If You're Going to Dream.......................

The people who know me best, my family and friends, know that I never do anything in a small way.  My first piece of needlepoint was a rug.  My first hooked rug was 7 feet long.  This is why I don't ski, because no way would I go to the bunny hill--I would head to the highest hill and probably break my neck. 
Anyway, for a while now I have had a project brewing in my brain.  I think it would be awesome to hook a tree--a BIG tree--and put it on the living room wall.  WAIT--I'm not done.  Then I would make hooked branches that went all over the walls and up onto the ceiling.  WAIT--I'm not done.  THEN I would hook birds--lots of them--all the different birds that are in our woods, and put them all over in the branches.
OK now I am done.  Well no, I haven't started, I mean I am done explaining this crazy project that keeps going through my brain. Will I ever do it?  Maybe.  Probably.  Yes.  When, I don't know.  I just know that some day I will wake up and this will demand to be started, and I will go merrily down the road with it.  
And of course I will take pictures, and post them here.

After all, the winters in Minnesota are SO long.................................

Find of a Lifetime

Early last week, I found a wooden doll for sale online.  I had to look several times at her price, certain I was seeing things--because it was WAY too low for what she supposedly was.  So even though I hadn't planned on buying another doll, I bought her--and then told myself she HAD to be a modern reproduction, there was no way she was a real antique doll.  Not for that low price.  But what the heck, I loved her face.

Today, she arrived.

And I was wrong.

She is NOT a reproduction.  She is a genuine, hand carved, Italian creche' doll.  23" tall, and HEAVY--I think she is solid oak.  I have seen photos of these dolls in museums, but never dreamed I would be holding one of my own.  Rare that I am near speechless, but I am very emotionally overwhelmed tonight. So I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Playing Favorites

Here are my two favorite Schoenhut dolls I have re-born.  This is such fulfilling work, to take a doll that is a mess and make her into a doll that will be treasured.
I am always happy to consider a commission, so if you or some one you know would like a wooden doll re-made, ANY wooden doll, you can contact me at
jennykaye@comcast.net

 

Doll Number 2

Doll number 2.  This Schoenhut was BADLY damaged, her mouth cracked, her nose half gone, both eyes rotted.  I did extensive sculpting/recarving to make her a new face.  I am debating if she needs freckles.  I sloped her outer eyes down to make her a bit more pensive.

Little Miss Sunshine

Sealed and all ready to dress!

 

Re-Imagining a Schoenhut Doll, Part 2

Little girl is painted and awaiting final approval/revisions before I seal her.  Then I have one more stop to do on the eyes.  (This is not her wig, I just didn't want to show her bald!)

 

Re-Imagining a Schoenhut Doll

I am working on two Schoenhut dolls, the first one I am doing is shown on the left.

 I can only work on one doll at a time, I have this whole mental process I go through with them, and I need to "connect" while I am working, so a doll needs my full attention so she can tell me who she is.
This doll for a client was NOT to be a "restored" Schoenhut--instead, I was given free reign to do what I wanted.  Now I know there are antique doll purists out there who will NOT be happy to see this, so stop now if this will bother you!  There seems to be a never ending supply of these dolls--if they were very rare I wouldn't touch them, but I think that millions of them must have been made.  At any given time you can find dozens of them for sale online.
After I stripped the paint (she had been badly repainted at some point), I could see she had a sweet smile and dimples.  Well ok, maybe she didn't really have dimples, but she TOLD me she did! The wood around her right eye was rotted and crumbling.  So I went to work.

 Here I am working on re-building her eyes with wood epoxy.

 When this is done, I sand the entire doll mercilessly, before doing the final sculpting/carving of her features.
Then she gets her body painted, blushed and sealed.

 The next step is painting her face.