Last Updated: 12/6/02 |
(Artists and Manufacturers) O - S by Jean D. Lotz A Non-Commercial, Educational Resource Copyright © 1996+ Jean D. Lotz All images are included with the permission of the copyright owners |
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Last Updated: 12/6/02 |
(Artists and Manufacturers) O - S by Jean D. Lotz A Non-Commercial, Educational Resource Copyright © 1996+ Jean D. Lotz All images are included with the permission of the copyright owners |
James Orem at a show in 2001 |
Jim Orem is a retired high
school English teacher. He began carving as an outlet for his frustrations
near the end of his teaching career, although he had "whittled" some for
years. He carved his first doll for Irene in 1989. In 1993 the Orems created
their first doll in the country doll series. These dolls are composites
of characteristics of people they knew growing up in rural Kentucky. Each
has its own story.
Irene started sewing for 4-H projects at the age of 9. Later in life she became an avid quilter. When she began dressing the dolls it was decided that she put a quilt design in the attire of each doll. Jim and Irene are working with people in Nicaragua, helping them to learn skills and develop markets for their products. Jim has taught carving to woodworkers (including wood doll making) and Irene helped start a cooperative for impoverished, unskilled women. Most of the crochet items worn by the Orem Hitty doll are made by women in Nicaragua. Other interests include work in their church, where Jim is a Sunday School teacher, their 3 children and 2 grandchildren. "It is amazing how much of our life has been a preparation for our retirement years!" The National Woodcarver's Association magazine, "Chip Chat's" featured the Orem's Nicaraguan missionary work in the July-Aug '98 issue. |
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photo thanks to Kaye Stirsman, Littletoes Dolls & Toys |
This doll is 15" tall. Kaye
Stirsman claims that her doll's head, breastplate, and arms to her elbows
are carved from wood. She is dressed in a cotton slip, cotton pantaloons,
light brown flowered cotton dress, with a brown striped over dress of cotton.
Her body is cloth. She is wearing black satin mary jane type shoes, sewn
on to each foot. The artist signed on the back of the breastplate, "Margaret
Panek, 1966".
Please contact me if you know anything about Margaret and her work. |
Sailor by Hal Payne photo thanks to Terry Hagman |
In the 1980's Hal carved
one-of-a-kind, wood dolls and animals - realistically and stylistically.
But I don't think he carves now -- he has started working in resin. Hal
might return to carving wood one day. Hanna Hyland (a fellow wood doll
sculptor) has complimented Hal's carving in stating that she thought that
his wooden dolls were some of the best.
I personally saw 2 later Payne wooden dolls: a "poor black boy"; and a comical wooden mouse at a 1995 UFDC sale. Both were absolutely fabulous. The black boy doll was very impressive. It was realistically carved dressed in poor, ragged, dirty looking clothes. The wig was made from appropriately scaled kinky black fibers. I would love to get a photo of one of Hal's later wooden dolls. |
Foreign Doll - Norway
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Ella Pfingsten started her
carving career in 1935 when she carved Hitty for her eldest daughter with
just a broomstick, a jackknife, and love. Her daughter still treasures
this special gift. She is listed as one of the "Hitty Pioneer Artists".
Ella made other "story book dolls" in addition to "Hitty" possibly as gifts
to local school children. Ella's dolls ranged from 2" to 26". Those that
were made for sale or gifts were simply carved, but delightfully detailed
with paint. These have a "folk art" quality about them.
Ella loved making children's dolls but she went on to make "art dolls", finer dolls with more carved detail and elaborate costumes. These were character dolls made with a likeness of friends, family, and members of the local society. She also created "star dolls" representing famous actresses as they appeared in costume. Ella created a well researched collection of "dolls of the world". This was a massive collection that represented many different ethnic groups who emigrated to the US. Ella Pfingsten carved many these dolls in the early 30's for the centennial exhibition of the Fairfield, CT Historical Society to represent old country families. She borrowed old daguerreotypes from Fairfield residents for this project. The faces, headdresses, and gowns were copied exactly from these small old fashioned portraits. For a lot more information
about this very productive doll sculptor please visit"
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The Pletz's created dolls with simply carved wooden heads and hands on leatherette bodies in the style of antique leather bodies. The doll's faces and hands were hand painted with opaque paint so that no wood grain showed. It also looks as if they used commercial, synthetic wigs.
Their dolls were labeled
with a hang tag reading: " 'The Felicity Collection' Individually
carved and hand painted wood dolls. Felicity & Gary Pletz"
Tiny wooden head on a cloth body photo thanks to
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Elizabeth's charming stylized
wood dolls are manufactured under the name of "New Munich Art Dolls" from
bronze castings of her modeled clay originals. Elizabeth stresses her wood
dolls are sturdy and durable play dolls. She produces all wood, spring
jointed, or cloth bodied dolls. They are dressed in natural materials.
