PAPER DOLLS

PHILOSOPHY ANGEL PAPER DOLLS

Philosophy Angel- Madame Butterfly

Many little girls like paper dolls. In my case that would be an understatement. I absolutely loved them. I had literally hundreds of them in all shapes and sizes. My friend, Karen and I played with them from dusk till dawn.

There was a magazine out in those days called “Children’s Playmate Magazine.” The centerfold each month contained the sweetest little paper doll imaginable. When the beginning of the month approached, Karen and I would make several trips a week to the drug store that carried ‘Playmate’ in hopes we would find our treasure. We were never disappointed with our little centerfold of the month.

I loved paper dolls so much that my parents had to humor me when we went on family vacations. My dolls always had to come along. I’d lug them into our old Chevy by the box-ful. I’d play with them all the way to our destination and all the time we were gone. My parents couldn’t figure out how I could be content for so many hours just talking to those dolls.

Close-up of Madame Butterfly

Now that I’m an adult, I sculpt, draw, paint, quilt etc. women’s faces and figures. Finally, after all these years, paper dolls, which are now called paper art dolls, are in vogue and it is natural for me to want to try my hand at making them.

I’ve been influenced by two different paper doll artists but I’m making sure that I create my own style, which is still in a state of evolution. Laura of Creative Whispers has very creative dolls as does Linda of Eclectic Visions of an Altered Journey.

The way that I constructed my first doll, which I am featuring here, was to use a free template from The Enchanted Gallery. It really is a very basic Goddess shape that I have drawn before but it was nice to have a ready template. I made the body with wax resist crayon and acrylic, I attached a ready made set of butterfly (or angel if you will) wings and sculpted an original face from paper clay. I added silk yarn for hair and attached one of my favorite sayings to the front. "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" I will be adding my own philosophies to each of these dolls. I’m happy with the first one, but I am expecting far more from myself in the near future.

My friend and neighbor, Judy Light Ayyildiz, wrote a very special book of poems entitled Mud River. In the collection is her poem of “Paper Dolls.” I love what she wrote in her poignant message and could not agree more.

Paper Dolls

Hid in the August attic heat, Jeannie, we waltzed them on dusty boards-our stiffelbacked beauties with their modelperfect mates,
romancing in a world of gowns and furs,
glamour bought so cheap, cut so even,
fitting our imagination to a
T. Jeannie,you were mostly mouth
and smiling in those days, while the furtive
wasp fashioned its paper nest
snug on the ceiling of our place.
We believed she would never sting
as long as we allowed her room. Jeanne,
we dressed them up, but never took them out
and down the steps into the swarming streets.

~ Judy Light Ayyildiz ~

Silhouette of Paper Art Doll- Madame Butterfly