anniversary of death of my best friend, Mary, doll artist

"Pansy"

"Sissy"

"Walter & Petunia"

"Twins"


"Jazz">

Sunday, March 29th, was the anniversary of the death of my best friend, Mary. She was diagnosed with a fast growing glioblastoma multiforme, grade 4 on 911, had surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy and then passed away on Good Friday. Mary was a delightful and multi-talented artist who always saw the glass as half-full... and sometimes brimming over. She was also the original 'momma' of my darling Gertie. The first photo above was taken when she was in Germany selling her original sculpted dolls on HSN Germany. She's holding the factory version of her first doll, Lucinda. All the other dolls are some of her original sculpted dolls. The head, arms, and legs are porcelain and the bodies are cloth. An armature allows the dolls to be posed. Most of Mary's original dolls were about 24" tall and all were dressed in vintage/antique clothing which Mary altered and/or remade to fit them. She liked to present her dolls in vignettes suggesting a story and she loved having her dolls playing "dress-up" ("Jazz" was designed to be playing dress-up with one of the girls whose photo I can't find right now...).... and Mary just loved searching for all the little accessories that made her dolls unique.

Mary also made gorgeous reproductions of French and German antique dolls. I'll post some of those another day. It has been seven years since Mary died and I still miss her so much. She was truly a bright spot in my life and I'm lucky to have had her among my friends. I'm sure she and Gertie are in heaven with many squirrels for Gert to chase and flea markets and gardens for Mary to explore.

a little visit from Gertie...

I had a wonderful dream about Gertie the other night. In my dream Gertie came bouncing into the house, ran and found her favorite blue Kong then happily plopped down for a good Kong chew on her rug. Gertie had a cute way of sprawling out when she was in a particularly good mood... she just looked so pleased with herself... like she'd found the most wonderful something or the other... and that's the way she looked in the dream.... just plain happy. I'm taking it as a sign my sweet Gertie is in a good place. It was good to have a little 'visit' from her. Here's another sorta old photo of Gert in her reindeer horns... she didn't seem all that interested in being Rudolph! (wait til you see her in her 'church lady' hat)

Log Cabins

Several thousand acres of the area in which I live were originally owned by large lumber companies... so... as you might imagine ... lots of trees. This falling down log cabin was originally a hunting cabin for one of the landowners. The current owners allowed the cabin to fall down before giving it away. It has been dismantled and logs were numbered to be reassembled at a different site. Plans for rebuilding/restoration have not come to fruition... yet.

I've always liked small homes, but it is amazing to me to walk through some of these tiny spaces and wonder how entire families lived in them. Wouldn't it be fun to have one of these out in the country overlooking a small pond? Wonder if I could be a good writer if I had a little cabin like this? Maybe not... but I bet I could sure get all snuggy with my feet held to the fire.

Birdie Hot Tubs, Snake Sidewalks, Pebble Mosaic, and Mosaic Tree Trunks...

Wouldn't this be a fun sidewalk... specially if you have children. It could be modified by using a plain concrete sidewalk with only the head ... and perhaps the tail... shaped to resemble a snake and trimmed with mosaic.

I love this patio area and thought some day I'd have a similar one, but never got around to it... don't think I could build one today. I collected a bunch of flat pretty colored rocks... though... who knows. Maybe.

These are live trees... Berkeley, CA! It seems the mosaic would not be able to hold up... wouldn't the tree's growth force the tiles off?

Birdie Hot Tub! An old heater married to a bowl to create a bird bath.

Little Mamas, Vintage Photos of Children and their Dolls

The photo to the left is dated 1915 and features a cute Little Mama with her googly doll, Hug Me Tight.

Postal cards featured sweet children with their toys and this Little Mama is particularly fetching as she gives her dolly a ride. Can you imagine the handwork on these 2 dresses?

1950s Christmas dolly... not a lot of black dolls available at that time. This Little Mama looks lovingly at her Mama Doll... we find lots of these heads... arms & legs were frequently made of "magic skin" which rotted... leaving only the intact head.

These two sweet toddlers appear afraid of the camera... note the Little Mama wears a locket, bracelet, and (I think?) a ring. The boy is riding his skin horse and the girl's factory made cloth doll sits on a great little wooden chair... likely painted red.

And... yes... I collect vintage photos... of many different subjects. The first I collected were of little girls with their dolls and I've never stopped adding to the collection. I find them sweet and evocative of a different place in time... a kinder and more gentle place.