Porcelain Doll Art

Here are two porcelain dolls I have made out of many of my creations.
This was my hobby in the 80's. The fun all ended when the lady who had all the equipment moved to Florida. She had nightly classes and hundreds of molds to choose from.

I would pay for the class then all the materials (slip per doll, eyes, hair).
Each student had to have a basic kit of tools and paints.
It was amazing how addictive it was to create "people".
I seemed to like to make lots of redheads.
I loved the Googly dolls, like those old fashioned Cambell Kids, Dolly Dingle types.

The process was pouring the mold (head, shoulder plate, arms, legs) , dumping excess slip, setting it up so it was soft but pliable.
Next was to clean up the greenware by shaving off some of the mold seams after set up and cutting the eyes, adjusting the greenware so it would be smooth.
It then air dried and was fired.
Next was sanding and painting -- cheeks, lips, eyebrows and painted eyelashes, or painted eyes (a challenge!) were difficult.
The doll was fired again to heat set the paint.
Next was sewing the soft body and attaching the fabric to the arms and legs then to the body itself.
Finally, it was sewing the clothing, the most tedious task but fun to create historical outfits.

It was a time consuming and expensive hobby.
I did not like the dust. That was annoying even though we had to wear masks and goggles during the process.

They like to stand under the Christmas Tree every year.
I think at some point, I will donate them to a charity auction for them to raise some money selling some raffle tickets or such. I made Teddy Bears for our town library that were raffled off and made lots of money to buy library books.

Every little bit helps.