Doll Gallery

Here are some of my art dolls, all cloth, needle sculptured and as much as possible using natural fabrics. It is probably obvious that I don't give my figures names as in 'Susan, for instance, they are always known by their activity or some feature, such as the tulip below.

Jester
In a private collection

Flautist
In a private collection

Tulip
In a private collection

The Reader
Inspired by the work of sculptor Phillip  Jackson

Shaman
In a private collection

I have been making them for about five years now and find them a perfect displacement activity to my quilt making.Here are a few more;

 I called this doll 'Cirque Poupee', my French is extremely rusty and even back in the day I used to make up French words when I hadn't done my homework, so please excuse the liberty, but the jester style and the puppet inspired me. She is about 32" tall, the techniques used include patchwork, appliqué, the boots are leather.

 The sleeper has the full name of 'Sometimes Dreams are Wiser Than Waking'
This is from a painting of Susan Seddon Boulet, an amazingly spiritual painter I was introduced to by a student. The boots are made of soft leather from a scaled down pattern of a real boot worn by Native Americans.

 Pea Brush is inspired by a poem by Robert Frost called Pea Brush. He describes collecting pea brush from the Birch trees ready to support his peas, I do the same from my lovely Birch trees. Here I have used very delicate felt and a bunch of birch twigs for her legs.The wool for the felt was the perfect colour for the sweet shoots a pea plant sends up, just as the are doing in my garden right now.
I hope they don't get damaged by the frost. Soon I shall collect my pea brush.

 The Naturalist holds a bird in one hand and a bone in the other, her bag is full of bits and pieces she picks up when walking in the country, just like I do when I get the chance to.

The Gatherer is a similar inspiration but also an experiment in using unexpected materials, in this case paper. Her skirt is made of stiffened paper, her overskirt is paper stitched in a grid and then damped and distressed to create an irregular lace.