Latest Dolls

Well, the big show is finally over, and it was a wonderful experience. It is always great to meet other doll people and make new friends.  It is exhausting, but worth every minute!   Here are some pics of some of the dolls I made for the show, and I can happily say that most of them have already gone to new homes.  The compliments I received on my work means so much to me as an artist, and I thank all my repeat customers and new ones! 
  As we are in the midst of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, all the dolls I made for the show were in keeping with that theme. Some were based on real people in history; others were created by me to represent those who would have lived at that time. 
   The first doll I want to share with you is probably my favorite.  She is based on a real person from that era--Sarah Ballou.  Several years ago, PBS ran a wonderful series on the Civil War, and they read the most beautiful letter from a soldier to his wife. His name was Major Sullivan Ballou from Rhode Island, and he wrote Sarah this letter one week before he was killed at the First Battle of Bull Run. She did not receive it until after his death.  If you can, get on-line and look up this letter. I warn you, however, make sure you have a box of Kleenex around when you read it because it is so beautiful and sad you will never forget it.  This is my interpretation of Sarah, in mourning for her beloved husband.  She is cloth, with facial features sculpted of paper clay and oil painted.
                                     

                                                   

 

 

Another doll based on a real person from history is a young Black boy named "Jim Linder".  Varina Howell Davis, the wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, was supposedly riding in her carriage one day in Richmond and saw a young Black boy being beaten in the street.  She stopped the carriage and rescued the boy, taking him home with her to the Confederate white house.  He was named Jim Linder Davis, and unofficially adopted.  He lived with the Davis family for several years, until they were forced to flee Richmond after Union forces took the city. 

 

 

 

 

Here are some more dolls of the era:

 

 



"HATSIE"

 

 

"RUBY AND MISS KATY ANNA"

 

 

"AMANDA"

 

 

 

The following dolls are based on folk art paintings, and also inspired by Izannah Walker dolls.

 

 

 

"JONATHAN AND EMMA FLORENCE"

 

 

"LUCY ANN"

 

 

Camera troubles over!

I finally got the computer to load pics from our digital camera--yeah!!  I'm adding some pictures of two of my latest dolls.  For those of you that have been following this blog, you will know that the Civil War era is my favorite time in American history, and most of my dolls reflect that. 
   The first doll I would like to introduce to you is Delphine. She is about 27" tall, and is made of cloth with a paper clay sculpted head and shoulder plate. She has been painted in oils.   She represents a segment of the Black population that were "free people of color".  Mostly concentrated in New Orleans, there were many free Blacks in many  parts of the country.  Delphine represents a "quadroon", who was 1/4 Black.  She is from New Orleans, is well educated, and perhaps is a "placee" , or the mistress of a wealthy white man.  The system of "placage" was very common in New Orleans and in some other Southern cities before the Civil War, and involved these young, beautiful, free mixed-race girls becoming the mistresses of wealthy white men. As they were legally prohibited from marrying a white man, they entered into these relationships after their protective mothers "bartered" for their future. They would be provided for financially by their "protector" and if any children were born of the union they would be well provided for and even educated in Europe in some cases.  Many of these unions lasted only until the man married officially, but some of them lasted for life. 

                                            

 

 

    The second doll is "Miss Sarah Matilda".  She is a reproduction of an antique paper mache German doll known as "Greiner"  dolls after their original producer.   She is cloth, with a paper clay sculpted head and shoulder plate, and is painted in oils.  She is dressed in a typical off- the- shoulder type dress of the 1850's and 1860's. 



                                                      

 

 

I'm working hard getting ready for another big doll show at the end of July!  Hope you enjoyed seeing my latest creations, and I'll post more  later.

 

 

Yes, I'm still alive!!

I can't believe it has been so long since I've posted anything!  I used to bemoan the fact that my dolls weren't selling, and now I can't keep up!  What do they say, be careful what you wish for because it might come true??  I cannot complain one bit;  making the dolls is just as fascinating and fulfilling today as it was the first time I made one years ago.  I have loved making special dolls for ladies who will treasure them for their lifetimes and then pass them on to the next generation. 
    I'm sorry I don't have any pictures to share with you today of my new dolls.  Our digital camera is giving us fits again; the little card doesn't want to download the pics onto the computer for some reason.  Hopefully we'll get the problem fixed soon.  I have quite a few dolls finished or in the process and I'd love to share some of them with you.  I have devoted my time entirely to my hand-sculpted original dolls and am not doing the porcelains anymore.  The sculpted ones are so challenging and I just love the way they "come to life" and gain their own personalities.  I have done some great Izannah Walker reproductions, and also I am very proud of a beautiful Greiner paper mache repro who is waiting for a special outfit.  The wonderful tintype photo I have posted above is a hint of things to come!!   
   My husband Doug has been hard at work as well making great doll furniture and wonderful props to be used in our next big show in Washington DC next month.  I am tearing my hair out practically, worrying that I won't get everything done in time, but I always do.  Poor Doug will have to eat a few PB and J sandwiches on his own while I am out in the studio working away!  He is a good sport about it, luckily, and getting him in on the act so to speak has helped a lot as well!  He is a very talented woodworker, and even though he grumbles sometimes about making the furniture, I know he really gets a kick out of it and takes pride in his work.  Anyhow,  look for some pictures very soon!  Thanks for your interest in following my work.  

