Voodoo Doll Tutorial - Spirit Halloween

Doll Bytes, II

Doll Bytes:


Living Dead Dolls and co. continue to put out new dolls and action figures, and also have promotions.


Theriault's has a great Rendezvous auction tonight.


Mattel.com has specials on Barbie gift sets, Hotwheels, and Fashionistas.


Goth dolls, animated scary dolls, and Halloween dolls and figures abound at Halloween Express and Spirit of Halloween stores.  Both chains are giving coupons and offer deals in store.  Goth rag doll costumes, Raggedy Ann, doll masks, and other doll items are hot.  Wigs for kids like Lollaloopsy dolls and Monster High are cute and well made, and about $9.99 each.

Here is some interesting information I have picked up from various doll magazines and books I thought I would share.  This is a little doll candy to help us into fall.

The “Among Friends” auction spawned a cover for “Antique Doll Collector” with a very rare German character doll, a little stern, a little witchy, that fetched over $40,000.  This auction took place the day after “Love, Shirley Temple.” By the way, there will be another Shirley Temple auction soon.  Information is at Theriault’s.com.  I was able to find treasures at both auctions,  a knitted doll of Shirley Temple’s, two brown bisque babies and a miniature wax doll scene under a dome from “Among Friends.”



German dolls have done very well lately, both at auction, and at competitive exhibits.  Bonham’s, of course, auctioned the super rare K*R 108 mold doll for nearly $400,000, and the current “Antique Doll Collector” features many rare German bisque dolls that were UFDC blue ribbon winners.  Many are early 20^th century dolls. Therefore, not all doll production suffered during World War I, in fact this was the time when Bleuette became an all French-made doll. In his article, Samy Odin, our Facebook and Pinterest friend of the Musée de la Poupée-Paris, presents many of the costumes preserved by the family of the publisher of La Semaine de Suzette, which are presently on display at the museum. Copies of this publication are often available on ebay. What I find interesting is that dolls similar to Bleuette, some with a similar mold number, are made in different sizes, including one that is over 24 inches. Samy writes wonderful articles on dolls and has a great site online, as well as instructive YouTube videos.



Coburg, Germany was the birthplace of Prince Albert, husband to Queen Victoria. It is also the birthplace of my friend, Ingrid, who is an artist with an interest in my dolls.  One Christmas, I made ornaments from luggage tags, and hers had Prince Albert and Queen Victorian showing an early Christmas tree decoupaged on it.  It was serendipity and sheer luck of the draw that she got this ornament, but how appropriate.  Coburg is also home to the Coburger Puppenmuseum which yours truly visited last year on the TLC Grand Tour. You’ll see some of the highlights from this important museum. “Antique Doll Collector Magazine”takes tours to this site.

There are also great YouTube videos about doll museums, including one on the restoration of Queen Victoria’s Dolls.  



My friend Mary Hillier shows dolls in “Dolls and Doll Makers” that are not only the famous peg wooden dolls dressed by Queen Victoria, but also Victoria’s doll houses and other wax dolls that belonged to her.  Mary also discusses many dolls made in the image of the queen.  Even today, The Victorian Trading Company produces bisque doll house dolls in their likeness.

Finally, I have found some interesting finds here and there in my travels I’d like to tell you about.  Last week, I picked up Mrs. Littlechap at Goodwill of $1.88.  Plush Yoda holding a pumpkin came from Walmart for $19.99.  There are other Star Wars characters, Little Kitty, and Peanuts characters in the series, too.  Some Family Dollar Stores are selling Monster High Dolls for around $7.00.  Hallmark is creating  Merry Miniatures again.  Though it is still summer weather and only late September, many stores are full of not only Halloween merchandise, but also Christmas merchandise involving dolls.  Take advantage of the good weather, and do some “doll stomping” for new finds and new doll reads!

 

Besty's Besties

Most collectors realize that dolls and high fashion go hand in hand. Remember, before there was “Godey’s” or “Vogue” or “W” there were dolls sent around to illustrate current fashions.  These Pandoras often were the equivalent of front page news to women keenly interested in viewing the latest fashion.

