A Regency Period Outfit - What Will This Doll Look Like? Hmmm...

Hmmm... a regency period dress - what will this doll look like?

I thought you'd like a little tease from my Bonnets and Beaus: A Regency Doll Project online class that I'm taking during the first session of Artful Gathering.  

The online class is being taught by Hally Levesque who is an exceptional art doll artist, photographer and a bit of a history buff. Not only are her video's easy to follow and beautifully taught but they are sprinkled with historical tidbits of life with Jane Austen - which I love.

As you know I love history and dolls so this is right up my alley.

Since I never do anything in moderation I, of course, couldn't just make one doll. I'm making two. It's a lot of work as these dolls are made out of cloth and paperclay, but I'm thoroughly enjoying Hally's class.

I hoping to paint the dolls tomorrow. Wish me luck.

There's Something Very Endearing About Wishbone Dolls

Image Courtesy of Ebay by abclovell

Before doing my research for faceless dolls I would never have thought about making a doll from a turkey or chicken wishbone.  However, knowing the history of the colonial period and the pioneers and using materials on hand I shouldn't be surprised as to wishbones being used to make playthings.

Some of these dolls were faceless, but most had faces.  Even though they didn't fit the criteria for my "faceless" dolls research I was intriqued and had to know more.  Here's what I found:

They were also known as pen wiper dolls that were used about 150 years ago.  In Colonial times people kept them on their desks to wipe away extra ink from their pens.

The wishbone doll shown in the picture above is for sale on Ebay by abclovell and can be found here.

Page 205 of The Doll Book written in 1908 by Laura B. Starr under the Homemade Dolls chapter talks about the merry-thought doll which is made out of wishbones from turkeys, chickens, ducks, and birds - with all the different sizes being perfect for different family members.

According to the chapter, "The merry-thought doll affords no end of pleasure and amusement.  The wishbones from turkeys, chickens, ducks and birds offer various sizes for a large family of these dolls.  The head may be molded of ceiling wax, black, white or colored; here is a chance to show skill and artistic ability.  Again a head may be penciled on the flat surface of a cork and each end of the wishbone thrust into or glued on to the other pieces to give the manikin necessary stability, and make it flat-footed enough to let it stand alone unaided."

"Doll pen wipers are made from a wishbone and dressed like a ballet dancer.  They usually wear a card around the neck upon which is printed the following epitaph:  

One I was a wishbone and grew upon a hen,

Now I am a little slave and made to wipe your pen."

From my research I discovered that most wishbone dolls had cork heads, walnut heads, cloth heads, or wax heads.  Most had faces, but there were some that didn't so I gave some thought to including them in my The History of Faceless Dolls but decided not to.  

So I decided to write this blog post about them - mainly because I find the wishbone dolls so charming.

I'm In Love With Penny Wooden or Peg Wooden Dolls

Image Courtesy of Wikipedia.com

As you all know I absolutely love dolls of all kinds, shapes, and sizes.  However, while doing my research on the "The History of Faceless Dolls" I read an article about Penny Wooden Dolls, like the doll pictured above from Wikipedia.org, and fell in love with them.

According to Wikipedia.org, " Peg wooden dolls also known as Dutch dolls are a type of wooden doll from Germany and the Netherlands. They originated as simple lathe turned dolls from the Val Gardena in the Alps. These dolls were sold undressed. Young girls would then make their clothing from scraps of fabric."

"Other similarly constructed wooden dolls, using a jointing technique where the arms and/or legs are attached to the body with pegs, are some of the oldest surviving dolls, and were made worldwide. Sometimes a peg wooden doll's arms or legs are locked together by the jointing system, so if one arm is moved the other will move. An advanced form of peg joints is where the body pegs are "split" and attached separately allowing independent movement."

I was intrigued by the picture, shown here, and wanted to know more.  So, of course, I had to do some research.  Here's what I found.

Page 146 of the Information Please Girls' Almanac by Alice Siegel said this about Pennywooden Dolls, "These are English dolls carved out of wood.  The joints are moveable and fastened by pegs. These are also know as dancing dolls."

My question was whether Peg Wooden dolls and Penny Wooden dolls were the same thing.  I had to find out.