Pongrantz painted hair or wigged dolls have been produced in Linden (Basswood)
and Maple.
For a time the dolls were licensed and produced by Rhonda Weinstein in a cottage industry in Virginia, USA and sold in europe. See her work in "Contemporary Artist Dolls From Germany." |
30" Hand carved (artist carved) Fashion Doll (c 2001) |
Robert Raikes is most famous
for his editions of wood faced teddy bears but he is also one of the most
prolific creators of wooden dolls - responsible for placing more wooden
dolls into more collections than almost any other individual artist.
Robert Raikes started making jointed wood dolls in the mid 70's (see the 1976 elf photo below). He was an extremely busy and very successful doll/bear artist in the 1980's often winning top doll awards, and he is still going strong today creating "manufactured editions" and "artist carved one of a kind" dolls and bears. His earliest doll editions were created from his artist studio with a lot of time and effort by his whole family. Robert turned to more traditional manufacturing means when he could not keep up with the demand for his dolls and the stress became too much for himself and his family. Although Raikes spent many good years working and designing dolls with the Applause company, he is now a completely independent artist again. Robert Raikes' web sites currently offers his reasonably priced open or limited editions dolls and bears completely dressed and accessorized or sold undressed via his American Kit Company. It is very unfair and totally false to state that all of Robert's dolls and bears are manufactured! Wood carving is one of his favorite creative outlets, so Robert continues to offer a few dolls which have been completely hand-carved by Robert himself. For example: He recently carved a special request Hitty doll (100% artist carved) and a large - 30" jointed, one-of-a-kind fashion doll (100% artist carved). |
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Robert explained to me how he makes most of his large edition dolls today. Although his earliest dolls and some of his very special dolls which he makes today are one of a kind dolls completely hand carved by Robert himself, Robert often makes large editions of dolls and bears. His large editions are impossible to create without substantial help. He has come up with a manufacturing method that can produce his dolls quickly and affordable, but with the quality that he insists upon. His factory is in China where he has 2 rooms of carvers finish carving the wooden parts after they are roughly cut out on a duplicator. He regularly visits the factory so that he may sit with, and carve with the factory carvers to insure that his vision is being carried out. He says there are 2 rooms of carvers grouped by carving experience and expertise. One room has a team of expert master carvers with fabulous talent. Robert says that he is very impressed with their carving abilities. Robert says that he will consider offering his wood doll manufacturing services for other doll artists. |
Hitty (c 2002) |
New for 2002, Robert Raikes
designed and started making an open edition Hitty
doll manufactured in China. This readily available, Raikes Hitty is available
directly from Raikes, many doll retailers, and often via on-line auctions.
It is a charming, wide-eyed interpretation of Hitty resembling the doll
as drawn by Susan Jeffers in the "New Hitty Book" - Rachel
Field's Hitty : Her First Hundred Years by Rosemary Wells. The Raikes
Hitty is jointed with elastic at the neck, shoulders, and hips. The dolls
come either dressed, or nude "sew for yourself kits". While some of the
early Raikes Hitty dolls have been hand signed by the artist by special
request, some of his earliest Hitty dolls are
not signed or marked in
any way. This is an oversight that Robert says was corrected.
Robert Raikes is currently expanding his business strategies - diversifying. He currently has several company identities offering his work: "American Kit Company" and "Robert Raikes Originals", and etc. Robert is also doing more traditional sculpture. |
Elf (c 1976) |
Mickey Mouse for 2001 Disney Show |
Baby (c 2000) |
Red Riding Hood and Wolf (c 2002) |
Robert Raikes has carved all types of dolls: solid wood jointed dolls, and cloth bodies with wood parts. He has explored a lot of different subjects: baby dolls, character dolls, cartoon dolls, story book dolls, clowns, brides, and etc. Robert is also proud of his on-going association with Disney. He is invited to attend the yearly special "Disney doll show" and he makes a new very special Disney edition wooden item exclusively for this show each year.
Some of his solid wood dolls
from the 80's can be seen in the book "A collector's guide CONTEMPORARY
ARTIST DOLLS" (out of print) by Oroyan and Waugh. His dolls and bears are
also the subject of the book, "The
Raikes Bear & Doll Story - Value and Identification Guide"
by Linda Mullins. Raikes also produced editions of wooden head babies on
stuffed cloth bodies.
