In doing my research for faceless dolls I was thrilled to find Francoise Bosteels, Iconic Dolls, Sacred Art blog with her amazing faceless art dolls of India, like those shown in the pictures to the left and right.
According to her blog she was trained as a nurse and joined the Sisters of the Divine Savior in France. She went to India in 1974 to work with the village people in the South Tamil Nadu villages, which is where her inspiration for her beautiful faceless dolls developed.
Her faceless dolls are just astonishing. In looking at them you can feel the beauty of the doll and the complex life of the village people and their stories that she is trying to convey.
Her blog contains a "Process" page which describes and shows how she creates her art dolls and how, in particular, she created the art doll shown in the picture on the left.According to her "Process" page, "The materials I use are ordinary: a variety of colourful cloth called feutre; raphia (strong paper ribbons); pipe-cleaners; cotton balls for heads; wool; thread and discarded bobbins; banana and coconut fibre; palm leaves; bamboo; pieces of wood; small boxes and similar throw-away items. Gold and silver threads make a variety of jewellery. Sometimes I make use of small ready-made toys or art pieces such as a sewing machine or a harp. Tiny props used to create an environment have a story on their own. Thread and gum hold the figure together."
Francoise has created the following 3 books - all illustrated with fantastic photographs of her art dolls:
The Dolls Speak
Through the Needle’s Eye
Human Icons, Sacred Stories
Francoise exhibits her art dolls all over the world.
I hope you get a chance to view Francoise Bosteels, Iconic Dolls, Sacred Art blog and see her beautiful faceless doll creations.
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