According to an article on eHow.com entitled Penny Wood Dolls History by Christy P., "Penny wood dolls were known by a variety of names, including peg wooden dolls, penny woodens and wooden poppets. These dolls typically resembled wooden clothespins with simple peg joints."

So now we know they may be called Dutch dolls, peg wooden dolls, penny wooden dolls, pedlar dolls, and tuck comb dolls.

There was a Grodnertal Wooden Peddler Doll that sold for thousands of dollars on the Rubylane.com website.  According to her description she was a spectacular example of a Grodnertal wooden pedlar doll.

There was a Grödnertal Carved Wooden Doll, ca. 1820 on the PBS.org WGBH Roadshow Archives website here.  This doll was appraised at several thousand dollars and was a tuck comb doll due to the little comb on the top of her head.

So now we know they may be called Dutch dolls, peg wooden dolls, penny wooden dolls, pedlar or peddler dolls, tuck comb dolls, Grodnertal Wooden Peddler, and Grodnertal carved wooden dolls.

Image Courtesy of Frills, Frocks and Fancies Blog

The doll pictured above is from a wonderful post on the Dolls from the Attic...Mis Muñecas blog, which I absolutely love,  about Grodner Tal, "Tuck Comb," Peg Wooden Dolls.    This post is filled with information on these dolls as well as a ton of beautiful pictures. If you would like to read this post please click here.

According to this post, "From the home industry of the Groden Valley, Grodner Tal and South Tyrol, came the little peg wooden dolls. These are some of the oldest surviving dolls. Although the term peg-wooden refers to a jointing technique the term came to be synonymous with lathe turned dolls from these areas of the Alps. They were the inexpensive play dolls of generations in both Europe and America."

"Most of the dolls had combs carved into their heads-hence the term Tuck Combs. Their heads and bodies were lathe turned as one piece and had simple peg joints, but the larger dolls had ball joints and even swivel waists. They had elongated graceful proportions, nicely carved details, painted slippers and sometimes with wood pendant earrings."

"The hair is usually painted with curled bangs. Once painted and varnished they were ready for whatever adventures their little owners could conjure up. They are often referred to as German Tuck Combs, probably because they were sold in the German Nuremberg Toy Market, and sometimes incorrectly they are called Dutch dolls but this was a mispronunciation of the word Deutsch."

This was confirmed by a excerpt from the Early North American Dollmaking: A Narrative History and Craft Instructions by Iris Sanderson Jones in 1976 which said, "Long before the American Revolution, Grodner Tal doll salesmen carried great containers of toys and dolls into Italy and Spain.  By the Civil War these dolls were known to English children as "Dutch dolls," probably the same distortion of the word "Deutsch," or "german," which occurred with the "Pennsylvaia Dutch" in the United States."

So, now we know they aren't actually Dutch dolls, but mispronounced Deutsch Dolls.  This means they've been called Dutch aka Deutsch dolls, peg wooden dolls, penny wooden dolls, pedlar or peddler dolls, tuck comb dolls, Grodnertal Wooden Peddler, Grodnertal carved wooden dolls, Grodner Tal dolls, and Grodner Tal peg wood dolls.

According to the Wood Dolls article by By Denise Van Patten, Doll Collecting Expert, on the About.com website, "Dates of Production Of Wood Dolls: As mentioned, wood dolls are known from ancient times. Italian creche figure examples are known as early as the 1500s (very rare) and English wood dolls from the late 1600s and early 1700s are quite rare. English wood dolls are more plentiful from the late 1700s and early 1800s, and German Grodner Tal and Peg Wood dolls are from the 1800s. A cottage industry created peg woodens well into the 20th century, and there are artists today still making wood dolls."

