When I first started making dolls, I couldn’t understand what people saw in antique or reproduction dolls. Antiques are frequently not beautiful. When I go to doll shows, antique stores, or even pull up pictures of antique dolls being auctioned off by well known auction houses, I find lots of dolls that I personally wouldn’t give a penny for. Many are so bedraggled that it’s difficult to even imagine what they were like when they were new, and if you look closely, you’ll see that the workmanship is nothing to brag about. Eyes don’t fit, paint is splotchy or streaked, and even the original clothes look like they were sewn by inexperience hands. Oh, I know that children’s dolls were frequently sold without clothing, and their wardrobes were designed and put together by everyday mothers, or even by the children themselves, which probably explains that, but they are what they are, clumsy attempts with total disregard to scale or detail.
Most dolls that were so beautifully dressed were made for the wealthier class folks who could afford to pay for costumes designed and sewn by expert hands or were sold as mannequins to dressmakers and meticulously dressed to advertise the latest news in fashion to encourage the ladies of the day to purchase new and costly wardrobes. It’s these dolls that we find ourselves attempting to reproduce in all their glory.
Many of the gorgeous reproduction dolls being taught by wonderfully talented doll artists in seminars around the country today are painted to match the more beautiful originals in all their exquisite detail, and then after extensive study of that particular doll’s period, an award winning costume was conceived and executed by the doll artist. It is this combination of faithful reproduction and artistic imagination that I have begun to find so appealing, as have many of you, as evidenced by the number of students who are honing their talents to make exact copies of these reproductions.
But, are you satisfied, as a rule, with copying the work of others? Or do you choose a doll to make by its beautiful or engaging features, whether reproduction or modern, and imagine it painted and dressed differently? I seem to be cursed with an imagination that won’t allow me to even make a simple t-shirt without altering the pattern or adding my own personal embellishments (sometimes with disastrous results), so how can I not let this carry over to my dolls?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with changing the hair, skin color, eyebrows, or any other detail of painting and costuming to suit yourself. You can even substitute other hands and feet to achieve different poses, or cut a shoulder plate from the torso of a reproduction doll to fit its head if you decide to use it as a more modern doll and choose to make a cloth body. Reproduction molds have a variety of nice hands and feet that can be adapted to cloth bodies and modern interpretations as well. Simply cut off the joints, and make small holes around the remaining limb near the top, place a line of glue through this line of holes, position the cloth body around the limb as you would in any modern doll, and using a strong thread like dental floss, sew in and out through the holes until the leg is thoroughly and securely attached, then proceed with turning and stuffing the body as usual around your Romex armature.
Just do not call this doll a reproduction, even if it’s poured from a reproduction mold. These are artistic interpretations, and who is to say if it’s right or wrong. They represent the image to see in your own mind, and only you can say if you were successful in capturing that image in your finished doll.
So, don’t be afraid to experiment. Remember, you’re the one making it, so make something you’ll like.
