These six-inch tall wooden dolls were made in Poland in the 1970s.
Their bodies, arms and legs are made of wood. They can be posed and stand on their own. All the parts of the dolls are hand carved and show pride of workmanship.
I like the hand-painted expressions with eyes looking to the side and long hand-painted eyelashes.
Their soft mohair wigs are glued on, and their costumes are a stiff cotton material with shiny braid trim.
You may have guessed that my love of dolls has been a life-long hobby and it came from and was nurtured by my mother while I was growing up.
My mother loved to travel and brought these dolls back to the United States from Europe on one of her trips. I admire my mother for venturing out on her trips in middle-age. I think it inspired my own love of travel and getting up the courage in the past 10 years to move to Holland.
I love the rich culture our country affords. If you have the opportunity to travel - go for it. And like my mother did, try to find some dolls that are representative of the country or countries you are visiting!
Each Christmas my mother would make a new set of clothes for my favorite doll at the time and lay the outfits out along the top of the couch for me to find on Chistmas morning. Those are some of my most vivid memories from childhood.
Charity Note:
I'd like to suggest that if you spend time making doll clothes, anyway, that you collect a few dolls from friends and neighbors and sew a wardrobe or a complete outfit for each doll. Then donate the doll in the completed outfit to a charity that distributes used dolls and toys to kids that otherwise would not have any.
Seminole Indian Wooden Doll and Clothing
Polish Culture Site at Bella Online
Article and photo credit Susan Kramer
