Maida Today: The Hand of the Maker

A possible Presybterian doll?

How will you show your mind
and hand in your work?

A discussion in the Maida Dolls Group prompted some thoughts about creations that show "the hand of the maker". One of the reasons I love Izannahs so much is that you can see the "hand of the maker" involved. This is true with many creations. For instance, when I was in art school there were lots of discussions about seeing someone's "brushwork." One of the things I love about cloth dolls is when you can see the process for creating the dolls. I love when you can see the seams and the construction. I also love when you can see unique things such as the curls of eyelashes, or the highlight in the eyes. These "hand of the maker" hallmarks are decisions of the mind as much as executions of the hand.

Antique Izannah Walker doll hand

This folky doll below shows the hand of a skilled painter.

Look at the attention given to painting the hair.

Contrast that with the folky tiny hands.

picture by Dixie Redmond

I made the doll below a few years ago. She was partially inspired by papier mache dolls, Izannah Walker and by wooden dolls as well. In the making of her I had to decide whether to make a cloth doll, a sculpted doll, etc. After making that decision I had to get my hands involved and used a pumpkin carving knife to texture the hair. I decided to give her face a low-relief style of sculpting.

Doll by Dixie Redmond

One of the members of the Maida Dolls group recently used the bottom end of a funnel to create some wonderful sculpted hair. The marks of our tools on our work is as much the mark of our minds as our tools. The only wonder product out there is our thinker. The tools are just that, tools. It's what we do with them that counts.