a bunch of baby dolls!

Making creative things with my hands, head and heart makes me happy. Making things and giving them away, makes me even happier. I hope I can tell this story in my blog as well as it was told to me in person.

A little background information: I’ve been making these little swaddled baby dolls out of polymer clay and fabric for a while now. They are simple, cute and fit in the palm of your hand. I’ve made them as gifts, just because, and once did a class after school, showing elementary grade kids how to make them. My dear friend Kerrylynn and her daughters share this love of cute baby dolls with me. I’ve made them a couple swaddled baby dolls in the past and one of her daughters took my after school program. This all happened years ago.

Just recently, Kerrylynn (also a teacher) told me this story about her daughter Molly, in 5th grade:

One day during school, Molly came running up to Kerrylynn, so excited to tell her that while walking down the hall, she had spotted a bucket on top of cubbies, FULL of baby dolls that I had made. Kerrylynn said she was a little confused but also pretty excited, like Molly! (That part of the story made me laugh!) A little later in the day, Molly came back up to Kerrylynn, let down and said, “never mind, it was just chalk…”

Let’s just take a moment to break down the cuteness of this story…

1. The fact that Molly saw this bucket of items, and immediately thought I made a bucket full of baby dolls, is adorable! Probably imagining they would somehow be divvied up amongst the kids. If I were to guess, it was a semi-transparent, plastic bin filled with jumbo chalk in a variety of colors.

2. Both Molly and Kerrylynn were equally exited and then disappointed by the news! From a child and an adult, I felt both perspectives!

When she told me this story, we just laughed and “aww-ed” a lot! I was so touched. It is one of my favorite stories and so, I had to make this dream come true.

Here is a bucket, full of my hand-made, little baby dolls. I secretly dropped it off at their house with a little note. I really can’t even tell you how excited and thankful they were. They named each one!

This was just a simple project, an example of my art. I often contemplate what I make as an artist, wondering if it is important or worthy. Looking back, my work has always revolved around the importance of process and quiet interaction, rather than a finished product. No, these little dolls will not hang in a museum but in the process, I made some people very happy, including myself.