Make an Art Doll

Dolls have universal appeal and appear all over the world in thousands of cultures. Some are for playing, but many are for religious rituals, healing, burial rites, fertility or even for marketing goods. Deep within the human psyche is the need to make things in our own image. Before mass production, making a doll was an act of love. Even if you've never made a doll, I hope you will try it after reading this.

The hula girl doll is made from bread dough, baked, and then painted with acrylic paints.

If you give a child of 8 or 9 a bunch of parts and say make a doll, they will immediately start to build one. Kids are geniuses in this regard. Most adults way over think things. It is helpful to think of primitive times and the simplest dolls. They would be made out of sticks and twine, or a bit of fur. They could have been made of wheat or corn, burlap or a carved branch or leftover wood. For practice try making a doll in this fashion. Use some wire or yarn for hair. Cut apart old clothing for doll clothes. If you are under 18, ask your parents before cutting up clothing. But the dolls we are making are not toys. They are collectable pieces of art. If you are building dolls for children you have to worry about a lot of safety issues that I won't be covering here.
The beaded doll has a base of felt. Beads are sewn to one side, then the two sides are stitched together. Stuffing is added before the stitching goes all the way around. Then the gap is stitched, and hair is added last. The face is a shank button.

There are many types of fabric dolls. This one is a mermaid doll with beaded hair. She is stuffed with polyester fiber-fil which is available at many craft stores and Internet vendors. Make sure you leave a gap for turning the doll right side out and for adding in the stuffing. You can use a chopstick to help maneuver the stuffing around, I find forceps also help to nudge the stuffing into tight spots like fingers. Some artists like to use chopped up rags to fill their dolls. Some like to use clean dryer lint. Every filling has pros and cons, so try them all out to see what suits your style.

Remember when I said dolls could be made out of fruit. You can carve apples or pears and then let them dry to form interesting heads for character dolls. As they turn wizened and shriveled they start to resemble old folks, wizards, witches, peasants and so on. You can put them onto a wire body, wrap fiber around it to give it some shape, and then make some clothes for it. These dolls usually have the clothing sewn on or glued on. You can make old folks hair out of cotton balls or yarn. Usually the apples are dipped in lemon water before drying so they don't turn too dark. Make teeth with beads, seeds or rice.

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