We learn from an exhibit on the Illinois State Museum website that,  "Berechtesgaden, Grödner Tal, Oberammgergau--Peg-wooden Dolls - In several German-speaking areas of central Europe, the making of wooden dolls with peg jointing became an important part of the local economy. Most of these dolls were made in the mountainous area surrounding St. Ulrich, which was part of Austria until World War II, and is now part of Italy. In this area, called the Grödner Tal (Valley), wooden dolls and doll heads were being carved as early as the 1700s. By 1800, about 300 wood carvers in the Grödner Tal were making dolls, and sales agents took their work all over the world. The farm families living in the mountains spent their winters making dolls in a wide range of sizes from local wood, mostly pine. Most of the attention was put into the head, which required the most skill in carving and painting. The peg-jointed wooden bodies allowed for movement of the arms and legs. Peg-wooden dolls were also made in the forests of Thuringia (a northern area of Germany) and in the Berchtesgaden and Oberammergau Tyrolean area. Craftspeople making these dolls were also working in England, America, and China, but the quantities produced could not match those of the Grödner Tal. The Verlagers in Grödner Tal were important middlemen who organized production, purchased dolls from the carvers, stored them, and marketed the dolls for export. By 1873 almost the entire population of the Grödner Tal (3,500) were involved in the doll business, and one Verlager had thirty large showrooms containing millions of dolls."

There is an utterly adorable children's book published in 1895 entitled "The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a 'Golliwogg' by Florence K. Upton" that is visible on the Gutenberg.org website that is so charming you have to read it.  I loved the story and the adorable illustrations.  If you would like to know more about the author, Florence K. Upton please click here.

Image Courtesy of Theriaults.com

The TWO GRODNERTAL WOODEN DOLLS,MOTHER AND SON,WITH ORIGINAL COSTUMES shown above were listed on the Theriaults.com website.  Here's what they had to say about them:

According to their description: "TWO GRODNERTAL WOODEN DOLLS,MOTHER AND SON,WITH ORIGINAL COSTUMES - Lot Number: 78 - 9" (23 cm.) Each is all-wooden with one-piece head and torso,dowel-jointing at shoulders,elbows,hips and knees,the woman with black painted hair decorated with highly- stylized spit curls and tuck comb,elongated throat,and tiny centered painted features; and the boy with short black hair,suggestion of sideburns,painted features. Condition: good,unrestored,costumes are original albeit frail. Comments: Grodnertal,circa 1830,the dolls were featured in Ackerman's Dolls in Miniature. Value Points: both dolls wear their original stylized costumes."

How beautiful are they? Are you in love with penny wooden dolls, too?

Perhaps It's Time I Made An Apple Head Doll - Maybe She'll Have A Victorian Outfit!

Image Courtesy of The National Gallery of Art

According to the Apple-Head Trio illustration shown above from the Dolls from the Index of American Design Collection at The National Gallery of Art: This apple-head trio was designed and made in North Carolina about 1892. Apple-head dolls probably originated with the Iroquois Indians. The expression on the face was produced by pinching the surface of the apple when it began to shrink.

Jane Iverson (artist), American, active c. 1935, Mrs. Almira Smith (object maker), Wenham Historical Society (object owner), American Dolls, c. 1936, watercolor, graphite, and pen and ink on paper, Index of American Design, 1943.8.15576

Viewing this illustration got me to thinking about apple head dolls and their history.  So, of course, I had to do a little research.

While doing my research on the "History of Faceless Dolls" I ran across the Wisconsin Historical Society website that had an amazing collection of 23 apple head dolls, including the beautiful apple head doll shown in the screenshot above.

She is described as, "Applehead doll, woman, black dress, white apron, USA, 1952-1956." I loved all the dolls in the collections and think it is well worth seeing. If you would like to see all 23 of the apple head dolls in their collection please click here.

According to Wikipedia.org, "An apple doll is a North American cultural phenomenon where the doll's head is made from dried apples. The apple is peeled, then carved with the facial features of the doll. Next the apple is left to dry for several days or weeks. When completely dry, the apple is positioned on the top of a wire frame which is shaped into the rest of the doll's body. The rest of the wire frame is covered up by the doll's clothing, which is usually sewn by hand. In modern times, apple dolls are mostly used as decorations or to display craftsmanship, rather than as children's toys. Because of the different effects drying produces, no two dolls are alike."

That latter statement is definitely true and all you have to do is look at the 23 apple head dolls in the Wisconsin collection above to see that no two dolls are alike.

According to the Encyclopedia of American Folk Art, "Unlike corn hisk dolls, which have dual origins in  the European and Native American cultures, nuts and apple dolls were largely indigenous to American soil."

