Izannah Walker Dolls!

Given the craziness that has been our life over the last six months, it's no wonder I haven't had a lot of time to work on dolls.  But it just occurred to me (uh, yeah, this living in the margins thing again) that I only have three weeks until we close on the new house and have to move!  Now I'm stoked about that, but when you boil it down, that's really just over two weeks of doll making time, to fit in and around everything else.

Oh my.  What is me who said, "...where complacency turns into planning"?  I'm a little short on both time and planning at this point, but that's okay.  I work well under pressure.  Ahem.

Thanks to my friends Edyth and Dixie, I have quite a few dolls to be working on. I've made a good start... lots of little heads and torsos, arms and legs all cut & sewn.  The fun part is the sculpting, but I am forcing myself to do the less-fun part, so I don't put it off. 

I asked Edyth if I could share pictures she took of her dolls, and that Dixie featured on Izannah Walker Chronicles.  Edyth has two lovely antique Izannahs, and I've had the privilege to meet both of them.  They are so different from one another, and yet the basic Izziness (technical doll maker's term) is abundantly clear in each.  

Edyth's antique Izannah Walker dolls

Edyth wanted some artist dolls to keep her antique girls company, so she now has two (at least): a boy and a girl.  The boy on the left and the girl on the right are the ones I made, and I have to say it's been a fun time learning from these originals up close and in person.  I have gotten a chance to measure and study, to photograph and compare.  So much can be absorbed by the hands that the eyes just can't get to...there's a visceral satisfaction in holding one of these babies that is hard to describe.

Soon I will have several Izannah Walker type dolls for sale--small 16" ones and larger 19 to 20" ones.    Some of them are already spoken for, and some will be headed for Ebay to find new homes.  If you would like one before it goes on Ebay, email me.  For now--break's over and it's time to get to work.  Okay, it's not really work, but we won't tell anybody that just now.

My reproduction dolls are the ones on either end...they all seem happy together.