photos thanks to Jean Lotz "Applause, Inc." manufactured a group of 4 Raikes designed wood dolls in an edition of 7500 each which are now only available on the secondary market. They have wood shoulder plates with stationary wigged heads on soft cloth un-supported bodies. They have inset plastic eyes, characteristic ski slope noses, wood hands and feet with carved shoes. Raikes name and edition number is impressed on the back of the shoulder plate and a Raikes logo is on the base of the very nice wooden stand. The printed certificates explain that these dolls were made in the Philippines by Applause, Inc. Please remember that although a lot of care and attention is given to produce quality wooden dolls during manufacture, none of these dolls can compare to the quality of a doll carved and finished by the artist themselves. Robert is most proud of the dolls that he has hand-carved himself and those which were created under his direct supervision. |
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Roberts reported:
Nick Richardson is a folk artist, carver and part-time luthier, from Oklahoma City, OK. He has created several classic "dancing" folk toys which are called 'limber-jacks', 'dancing dans' or 'clog dolls'. One of his limber-jacks was featured in a special on Japanese television in the early 1990's. His 'clog dolls' were about 12" tall from top of hat to bottom of boots and 3 1/2" from shoulder to shoulder. It is made to dance by holding the rod in the back and moving him to the beat of the music. Several were used by the Prairie Land String Band of Oklahoma City for several years and Nick is a former member of this same band. Nicks dancing dolls are well crafted and carved in a high relief technique since the wood used for these dolls is thin. He uses sharp traditional carving tools so there is no need to sand. Thus he leaves all carving tool marks. These marks are accentuated after lightly painting the wood with a quick rub to distress the high points of the carving. He finishes with a dark stain or dark wax to accentuate the carving and make it all look a bit old. |
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Unfortunately, Nick did NOT sign nor date any of his early dancing dolls. Nick, please sign and date all of your future arts and crafts!
Photo by Peggy Millhouse |
Brenda makes crafty looking
but charming and unusual cartoonish peg-wood dolls called "PINEY PEOPLE".
But she also makes so many cute non-human jointed wooden characters too:
a sprawling moose, crows, dogs, cats, cows and etc. All have a very comic
appeal.
I have finally met Brenda at the 1998 National Doll Festival in New Orleans. She had a table full of comical jointed characters. I bought a silly looking crow wearing hiking boots for my Hitty doll. |
wood doll with cloth body marked "NS" on neck photo by Jean Lotz |
Norbert Sadei's wooden doll
parts are very fleshy inspired by the traditional religious carving styles
of Italy. Norbert's doll editions are manufactured in Italy - rough cut
by a duplicating machine, finish carved by hand, then expertly painted.
A recent on-line auction featured a doll by Norbert Sadei. Weekeepsakes Doll Shop described their doll as, "She has a very nice wig of human hair curled, very thick, and a beautiful hand painted face. This doll has wood head hands and feet. Her body is stuffed, and jointed like a bear's with outside connections (like a bears legs)." The doll pictured here has wooden head, arms and legs on a cloth body marked by carving "NS" on neck. This particular doll was also signed in ink on the body by the artist or his representative at Toy Fair, but I can't make sense of this signature. Norbert also creates solid wood dolls. Diana Mattuzzi of Weekeepsakes Doll Shop states, "We met Norbert Sadei at the Toy Fair in NYC. We bought all the dolls he had brought with him for display. Since his factory was near the village my father is from, we still buy dolls from him. We carry his wooden dolls now although only the full bodied wooden dolls. They are 7" tall with human hair. His carving style on the arms and legs, very "Leonardo" like, is distinctly his." |
wooden girl doll by Regina Sandreuter |
The
husband/wife team of Regina & Abbinavo Sandreuter manufacture beautiful
wood and porcelain dolls with wooden or composition bodies under the name
of "Regina Sandreuter Charakterpuppen". Regina states, "by 1996
we used more than 10 different faces for our wooden dolls".
They make maple wood dolls with mohair wigs and their dolls are costumed in contemporary clothing made from natural fibers. But what really sets these dolls apart is their fabulous, well designed 8 or 12 part jointed wood bodies. They own patents for these original body designs which allow all of their dolls to be posed in many ways but always looking very natural. They do NOT look robotic at all. Unfortunately Regina tells me that her hands are sore from years of wood carving so they are now producing less wooden dolls and more porcelain dolls to give her hands a much needed rest from the stresses of wood carving. |
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photo thanks to the Sanders collection |
Anja makes realistic maple wood limited edition dolls with human hair wigs. Some of her dolls are marked "Atelier Anja" (Anja's workshop). |
Grandmother and girl photo from artist |
Cyndy Seeley is a multi-faceted
carver. She has been carving since 1988 creating a lot of different types
of carvings: relief's, wood spirits, caricatures, figures, dolls and etc.
Cyndy says that she enjoys making wood dolls the most.