"Americans made the first apple-head dolls.  As pioneers came into contact with various tribes, they began to copy their dolls.  Traders persuaded Native Americans to dress their apple-head dolls in bright costumes with elaborate ornamentation, for sale to tourists. Their apple faces were either carved or pinched in, to create the features before they shrunk as they dried."

The Springfield-Greene County Library District Springfield, Missouri website had a Bittersweet article in 1974, Volume II, No. 2, Winter 1974 by Verna Lucas entitled APPLEHEAD DOLLS.

The White House Doll

Image Courtesy of  Smithsonian National Museum of American History

In doing my research for the "The History of Faceless Dolls" I ran across several articles regarding a historical doll named "Sally" (shown in the picture above from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History) that is now in the Smithsonian and was otherwise known as "The White House Doll."  She was described as a rag doll, but from the picture above you'd think she was a china head doll.  So, of course I was intrigued and had to find out more.

According to the "Creating A Private Life" section of "Life and Death In The White House" this doll was made around 1829 for Mary Louisa Adams, granddaughter of John Quincy Adams.

  

According to Child Life in Colonial Days, Volume 1 By Alice Morse Earle - Published 1909, "The White House doll spent the days of her youth in the White House  at Washington, with the children of the president, John Quincy Adams and is still cherished by his descendants."

Section VI of  Our Early Presidents, Their Wives and Children: From Washington to Jackson By Harriet Taylor Upton published in 1890 contains a section about the family of John Quincy Adams and his grandchildren, including Mary Louisa Adams, shown in the picture below from a painting owned by her husband, W. C. Johnson, Esq., Newburyport, Mass.

The Molly Brinkerhoff Doll - Buried With A Family's Cherished Possession During The Revolutionary War

When I was doing my "History of Faceless Dolls" research I ran across another doll that I was intriqued with and wanted to know more.  She was also around in the colonial times and had an amazing history. It seems she was loved so much she was buried in a chest by her owners with other cherished possessions when the British invaded Long Island and then dug up later when the war was over.

Can you imagine loving a doll so much you want to safeguard her during a war? I certainly can.

While she wasn't pertinent to my research on "faceless" dolls I just had to know more. While there wasn't a lot of information on her there was some. Here's what I found.

The Chicago Tribune in 1948 had an article in their Books Alive column by Vincent Starrett that was reviewing a book "The Dolls of Yesterday" by Eleanor St. George (Scribner).

In their article they mentioned the Molly Brinkerhoff doll and said:  "YOU will not find the name of Molly Brinkerhoff in American history, and that is a pity, for she was a heroine of the Revolutionary War who merits our sympathy and respect. One of the oldest rag dolls in the United States, she has come down the years in fair condition, all things considered, and now lives in Vermont - aged perhaps 175 years - with her present owner, Mrs. Richard G. Miller of White River Junction."

"Molly is mother made of  old homespun linen stuffed with flax. Her hair and features are embroidered.  One arm now is missing, and her clothing has long since vanished: but with care she may last another century or two and survive seven more wars."

"Her adventures have already been notable.  Certain colonial Brinkerhoff kids loved her and wept to leave her when the British army swept toward their Long Island home. They hid her in a chest, with other treasures, and buried her in the sands of Long Island, then fled with their parents before the tide of war. Later, when the war was over, she was resurrected and restored to her adoring family."

"After her mother's death, Mrs. Miller -a direct descendant of two colonial famiies - found Molly in her attic, together with a plaque that had accompanied her to some fund-raising fair in Civil War times.  The plaque reads:"

Molly Brinkerhoff

I am not made of dust or wax,

But homespun linen stuffed with flax,

No human being treads the earth

That was alive at Molly's birth.

Many scores have I, old Molly,

Kept the Brinkerhoff children jolly.

During the war of '76

I ofken chest deep in the sand

I was buried on Long Island strand.

There safe from British and Tories I lay

Til the last of the redcoats skedaddled away.

"There is no signature, but the poet is obviously Molly herself, writing perhaps on her hudreth birthday.  The note of quiet authority is unmistakable."

