Cornhusk, Silk, and Wishbones : A Book of Dolls From Around the World

Cornhusk, Silk, and Wishbones : A Book of Dolls From Around the World

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-5-This attractive alphabet book presents 26 dolls from 5 continents that were created in a variety of time periods, ranging from 1000 B.C.E. to the present. For each letter, the type of doll appears in boldly colored typeface along with a stunning, full-color photograph. The accompanying paragraph includes a description of the figure, discusses its cultural significance, and provides pronunciations for unfamiliar terms. The text is lively and engaging and imparts solid cultural and historical information in a painless manner. A world map and a page about collecting these objects round out the title. This intriguing look at dolls as a reflection of the civilizations that created them is a good complement to more standard pictorial approaches to the topic, such as Caroline Goodfellow's The Ultimate Doll Book (DK, 1993), and an attractive, informational alphabet book.
Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A Guide to Hopi Katsina Dolls

A Guide to Hopi Katsina Dolls

Product Description
Hopi katsinam and the dolls that represent them have fascinated Indian arts trader and author Kent McManis since he was a little boy. In A Guide to Hopi Katsina Dolls, McManis shows how the eternal spirit of the katsinam manifests itself in the works of some of the most skilled and inspired Hopi carvers working today.

For the Hopi-a communal farming people who reside in stone and adobe villages on and near three Mesas in northeastern Arizona-everything in life is imbued with the sacred. The Hopi attribute their very survival as a people to the katsinam, inhabitants of the spiritual realm who convey prayers to the gods and respond with blessings in the form of rain, bountiful harvests, and plentiful game.

In A Guide to Hopi Katsina Dolls, more than seventy of the most prominent and intriguing katsinam who appear during the Hopi ceremonial year are described and depicted in full color photographs of both contemporary and historic katsina dolls.

Art Doll Adventures: Exploring Projects and Processes through Cultural Traditions

Art Doll Adventures: Exploring Projects and Processes through Cultural Traditions

Product Description

Doll-making inspired by cultural icons

Finding meaning in your art is one thing; doing it for the fun of the creation is another. How do they go together? Making dolls inspired by cultural icons brings new meaning to your work and helps you connect with larger universal truths. Doll makers are very conscious of and interested in the history of the human/female figure and cultural icons, and often use them as starting points for their designs. Spirit dolls, African icons, goddess figures, and Hopi katichinas are all popular forms.

Using history as a starting point, Lisa-Li Hertzi has created five exciting doll projects, inspired by five very different cultural and historical icons/figures. Through the projects, she explores the creative process, the meaning and significance of each figure, and teaches techniques that doll makers are currently experimenting with: journaling, collage, mixed media, and found objects. Each doll is presented as a step-by-step project with complete instructions, and is followed by a gallery featuring interpretations by leading doll artists of the same cultural figure. Fantastic full color illustrations and patterns by the author are included.

About the Author

Lisa-Li Hertzi is a professional illustrator, graphic designer, and artist, and runs the art department for Squadra Inc. USA. She is known for her eclectic line of cloth doll patterns, ranging from the Boulder Goddess which is based very roughly on the Venus of Willendorf, to Lilly, a Feisty cowgirl to the EarthSky Man, who was inspired by a raft trip down the Colorado River. She is a popular teacher, using both her patterns and classes to explore art, science, history, the figure, color, and more.