More Christmas decor

As promised, here are some more pictures of my house decorating efforts! 

Christmas decor

 

DINING ROOM

                                                       LIBRARY

                                                          OFFICE

 

BEDROOMS

 

HALLWAY

 

 

I can't believe it's almost Christmas already! Seems like it was just July.  I've been working for about a week decorating our house for the upcoming Christmas tour of homes here in my tiny city of Port Gibson, MS.  It is a lot of work, but I throughly enjoy doing it!  The morning temperatures here get you in the spirit of Christmas (low 30's) but by afternoon it will be 70 here.  I was born and raised in Northern Ohio and remember lots of snow, so it is still a bit hard to get used to Christmas when it is fairly warm. It was even worse when we lived in Miami!  Anyhow, here are some pics of the house decorations. I have one more area to complete, the kitchen/family room, and will post those when finished, hopefully today!  One "glitch" i did not really anticipate; my cat Bella is going crazy with the Christmas tree ornaments and loves eating the red berries on the artificial tree and arrangements!  I did buy the shatter proof ornaments, thank goodness!   Anyhow,  I am itching to get back out into my doll studio!!  I have a French fashion doll outfit to complete for one of my customers from New Orleans, and then I will be starting new dolls. Can't wait!  Anyhow, I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season.

Delilah and Flora

Hi everyone!  I'm sorry I haven't posted anything lately, but I've been busy filling the last orders from the show I did in July!  And now with the holidays coming quickly, I am having to stop the doll making a while to start decorating the house. As I have said before, our house was built in 1835, and we occasionally have tours coming through or special events. This December 8th and 9th, we will participate in a Christmas tour of homes so I have to really get busy.  I am just finishing up new window treatments in my breakfast room, and then on to getting the Christmas trees up!  We don't decorate as much as we used to when we had the bed and breakfast, but it will still be pretty.  I'll try to post some photos of the decor when finished. 
   Here are two of my latest dolls. As you have probably noticed, I love everything to do with the Civil War era and most of my dolls reflect that. 

DELILAH

 

I love this civil war reproduction fabric for Delilah's dress that I found on line.  The design of the dress is very typical for young girls of the era, and for many years to come.  I made her little side-buttoned boots of soft leather.

I found this wonderful little quilt in an antique shop, which blends beautifully with her dress.  Delilah is going to a new home in New Jersey very soon!

 

 



 

FLORA

 

Miss Flora is dressed in a homespun plaid dress and also has hand made leather boots. As all of my dolls , her head is paperclay over cloth and is oil-painted and antiqued.  I saw an old tintype of a little girl of this era which inspired me to create Flora.  I imagined her sadly thinking of her father or brother who was far away fighting, and hoping for his safe return to his family. 

A dear friend of mine suggested something to me the other day that I thought would be a great idea.  After the holidays, when I start on more dolls, I am going to post a series of photos and descriptions of the doll making process from start to finish.  I think some of you might enjoy seeing how the doll progresses from the idea to the finished piece.
  In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!  Even though my husband Doug has to in for a little knee repair surgery in the next couple of weeks, we are hoping to drive down to Miami for a few days to visit his two daughters before Christmas.
Doug and I both had careers there; he is a retired Homicide detective from the Miami Dade police department, and I was a forensic scientist doing DNA analysis for 16 years. It was a good career, but I am so much happier now, creating beautiful things instead of seeing the very worst you can imagine.   Will talk to you all soon in 2013!!!

 

 

Nell and Emmeline

We are just drying out finally after Tropical Storm Isaac paid us a little visit last Wednesday night and Thursday!  We had about 8" of rain and tropical storm force winds, but luckily, we only had a bunch of limbs down, nothing worse.  We live in an antebellum home built in 1835, and there are many very old huge trees up here on our property. Of course I was so worried that some of them would come down.  After having lived through Hurricane Andrew in Homestead, Florida in 1992, I must admit I am still terrified of the wind.  We were in the house when that hit, and I can tell you, it was the most terrifying experience of my life. My husband was a detective on the MiamiDade Police Department, and of course they have to report for duty in emergencies like that. Luckily, he pulled the first 12 hour shift, so he was  coming home about 1AM just as the storm was starting to intensify. We huddled in an inner stairwell with our two Rottweilers, a poodle and a cat and those were the longest hours of my life. Our home was left standing, but with a lot of damage.  Anyhow, my heart goes out to those in Louisiana who faced such terrible flooding and loss of their homes. At least the levy in New Orleans held this time. 
    On a lighter note, here are my two latest creations. They have both gone to wonderful new homes in Williamsburg, Virginia.  Izannah Walker type dolls are some of my favorites to make.  These two little pretties have paperclay sculpted heads, and are oil-painted and antiqued. Their dresses are made in the popular off the shoulder style of the 1850's-60's.  I made each of them a little cloth kitty as a companion for their journey. 

   I hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend.  Hard to believe summer is nearly over.  Where does the time go???