In the book  "Cloth Dolls From Ancient to Modern - A Collector's Guide With Values by Linda Edward" there is a mention of the Molly Brinkerhoff doll on page 8 that said, "A Revolutionary America period doll known as Molly Brinkerhoff was oened by the Brinkerhoff children. She is 25 inches (63.5cm) tall and made of linen stuffed with flax. Her hair and features are neatly embroidered. She was held in such hig esteem by her owners that when the British troops advanced on Long Island, New York, she was buried in a chest on the Long Island Strand along with the other family valuables to protect her from the "Redcoats and torries." When the family returned home after the wa she was dug up again safe and sound to become a cherished family heirloom."

Also, according to The Information Please Girls' Almanac By Alice Siegel - Page 146, "Molly Brinkeroff - Molly was a doll that was buried by her owners along with their household goods when the British invaded Long Island in the days before the American revolution. When  Molly was dug up she became a keepsake for generations of Brinkeroffs, who associated her with that period in history."

I wish I had found more information on her and had found a picture.  I haven't yet, but I'll keep trying.

After 250 Years It's Still The Bangwell Putt Rag Doll

Image Courtesy of The Doll Book written in 1908 by Laura B. Starr

When I was doing my "The History of Faceless Dolls" research I ran across a faceless doll that was created in 1765 and, 250 years later, is still in existence.  It was included in the Memorial Hall Museum Online -  American Centuries....View From New England  website that allows you to "Explore American history with hands-on activities, exhibits, lessons, historic documents and artifacts."

The Children's Toys section of their online collection includes the Bangwell Putt Rag Doll which is a faceless rag doll that was made for Clarissa Field of Northfield, MA in 1765.

Here's what the website had to say about this doll, "Dolls could be purchased, but many people made them at home. A relative made this rag doll for Clarissa Field of Northfield, Massachusetts, around 1770. She named her Bangwell Putt. (Clarissa had several other dolls, all with equally fanciful names, including Pingo, Palica, Kimonarro, and Ebby Puttence.) Clarissa Field was born blind. Although Bangwell Putt lacks a face, her ten fingers were carefully made, suggesting the importance of touch in Clarissa's world. Like other little girls, Clarissa could use her doll to practice the skills she would need as an adult. She could dress and undress Bangwell, and sew fashionable clothes for her. Bangwell has a homespun body and is dressed in eighteenth-century fashion, including a corset. Clarissa also could tend Bangwell as a mother would a child. Clarissa never married. She kept Bangwell until she died in her eighties. Bangwell Putt is thought to be the oldest surviving rag doll in North America."

I became intriqued by this doll, especially her name, and wanted to see if there was more information on her. Here's what I found:

The History Of Faceless Dolls - Updated February 2015 - Part XXIII - Faceless Dolls For Charity and Conclusion

In doing my research on faceless dolls I was delighted to run across some websites concerning the application of "faceless" dolls in charity today and why they were chosen or made "faceless."

Back in 2006 one of those articles was about "faceless" dolls of Gloria Larocque. She has created 100 or more "faceless" dolls based upon the Iroquois legend that warns young girls about the dangers of vanity.

However, according to the article her purpose is different. Her dolls represent Canada's murdered aboriginal women, a group made faceless not by vanity but by neglect. Her project has helped draw attention to the plight of the murdered aboriginal women.

According to Gloria:"The dolls will act as a centre-piece for educating children about traditional Aboriginal culture, maintaining cultural integrity through a contemporary setting. As a teaching tool kit, the idea will be to plant seeds of survival skills concepts such as choice, strength, education, cultural connection and knowledge of self.

The kit will contain a doll in the same fashion as an Aboriginal Angel Doll, and will be presented as an “elder”. The doll will be known as Kookum RETA (grandmother rejuvenate, educate, traditional, acceptance) of the Aboriginal people from Turtle Island. The power of the elder teaching the young is a traditional aboriginal teaching method."