 

I could wax poetic on the history of antique fashion dolls, French and otherwise, but we don’t have enough space in this post to cover all of them.

 

When, however, a designer melds her ideas with doll making, I have to comment.  Especially when that designer is one of my all time favorites, Betsy Johnson.

 

Betsey Johnson is a native of Connecticut who grew up to become a famous and unique New York Designer.  Initially, Johnson trained to be a dancer, but soon turned to fashion and design.  In this, she is alike another dancer turned artist, or doll artist, my friend, the late Suzanne Gibson who was a ballerina. 

 

Johnson has been a successful and influential designer for over 40 years.  In 1964, she won a guest editor prize for “Mademoiselle”, which helped to launch her career. She attended Syracuse University and The Pratt Institute.

 

Her love of the whimsical and of costumes influence her work.  Many of her designs incorporate charms, dolls, and miniatures.  I have jointed skeleton and flapper-type dolls made into necklaces that she has designed including some black cats and teddy bears that are jointed.  Her themed necklaces are works of art for those who love miniatures.  My Day of the Dead set includes earrings, a ring, bracelet, and necklace of the famed sugar skulls and Calavera Catrina figures that are icons of the holiday.

 

One set of my earrings is made up of tiny, very detailed mermaids embellished with rhinestones.  A ballerina necklace features a tiny, jointed doll with gold tone metal with a blue silk tutu.

 

Several other dolls appear in Betsey Johnson jewelry lines, and the word “doll” is used in some her clothing and shoe designs, like the 5.25 inch embellished heels called “Doll” Pumps.

 

Kahri by Karhianne Kerr has even created a portrait of Betsey herself, with her long, bright blonde hair, red lips, and hot pinked striped dress. (http://www.kahri.com/products/betsey-johnson-doll).

 

Betsey’s Adventure Book Shoulder Bag includes a cloth Betsey doll for around $60.00. (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/507851295459893394/)

 

Dolls continued to play a role in Johnson’s designs when, in 2014, the “New York Daily News” reported that she was among several other designers who designed OOAK doll costumes based on “The Wizard of Oz.”

 

According to her site, Betsey Johnson “celebrates the exuberant.”  I have to agree.  She has been quoted as saying, “Like red lipstick on the mouth, my products wake up and brighten and bring the wearer to life...drawing attention to her beauty and specialness...her moods and movements her...dreams and fantasies"

 

This past holiday season, I noticed 7 inch dols made of metal selling at Dillard’s for about $25.00.  These included many designs, as well as the princess, robot, and frog shown on BetseyJohnson.com. The doll ornaments are described below:

 

From the official Betsey Johnson Site: http://www.betseyjohnson.com/product/PRINCESS-ORNAMENT/236408.uts?locale=en-US&selectedColor=MULTI&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pla&gclid=CPulrPeK4ssCFYk9gQodWxsGvw



You'll love to trim the tree with this princess ornament from Betsey Johnson.  It also comes with crystal stud earrings that would be a perfect stocking gift.

• Includes Princess ornament and crystal stud earring set
• Gold plating
• Material: metal/resin/fabric
• Ornament: 7"L x 2.75"W
• Stud: 0.25"L x 0.25"W

 

There are also a frog and a robot, and all are currently discounted from $25.00 to $9.99.  Before the holidays, these were available at Dillard’s Department Stores.

Recently, Johnson announced she would be moving permanently to her home in Malibu so she could be near her daughter and granddaughters.

Dolls and Puppets from Old Burma

Burmese puppets have as rich a history as figures from the Japanese Bunraku Plays, or the Italian Commedia del Arte.  You’ll remember that shadow puppets played a rule in “The Parable of the Cave” from Plato’s “The Republic.”  

 

Mandalay puppets date to ancient times, and like the puppet morality plays of the European Middle Ages, were sued to teach history, religion, and current events to their audience.  For many, they were their only means of education.

