Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day and I thought I'd share some photos of my Indigenous inspired dolls.
I've always loved Native art, especially that of the Eastern Woodlands, and that of the Pacific Northwest. Way back when I was a volunteer art teacher, I liked to teach children about some of the traditional art of our First People. I was especially interested in the rich traditional culture of the Pacific Northwest, and it inspired me to make a series of cloth dolls depicting some of their stories.
The first was Raven Steals the Sun, which depicts the traditional story of how Raven tricked the Chief's daughter into opening the chest in which he kept the sun. I made him in 2004 for our doll club's Puppet Challenge that year, and he won Best Doll in the Canadian Doll Artist Conference Mythology competition.
I've always loved Native art, especially that of the Eastern Woodlands, and that of the Pacific Northwest. Way back when I was a volunteer art teacher, I liked to teach children about some of the traditional art of our First People. I was especially interested in the rich traditional culture of the Pacific Northwest, and it inspired me to make a series of cloth dolls depicting some of their stories.
The first was Raven Steals the Sun, which depicts the traditional story of how Raven tricked the Chief's daughter into opening the chest in which he kept the sun. I made him in 2004 for our doll club's Puppet Challenge that year, and he won Best Doll in the Canadian Doll Artist Conference Mythology competition.
Every part of his regalia tells part of the story.
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The next figure, also for a club challenge, was Raven Steals Beaver Lake, in which Raven brought salmon to all the people. Again another cloth doll with soft sculpture face, on a wire body....
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The third, and final doll in the series was Thunderbird. He has a wired cloth body, but his mask was sculpted of paperclay, as were the serpent parts of his upper arms. He won Best in Show at the 2006 Canadian Doll Artist Conference.
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For more information on these first three characters - My Native Art Figures
Years later, in 2012, after I'd started into the world of BJDs, we were planning on taking a trip to the West coast, and I was planning on taking some dolls along to photograph my very first doll photo story. Two of the main characters were a little lost native girl, and her mother. I made their regalia out of chamois leather, painted with traditional designs...
I made a traditional inspired button blanket for Asa.
Later that same year, I made a Cheyenne inspired outfit for Byuri for a trip to the Southwest.
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The following year I photographed Soa, as a grown up Byuri from the first story....
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