In 2010 the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) contacted Gloria Larocque to explore the possibility of creating a similar project as hers that, "would carry forward the visual representation of strong and beautiful Aboriginal women who have become ‘faceless’ victims of crime. This collaboration resulted in NWAC’s Faceless Doll Project. The dolls created through this new project will be used to create a traveling art exhibit in memory of the more than 600 missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls in Canada. NWAC’s Faceless Doll Project was launched in March 2012 and Community Engagement Workshops were held across the country (funded by the Status of Women Canada). Community members were invited to come and hear the Faceless Doll story and create their very own doll for inclusion in this
commemorative art project. All workshop materials were provided."

The NWAC created a Building On The Legacy Of The NWAC Faceless Doll Project: Create Your Own Faceless Dolls .PDF concerning this initiative and containing information for workshops for groups to create faceless paper dolls in tribute and solidarity of the 600 missing and murdered Aboriginal women. If you would like to see and read the Building On The Legacy Of The NWAC Faceless Doll Project: Create Your Own Faceless Dolls  .PDF please click here.

There was also an article by Brenda Tobias on the Cornell University website concerning Hurricane Katrina and something the alumni did to help the children affected by Hurricane Katrina. A group of 100 alumni got together to sew "faceless" dolls for the children. Doll decorating kits and coloring books were assembled and sent to the children to comfort them.

The History Of Faceless Dolls - Updated February 2015 - Part XXII- A Very Famous Faceless Doll

Raggedy Ann meets Raggedy Andy for the first time; illustrated by Johnny Gruelle

As far as Raggedy Ann is concerned, one of the legends surrounding her creation is that a little girl was rummaging around her Grandmother's attic and finds a faceless, battered old doll. She brings the doll into her fathers art studio and tells him all about finding it in the attic. He looks at his daughter and the faceless doll and decides to draw a whimsical face on it and then tells her to see if her Grandmother would sew two button eyes on. And so Raggedy Ann was born.

According to Wikipedia.com Raggedy Ann was created by Johnny Gruelle (1880 - 1938) for his daughter, Marcella.   She died at the age of 13 after being vaccinated at school for smallpox without her parents consent.  Authorities blamed her death on a heart defect, but her parents blamed the vaccine.  As a result, Gruelle became a very vocal opponent of vaccination and by association Raggedy Ann became the symbol for the anti-vaccination movement.

The History Of Faceless Dolls - Updated February 2015 - Part XXI - Books To Help You Create Your Own Faceless Dolls

One of the greatest things about creating art dolls is they can be made out of any media and be an expression of whatever the artist or maker wishes to convey. Sometimes the art doll is funky, wild, out of this world, happy, sad, or just plain "out there!"

When making art dolls nothing is more fun than mixed media art dolls. There are no boundaries and no limits where they are concerned - including "faceless" mixed media art dolls.

Sarah Lawrence is a contemporary textile artist who exhibits her creations all over the world and has written several books. One of her books, Art Dolls - 20 To Make contains the directions for making 20 of her art dolls, 7 of which are "faceless" and would be fun to make.

The 7 faceless dolls include: Jumping Jack who is a wooden bead doll, Timelines which is a textile figure doll, Statuesque and Painted Lady which are four-sided paper dolls, Angelica and Angel Choir who are wooden doll peg painted angels, Wired  Woman which is a bended wire doll, Heart Of Glass which is the beaded doll shown in the picture to the left, Man Of Dreams and Woman of Soul which are four-sided paper dolls, and Button Up which is a wood bead and button doll. Templates, if required, are included in the book but would need to be re-sized as they are shown at 67% of their size.

If you would like to see pictures of some of these dolls please click here for the Amazon.com page and then click on the book image to look inside.

You can also see pictures of Jumping Jack, Timelines, Statuesque - Painted Lady, Angelica - Angel Choir, and Heart Of Glass here.

I love angels and all the beauty, goodness, and protection they represent and especially love, guardian angels whose job it is to protect you, groups of people, even the world.

For artists and crafters angels take all sorts of shapes and sizes and can be made out of just about any medium.  That's why you find folk art angels, primitive angels, mixed media angels, Victorian angels, paper angels, woodcraft angels. glass angels, fabric angels, beaded angels, metal angels and so much more.  Angels may have faces or even be faceless - which, of course, I love.

In doing my research for this article I found a wonderful Making Angels -Ornaments, and Dolls By Hand - Step-by-Step Instructions for 47 projects by Holly Harrison.