 

So popular and important to tradition are these puppets now, that choreographers incorporate puppet moves into human dances.  The plays emulate gossip and history and can take all night.  This parallel to human behavior is something we often see as themes in the plays of Shakespeare and other playwrights. Kariagioz, of Turkey and Greece, also tends to tell traditional stories and poke fun and human foibles.  Punch and Judy are famous for their parodies of human nature as well.

 

The most famous Burmese puppets are probably those of The Mandalay Marionette Theater, which has been featured on PBS Travel shows.  They are cultural icons, and it is believed that Mandalay puppets are possessed by spirit of their creator in a positive and creative way.  Really, doesn’t all art hold a tiny piece of the artist’s soul,  hence FDR’s famous quote that “every time an artist dies, part of the vision of mankind passes with him.”   

 

Daw Ma Ma Naing,  is the  (Managing Director)  of the puppet theater.  She is also co-founder, and has more than ten years experience as a prize-winning puppeteer.
Part of her mission in creating the theater was to resurrect interest in the puppets, which had been dying in Myanmar due to lack of patronage.  The other co-founder is Mrs. Naing Yee Mar.

 Their  e-mail address is  puppets@myanmar.com.mm

Puppet Characters;  http://www.mandalaymarionettes.com/aboutpuppetsmain1.html

 

Below are very brief descriptions of two of the most famous and important traditional puppet characters.

 

Two ogres are popular characters, Nan Bleu And Taw Belu (City Ogre and Jungle Ogre).

Their ogre dance is characterized by “ominous music” with dance steps that imitate stalking behavior.  The message of their performance is to show “evil power and strength.”  mostly.  Traditional drums beat a rhythm, and these beats are called “Ka-roung.”


As the two ogres begin to fight and chase each other, the music becomes louder, almost like someone’s heart seems to pound harder and louder if she is afraid.  At the end of the
The Handmaiden

Another traditional or stock character is The Handmaiden puppet.  Sometimes, the same puppet can play different roles with a change of costume.

One female character is The Votaress puppet, who always wears red.  She wears her hair flowing, with a band of red silk around her forehead.  Another long scarf is tied around her waist and knotted at her chest.

The handmaiden does not have scarves or flowing hair.  Also, she does not wear red. The handmaiden puppet requires 12 parts to her performance, and because of the longevity and intricacy of her dance, requires a veteran puppeteer.

Votaress is a spiritual character and a very difficult puppet to handle. She has the most strings to manipulate, sometimes over 30.

 

About String Puppets:  http://www.mandalaymarionettes.com/aboutpuppetsmain2.html

 

The puppets are carved, then constructed and assembled, then strung.  They are actually marionettes.

 

 

Use index finger is important is important in controlling them properly.

 

Today, there is a new interest in the Burmese puppet theater, due in large part to its two founders.  Puppets are used in plays to educate the public on social issues like Aids awareness, but also to introduce new generations to the rich tradition of The Mandalay Marionettes.  To learn more, please go to the excellent website for The Mandalay Marionette Theater to see the puppets and learn more about their history and founders.

Addressing Dolls as Objects of Study in Material Culture

Addressing Dolls as Objects of Study in Material Culture

Ellen M. Tsagaris

ellentsagaris@gmail.com

 

According to Australianmuseum.net, a “cultural object is an object made by humans for a practical and/or spiritual purpose.”  Certainly dolls qualify as cultural objects by this definition; when created for play or retail merchandise, they serve a practical purpose.  As Max Von Boehn, Carl Fox, Janet Pagter Johl, Emily Jackson, Laura Starr and others have documented, the doll began as a religious figure or idol, meant to serve spiritual purposes.

 

The Study of Material culture studies cultural objects and culture in general. Antiques in particular are important, and my alma mater, Augustana College, has created a new major in this area, closely related to art history.

 

Material culture studies analyze how we interact with objects, and how they are used or traded, curated or thrown away.  We, as humans, have treasured and collected certain objects since The Stone Age, and even animals like chimps and orangutans have exhibited human like behaviors involving collecting objects and tool use.  In fact, other animals also tend to collect or save certain types of things.

 

My observations indicate that this is a course of study related to archaeology, anthropology, sociology, historiography, and art history.  A study of dolls is right at home in such an academic canon. One student at a local college has focused on the study of antiques, and uses her grandmother’s antiques business as a research source.

