and an expert mold maker nearby. After that I could sculpt
my own faces and have molds made. The opportunity for creative painting
is one I exploit in the fantasy dolls. One large mermaid (30")
I named OPAL, as I purchased opals in Australia and inserted them into
her breastplate as part of a floral corsage. She resides in a hand-painted
boat and at time host a school of mini mermaids,
While showing my miniature, one of a kind
fairies and deco dolls at Toy Fair in Tom Boland's Booth I was discovered
by CIMTA (Cottage Industry Miniature Trade Association) members and
invited to join. This has been a great growth experience as everyone
encouraged me to dive into the 2001st century with Electronic Communications.
I specialize in not only Fairies and Art
Deco dolls but also mini Mermaids and a 'Red Hatter' from Jenny Joseph's
poem which begins "When I am Old I Shall Wear Purple".
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