Out of the 47 angel projects in this book 19 are faceless.  There's Kitchen Spice which is a cinnamon and nutmeg angel, Dieter's Delight which is a cooper metal angel, Sugar Shell Angel which is a spoon and cooper angel, Domestic Bliss Angel which is a wire and cloth angel, Rose Angel which is a beautiful corn husk angel, Art Deco Garden Angel which is a embossable copper sheet angel, and Maia - Springtime Angel which is a painted paper angel.

There's Crystal - Dewdrop Angel which is a wood and silver tin angel, Summer Angel which is a beach glass and crushed shells angel, Fall Harvest Angel which is a moss covered angel, Angel In Brown which is a raffia angel, Earth Angel which is a driftwood and branch angel, Winter Solstice Angel which is a copper wire mesh angel, Marina - Dancing Angel which is a seashell and wire angel, and Ballerina Angel which is an adorable cloth angel.

There's the Real Woman Angels which are cloth angels that I absolutely love, Happiness Angel which is a wire angel, Blue Angel which is a glass angel, and Valentine Angel which is a paper angel.

If you would like to see pictures of the Kitchen Spice, Dieter's Delight, Sugar Shelf Angel, and Domestic Bliss Angel please click here.

The History Of Faceless Dolls - Updated February 2015 - Part XX - Other Faceless Doll Art

Karen Meacham, is a prekindergarten teacher at an independent school who, according to her, " is someone who loves creating natural toys and loves children." She makes the most adorable faceless (Waldorf inspired) wood carved art dolls (like the doll shown in the picture to the bottom right), carved wooden peg dolls (like the doll shown in the pictures below), and needle felted art dolls (like the Geisha doll shown in the picture to the right).

According to the Karen Meacham Designs Faceless Soft-Felted Toys article by Lynda Heines in the Evansville Courier & Press from Oct. 2, 2011, " Karen Meacham designs her faceless soft-felted toys to encourage children to use their imaginations."

"Inspired by the Waldorf approach to education, which encourages children to use their imagination, Meacham's creations allow children to act out their own scenarios and decide for themselves the emotions of the dolls. And they are made of all natural materials."

Her Little Acorns Blog by Karen Meacham blog is filled with posts about her life, her family, her natural classroom and being a teacher, and includes some tutorials showing how she made some of her dolls.

She has a couple charming posts and/or tutorials on her blog concerning the needle felted playscape she made and all the wooden peg people she carved and painted for this.

For her playscape according to Karen, "My original idea was to create a little scene in which small figures could interact in a variety of ways and in a variety of places. I also wanted to create a "location" to which children could add their own personal touches such as housewares, furniture, animals, gardening tools or different garden crops, or a fishing rod."

If you would like to see and read her Felted Playscape: Part I tutorial and post please click here.

Tutorial on Carving Peg People: Mother Earth and her Root Children (Felted Playscape: Part II) is a charming post and tutorial about carving the Mother Earth and her children that she wanted for her playscape.

According to Karen, "I am not a stranger to peg people.  I love using them in the classroom.  We use them for a "first day of school" project. The children paint and decorate one to represent themselves. They are then strung on a string and hung on hooks outside each center area......"

"But to give peg people a little extra personality, a little extra zing if you will, they might need a wee bit more than paint.  Shaping peg people (as I have discovered after creating 10 of them) gives them a little more personality.  Children have marvelous imaginations and certainly do not require the level of detail I have given my creations, but I enjoy making them.  Plus in the past, our students did seem to especially enjoy playing with toys they knew I had created with our class in mind."

The History Of Faceless Dolls - Updated February 2015 - Part XVIIII - The Ruth E. Aten World Doll Collection: Americas

The Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University is, according to their website, " a leading center for the worldwide study of vernacular arts, and of the historical, cultural and social contexts in which these arts are embedded. The home to two closely aligned disciplines with a deep shared history at IU, the department has a distinguished history and a bright future in the areas of research, teaching, public outreach and community service."

One of the items in their collection is The Ruth E. Aten World Doll Collection: Americas.  It is a collection of dolls from Latin America, the Carribean, Central America, North America and South America.