 

By its very definition, doll collecting involves  scholarship of a serious nature.  More and more serious research is being done on dolls and their history.  The question might become, why have dolls been ignored by Academe for so long?  According to Elizabeth V. Sweet whose book “Dolls” is a partial bibliography of doll study, “. . . the marginalized status of children and the taken for granted nature of material culture have contributed to the underrepresentation of toys in academic scholarship.” Kenneth Gross’s books On Dolls and On Puppets are excellent sources for how dolls are important as cultural objects.

 

 

 

Sweet also agrees that the diverse work on dolls emerges from a variety of fields of study including history, psychology, sociology, communications, media studies, human development,, cultural studies, folklore studies and more. 

 

As Sweet writes, many different types of researchers are interested in dolls because doll play helps children with socialization and because dolls allow kids to “interpret cultural messages, create social meaning, and actively carve out spaces of resistance to adult culture.  Books included in her bibliography are Manfred Bachmann’s “Dolls the wide World Over” and G. Stanley Hall’s, “A Study of Dolls.”  I would like to humbly submit two of my books, “With Love from Tin Lizzie:  a History of Metal Dolls” and “A Bibliography of Doll and Toy Sources”, simply because they reflect my own interest in dolls as historical and cultural objects.

 

Susan Pearce address dolls and collecting objects in general in her well written and documented four part series, The Collector’s Voice.  The series of four books examines collecting behavior from ancient to contemporary times.

Doll collectors also collect, and even create dolls, to preserve cultural heritage, another focus of Material Culture studies.  Cornhusk dolls, handkerchief dolls, apple head dolls, and other folk dolls are collected and made to preserve the cultural heritage of early American colonists and pioneers.  Poets are not immune to dolls, either; American Poet Dave Etter wrote a poem called “Cornhusk Dolls”, while William Butler Yeats and Sylvia Plath have included poems about dolls and mannikins in their work.  Tom Whalen wrote a book of poems called “Dolls”, and your humble guide is about to publish her book of poems about dolls called “Creepy A** Humans:  the Dolls Reply.”  My late cousin Panos Panoyoutounis who was a renowned poet in Europe declared in his poem, “What is Poesy?” that his little girl’s doll, and her dress, were both “poetry.”  Native American dolls are collected and made for similar reasons, especially Kachinas and the Pueblo storytellers.  The Smithsonian Institution has an excellent booklet on Native American dolls that is fee to download for anyone interested.  Ethnic doll collections also are collect to preserve other cultures as collections in Shankar’s International Doll Museum, The Indianapolis Children’s Museum, The British Museum, and The Yokohama Doll Museum show.

 

Didn’t we all know dolls were important?  I have a male friend who is a retired detective who collects dolls because he is a history buff, and he considers dolls to be historical objects.   Doll artist and author R. Lane Herron stresses in his many books that dolls are indeed historical and art objects, too.

 

Doll Bytes; September Used to Be Doll Collecting Month

This weekend, on the old Johnny Carson show, it was 1976 and Johnny was talking about the Angie Dickinson Police Woman doll.  He said he wanted a Johnny Carson doll that came with a  guest host :)

 

• Doll bytes below; new deals and bargains.  Man Bun Ken of Barbie Fashionistas is not on Target shelves, or other store's I've looked but he is online.
• McDonalds' has Ninjago, sp?, legos.  I love the big model, too.  Very Samurai.
• Mezco Toys announces its debuts at NY ComiCon.
• Check Out American Girl and Madame Alexander for New Dolls for Fall
• Day of the dead dolls, felt toys, statues, items abound at Walgreen's and Target in Halloween sections.
• James Patterson's book shot, The Dolls, is about childlike doll automatons, one of this mini thrillers.  Available at Target, 15% off.  Also on Kindle, but I'm having issues actually getting books I order on Kindle.  Unlimited is not working as it should, and sometimes, I can't access the books.  I've complained to Amazon, but no answer.  I'll Keep you Posted.
• Happy Collecting!!