Cyndy hand carves her basswood head, arms, and legs and mounts them on a cloth body with a wire armature. She poses her dolls in scenes. Where 2 dolls are posed together, then they seem to mesh together so well that they seem to be interacting with each other. She makes all of the clothing and does all of the painting on her carvings. Markings: Cyndy Seeley woodburns her name and year on the back of the neck. |
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Hand Carved Dancing Dolls by George SerVance a report by Sherrod N. Gresham, Jr. As a child, George SerVance made his own toys. He once saw a dancing doll in a local dime store and wanted it. Told by his father that he could make it himself, SerVance remembers. "I believed him." With a discarded apple crate, a handsaw, a coat hanger, big-headed matches, and a butcher knife, George set to work. Within a day he had built his own doll. "I saw that picture and knew I could do better than that."The SerVance family moved north looking for better jobs and futures, like many southern African-American families in the 1930s and 1940s. SerVance eventually came back to North Carolina and worked in Thomasville. One year he became very sick. While getting better, SerVance was given a piece of wood and a picture of how the finished carving should look. Figuring he could carve a better figure than the one in the picture, SerVance set to work and proved himself right. At 80, George SerVance, Jr. ranks as one of North Carolina’s most accomplished woodcarvers. Working from a small basement in his Thomasville home. He carves his dolls parts out of several types of woods: the head is carved out of mahogany or poplar; front of the body is carved out of pine; back of the body is carved out of poplar; Arms and hands are carved out of poplar; Thighs are carved out pine; Legs are carved out of mahogany; shoes are carved out of cherry. The bowtie and necktie are carved from popicle sticks (poplar). Each doll part is painted with Acrylic paint and Polyurethane as well. Each comes with a paddle to dance on, a stick to put in the doll's back to make it dance, a tape with music, instructions from SerVance, and a chair on which the doll can "rest" after a hard day's hoofing. In 1993 the North Carolina Folklore Society publicly recognized George SerVance by presenting him with Brown-Hudson Award and prestigious N.C. Folk Heritage Award. I would like to assist with completing the African Page with Dancing Dolls of images from the West. Here are some names of SerVance’s Dolls: Cowboy, Soul Brother, Sailor, Preacher, Farmer, Peg Leg, Clown, Entertainer, and doctor. |
UFDC's Miss Unity |
Melanie Smith is an avid
wood doll carver creating original dolls and Hitty dolls with her signature
tiny red heart painted on the chest. Melz is also a doll collector who
loves wooden dolls and Hitty.
Melanie has also been very active in UFDC and Friends of Hitty activities. She created a special "Miss Unity" wooden doll for a UFDC function. She actively promotes Hitty doll collecting. She created two Hitty collector discussion forums on the Net and has come up with several special projects for the on-line Hitty community: she asked each to create a square for Hitty quilt as a fund raiser for FOH, coordinated a Hitty Secret Santa exchange, and so many more fun Hitty projects. She is always on the look out for new accessories for herself and others that are Hitty scale or specially crafted for Hitty. |
Photo by Peggy Millhouse |
Sherman was well known for
his wood antique reproduction dolls, but he also created many original
creations. Sherman had a close relationship with many doll club members
who inspired him to make his first wood dolls, many special order dolls,
doll parts and do wood doll repairs. He provided a great service to doll
collectors by his willingness to repair Schoenhuts, Springfield woodens
and Queen Anne type, antique wood dolls. He also created wood bodies for
old china heads and made replacement limbs.
Sherman created the 1963 Los Angeles UFDC national convention souvenir. |
Storybook doll |
Mother and baby |
UFDC "Miss Unity" |
All of these dolls are doll
house sized.
photos by
Click images for larger view |
Dolly's #1 granddaughter, Ussowq photo by Dolly Spencer |
Dolly Spencer is a native
Alaskan Inupiat Doll sculptor who makes one-of-a-kind portrait wood dolls
with a lot of personality. Her dolls have an Alaskan birch head on a seal
skin body stuffed with caribou fur. Dolly dresses her dolls in authentic
Eskimo animal skin clothing sewn using traditional methods like using twisted
and untwisted caribou tendon in lieu of thread. See the article about her
work in Contemporary Doll Collector - Aug/Sep 96 with good pictures.
Click here to see the clothing full-length on two of Dolly's dolls (Dolly III in a mink parka and Ussowq in a ground squirrel parka). * Dolly was very supportive of my efforts in this document. She sent a fine letter explaining the care that she takes to dress these dolls in skins as her mother taught her. |
Photo by Mary Lee Sundstrom |
Mary Lee (with costume maker,
Sande Reinke) make editions of charming jointed wood dolls often in story
book themes. Her dolls have painted features carved or unique semi-wigged
hair. Typical these dolls have mitten hands. Sundstrom dolls are well designed
and costumed and embellished exquisitely and in PERFECT SCALE!
Some of her limited editions of small story book dolls:
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I met Mary Lee at a Hitty
Convention in Dallas. She was very enthusiastic about this Internet wood
doll gallery and was pleased that I asked for her photos. At that same
UFDC convention. We were both surprised and pleased to find 2 wood dolls
entered in the same competitive category and pulling the top 2 awards:
Mary Lee's mini storybook doll and My 'Lotz of Love Baby"
