Creative possibilities of doll-making.

Creative possibilities of doll-making. A child making a doll can be equated to an adult artist making afigurative fig��u��ra��tive?adj.1. a. Based on or making use of figures of speech; metaphorical: figurative language.b. Containing many figures of speech; ornate.2. sculpture. From ancient times, figurative sculptures haveserved as substitutes for originals because they can evoke a sense ofpresence, even though they are mere images of what they represent. Humans are especially sensitive to faces. Research shows thatinfants like a face-like pattern more than a random pattern even whenthey are too young to have human interactions. In addition, there is apart of the brain whose special function is to recognize faces.Isn't it amazing a��maze?v. a��mazed, a��maz��ing, a��maz��esv.tr.1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise.2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex.v.intr. to know that if this part is damaged, we cannotrecognize familiar faces, even our parents' or our own? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Because we are biologically made to be sensitive to human faces, ahuman figure does not have to be realistic to represent a human or tofunction as a substitute. This applies to a doll, too. Simply by theright suggestions of body parts, a doll can stir a child'simagination and emotions. HUMAN IMAGES This inborn inborn/in��born/ (in��born?)1. genetically determined, and present at birth.2. congenital.in��bornadj.1. Possessed by an organism at birth.2. human tendency to easily recognizeschematic A graphical representation of a system. It often refers to electronic circuits on a printed circuit board or in an integrated circuit (chip). See logic gate and HDL. human images makes this doll-making project an excellent venuefor helping children's creativity flow. I first saw this project atour university's Annual Youth Art Festival. Professor CatherineWalker, who teaches foundation and painting courses at East CarolinaUniversity East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, intensive research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statue and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina , was displaying the dolls she and her son had made overseveral years as her son was growing up. The dolls were hilarious! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I ended up making one myself while helping her. When I askedwhether I could teach this to art teachers in a state conferenceworkshop, she said, "There is nothing to teach, it is soeasy." Well, not really. First of all, realizing that a dolldoesn't have to look realistic requires insight. Second, justseeing examples of the artistic possibilities may trigger our owncreativity. I therefore gave a workshop on doll-making at a recent NorthCarolina North Carolina,state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N).Facts and FiguresArea, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. Art Education Association conference, and what a great time theparticipating art teachers had! MAKING THE DOLL The basic body form is made of a sock sockwhite mark on the feet. In horses this means from the coronet to halfway up the cannon. In dogs and cats, it is white from the paws up to the carpus or hock. (a baby ortoddler sock works well) filled with fabric or other soft stuffingmaterial. The top can be sewn sewn?v.A past participle of sew.sewnVerba past participle of sewAdj. 1. closed or tied with yarn or a pipecleaner pipe cleaner,n a small, brushlike device used to clean the spaces between the teeth (used also for other purposes). It should not be inserted all the way between the teeth, but rather just far enough to massage the tissue and remove any plaque. , depending on the age of the students. The head can be separated off by tying the sock somewhere withyarn, and legs can be made by stitching a straight line from the bottomup. A row of big beads, pom-poms or other materials can suggest arms. If needles are completely out of the question for your students,and often this is the case, creating two separate legs by stitching isnot necessary, and glue can be used to attach items. Once you finish the body form, there is no specific order in whichto proceed. Pieces of yarn, buttons, scrap fabric and beads can be usedto make hair, the face and clothes. The most important and interesting part is the face. Quite anexpressive face can be made by manipulating the positions of its parts.The changes of expression you see in the face when you move the eyes andmouth around will surprise you. INTERESTING CHARACTERS The most artistic aspect of this project isthe ideas you come up with to give your doll an interesting character.If you have many varied materials to work with, some of the materialsmight trigger a creative idea spontaneously. For example, when I draped drape?v. draped, drap��ing, drapesv.tr.1. To cover, dress, or hang with or as if with cloth in loose folds: draped the coffin with a flag; a robe that draped her figure. a string of beads, which might have come from a hair band, around mydoll's waist, the idea came to me to give my doll a tropical look,which was also suggested by the pink color of the sock. This idea led meto other ideas on how I would proceed with other body parts. Exaggeratedbody parts and hair can give the doll a certain hilarity. [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Another artistic aspect is how materials can be used in unexpectedways. The first doll Catherine produced had hair made of yarn. In herlater dolls, the hair would be strings of beads or even small bellsattached directly to head. They reminded me of beautiful Africanhairstyles. In lieu of clothing, her son attached a shell on "the privatearea" of a doll, which made me wonder if he knew the symbolismcarried by the shell image. Maybe, but probably not. Nevertheless, forthose who do know the symbolism the shell has had throughout arthistory--as in Botticelli's Birth of Venus--his solution was aptand artistic! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOR ALL AGES This project can be done with all ages of students.Its loose format and infinite possibilities will foster creativity, thetheme of the human figure will give them warm feelings, and the freestyle without the constraint of realism will give the students a senseof freedom and achievement. In addition, this project will expose students to a traditionalhandcraft. Our young people are not getting enough experience usingtheir hands! Because we humans have evolved over millions of years touse our hands and make tools, using our hands to create things gives ustremendous satisfaction. We as art teachers know how much students likeprojects that use various materials that they can touch and manipulate. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students of all ages will ... * increase their creativity through the open-ended nature of theproject. * learn to use many different materials in suggestive ways. * learn basic sewing and stitching techniques. * make a doll by exercising personal decision-making andcreativity. MATERIALS * Socks (toddler socks work best) * Filling/stuffing material * Yarns, pipe cleaners * Beads * Buttons * Fabrics * Needles, thread, cork "pin cushions" * Strong white glue * Assorted materials collected from nature, recycled or purchasedin craft stores Nanyoung Kim is an Associate Professor of Art Education at theSchool of Art and Design at East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.The author thanks Catherine Walker and her son Louis for letting her usetheir dolls as examples for the workshop and for this article.