Most of the dolls in her collection have faces, but there were several that didn't. It is an incedible collection to see.  If you would like to view The Ruth E. Aten World Doll Collection: Americas collection pleaser click here.

Here's a few of the faceless dolls from her doll collection with some of the information on each doll:

NAmer41. U.S.A. Colonial Clothespin Doll

6” Small doll made of clothespins and dressed in colonial attire with a calico print dress, bonnet and white rickrack trim apron.

Making dolls out of clothespins was a popular early form of doll making.

Given by Ruth Aten. 1999

NAmer40. Eagle, Alaska, U.S.A.. Alaskan Mother and Baby 

8” Handmade stuffed doll of mother and baby, flowered cotton outfit with fur trim, sculptured head with beaded eyes.

Tag: “This symbol is your guarantee that this is a genuine article, made in Alaska, handcrafted by an Alaska resident artist or craftsman.

Doll was made by Sharon Hamilton, a resident of Eagle, Alaska. Eagle is a small isolated village in Alaska where they survive the winters by growing and gathering food from the land.

As a resident said, “Here we prefer eating bears that lived in the woods and ate berries to bears that ate fish from a stream or river. Bears that live on berries are sweeter and not fishy tasting; they’re pre-marinated.”

Purchased by Ruth Aten in Eagle, Alaska. 2005

The History Of Faceless Dolls - Updated February 2015 - Part XVIII - Faceless Dolls From Carole's World Costume Doll Collection

I have been a collector of dolls my entire life and love looking at other doll collections. In updating my faceless doll article I found several websites with information on and pictures of the dolls in their world collections.

The largest collection of world dolls I found was Carole's from World Costume Doll. She has been collecting dolls since 1957 and has information on and pictures of the 1900 dolls in her collection. The dolls are all part of Carole's private collection and not for sale.

Most of the dolls in her collection have faces, but there were several that didn't. It is an incredible collection to see.  If you would like to view her World Costume Doll collection please click here.

Here's a few of the faceless dolls from her world doll collection with some of the information on each doll:

Zulu Matron Doll

Continent: Africa
Region: Southern Africa
Country: South Africa
Year: C.1980
Type: Tribal
Material: Cardboard
Id: Africa - South Africa - 001

If you would like to read more about what Carole had to say about this doll please click here.

BOTSWANA - Tribal doll

Continent: Africa
Region: Southern Africa
Country: Botswana
Year: C.1960
Type: Tribal
Material: Rag and cloth
Id: Africa - Botswana - 002

If you would like to read more about what Carole had to say about this doll please click here.

The History Of Faceless Dolls - Updated February 2015 - Part XVII - Faceless Dolls of Francoise Bosteels

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."

The History Of Faceless Dolls - Updated February 2015 - Part XVI - Mixed Media Faceless Dolls

Faceless dolls have become very popular in mixed media creations over the last dew years.  Part of the reason is that your creation can be made out of just about anything. It can also be watercolor art, painted canvas art, collage and decoupage art, rubber stamped or stenciled art and conveying whatever it is you wish to convey.  It can also empower individuals with finding an inner voice, developing confidence, and expressing who they are individually.

Christy Tomlinson is a self-taught very talented mixed media artist, who as she says, "who isn't afraid to get my hands messy and let my heart be open" and the creator of the "She Art workshops." She has traveled all over the world teaching her mixed media art workshops and teaching online.

In her workshop she teaches how to create her mixed media "she art" canvas and collage faceless girls.

Here is what Christy said about why her girls are faceless, "Week 3 we will finish off by going even more in depth to creating facial details. Not just a "blank" face anymore. SO many times people ask my why I don't put faces on my girls. Is it because I don't know how to or I don't like to or what? And the answer is always the same."

"The reason I don't often times.. or MOST times put faces on my girls is because when there is no face, the observer of the art is left to determine the mood, the soul of the girl. Sometimes just by adding even shading in certain places or adding details down her neck, or in her hair..tell more about her, than a set of eyes do.. staring at you from the canvas."

"So I usually leave the girls faceless, so that whoever is enjoying her, can decide for themselves what she is trying to say.. the story she has to tell. HOWEVER.. there are times that I think there is a definite story to be told."