Metal Head, Courtesy Regina's Studio, Etsy.com

 

 

Fall 2017; a Tease in Trends

Hot Toys for Late Summer, early Fall, Target

Very old, Hand Painted Korean Wooden Doll, on display at a local
library for its program Global Gathering; Korea.  This colorful, Kokeshi style doll
is from South Korea.  In the North, there are not many toys.  Any toys belong to a privileged few, and come from China. Unbeknownst to me, her owner, this doll took a field trip to a local TV show.

70s couple from South Korea, silk, cloth, wire mixed media.  Also on display at a local library

China Head Mime with Masks of Comedy and Tragedy.  He is very well detailed, yet is a
thrift shop find!

Travelin'

Last Month's sojourn to Southern Illinois to see the eclipse led to a side trap to the Pink Elephant Antique Mall near Divernon, IL.  There were several antique and craft malls along I-55, including

Rusty Star and Nickorbob's Craft Mall, as well as the original Lisa's Antique Malls, I, II, and III.  All of them are a picker's paradise. 

Doll Show Haul

Remembering 9/11

16 years ago the world changed forever.  It is also the 5th anniversary of the Bengazi attacks.  Please take a moment to remember.  Below, is a public domain copy of The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln.  I include it so that we never forget, and so that the "government by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, “GETTYSBURG ADDRESS” (19 NOVEMBER 1863)

[1] Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

[2] Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

[3] But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate-we can not consecrate-we can not hallow-this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

May you have peace today.

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Doll Eye Candy, or Doll Porn—

Doll Eye Candy, or Doll Porn—

We collectors love picture books, big lovely coffee table books of dolls like Carl Fox’s The Doll, or Manfred Bachmann’s Dolls the Wide World Over.  Then, there are the books my Marco Tosca, Lydia Richter, Gwen White, John Noble, and others, names from doll collecting past, to be sure.

What’s missing from these lavish photo studies are prices. They are not price guides.  Thy are histories, similar to the books on dolls and puppets by Max von Boehn and Professor Kenneth Gross.  Others scholarly works on collecting include The Collector’s Voice series by Susan Pearce.

It’s wonderful when books on dolls and related objects contain wonderful pictures and great text, but as a scholar and life-collector, I prefer the text.  Our obsession with photos has turned into doll porn.

By doll porn, I don’t mean dolls created for erotic purposes.  They are a whole other study, and this is a family friendly blog.  I mean that over the years, I’ve found editors of all types only want pictures, not history or text.  We want to zoom in on doll marks and mold numbers; we’ve analyzed the dolls to death by their parts, and can’t put them back together. As one of my good friends, Mary Hillier once observed to me, doll folk aren’t always much for reading.

We don’t use photo studies any more to identify dolls as we did with the brochures Seeley Molds and Doll Crafter used to publish.  We are more interested in investment, and price. We also don’t like to read.  We are obsessed with pictures, and not with interpreting them.  So, we have doll porn, which describes the knee jerk reaction we have to big splashy photos of dolls. 

Doll porn also makes us doll snobs.  We have lots of comments on how a do is dressed, its wig, its condition, the doll itself.  In the immortal words of Sly Stone, different strokes for different folks.  Or else, different dolls for different doll collecting folks.

 Words paint pictures, too, and words on dolls can be eloquent and historical.  My first doll books were more text than photo; I fell in love with the history behind dolls, and that led me to love all kinds of dolls.

I’d like to see more publications like Doll Talk or Clara Hallard Fawcett’s books, illustrated with small photos or drawings where appropriated, but with meaningful text.  Dolls are not subjects of material culture studies.  In general, we academics actually write, not just create picture books for grown-ups.

 

No one has to agree with me; but I feel the need to speak.  Doll collecting should not be a creepy habit, but a fun and educational pastime.  It should not just belong to those who can afford the big splashy photos in expensive catalogs featuring dolls that cost the price of someone’s house.

 

As Genevieve Angione wrote, All Dolls are Collectible.  Every doll’s picture tells a story.  Let’s read it, and study it.  Let’s not just drool over high prices and numbers incised on the back of a doll’s neck.