Miss Martha

I guess it's no secret that I love dolls.  (No!  REALLY?) I make them, collect them, and enjoy learning and teaching all the various aspects of them.  I belong to a group called MAIDA (Making Antique Inspired Dolls and Accessories, I think) where doll makers share their techniques, challenges, and progress.  One of the doll makers I've met through this site is Martha Bishop, who lives in Mississippi and makes wonderful folk art dolls.  She posted some really big dolls last year, and one... just got me.

If you have ever collected anything, you know what it is to exercise restraint. The talent and variety represented by MAIDA doll makers alone is enough to fill a doll cabinet.  But there is only so much space in a house, and only so much money in a budget.  A collector must--if she is not to end up penniless and featured on "Hoarders"--acknowledge these limitations.

But I wanted that doll!  Too bad, Jan, that doll is spoken for.  Not willing to give up, I asked Martha: can we trade?  Will you make me a doll like that Big Girl, in return for one of my Izzie-babies?  She said yes, and adopted the wee Izannah Walker doll below, dressed in yellow.  She called her Janet.  We're so original with these names aren't we?
 

And yesterday, Miss Martha (a.k.a. Gloriana) arrived--all 27" of her.  I am silly over this doll, and consider her to be a fine work of American Folk Art.  Sometimes you just have to tell the collection restraints to move over, because this one is going to fit, somewhere.

I hate to do this, but...

I've been adamant for years that I not ever have the Spam-Bot word verification.  It bugs me to have to decipher one on somebody else's blog, so I didn't want anyone to have to tussle with it on mine.  But over that last several months, I've been getting spammers almost every day, so I have to give in.

To anybody who hates the word verification thingy, I sincerely apologize.  But it's the only thing I can think to do that will keep the comments section clear of spam.

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.