DENIM DOLLS

I love using denim for projects, particularly old worn denim.  Over the years I have bought denim clothes from jumble sales and charity shops.  Also, people who like the idea of recycling, have given me their old jeans and denim jackets.  I have used them for making bags, cushions and textures under artworks, all of which I will feature in the future, but for this blogpost, I want to show you the rag doll I made, inspired by a child's denim dress with an embroidered collar.

Dolly lounging on a sofa with a cushion that features the seams of old jeans.

I wanted my doll to be useful, as well as decorative, so there is an opening at the back of the skirt, so that plastic bags can be stored and it is decorated with useable pockets from old jeans.  She is quite tall - 3ft 3 inches, and her face is hand embroidered.  I have read somewhere that, when making dolls, the creator tends to use their own features and colouring. I instinctively didn't think of making the eyes anything but blue, and I have been told there is a resemblance in the face!  The hair is strips of muslin and the ears have eyelets punched in them with stationery rings hanging from them. During the making she somehow acquired a cleavage, cowboy boots and a personality!  When it came to a name there was an obvious choice - Dolly, after the fabulous Dolly Parton.

Hippy Chick sporting her new wellies.

       

Dolly now has a friend - Hippy Chick, the creation of fellow mixed media artist, Dawn Porter.  Hippy Chick's body is also based on a denim dress filled with plastic bags.  Her face is hand embroidered, her hair is made from sari silk and she is 3ft 5 and a half inches tall.

I love seeing art dolls made by other mixed media and textile artists, especially those that are imaginative and have a message, such as those made by Junker Jane.  I admire those who, unlike me, make dolls of unconventional shapes and features.  I always seem to want mine to be 'doll like'!