How To: Miniature Breastplate

 

Recently taught myself how to make a miniature Native American breastplate for an assemblage doll. 

 

I thought "Grandmother Moon" needed one to dress up her lame' and satin gown. (These breastplates were originally designed from bone and/or antler beads made by hand with crude tools, to be used as body armor for protection. Men's breastplates commonly covered the neck and chest area, women's breastplates were to protect heart and reproduction parts.)

 

This tried my patience and dexterity but I enjoy detail work. It wasn't easy and I had to start over - twice but . .  I DID IT 

 

Now I have to get the hand vac and find all the beads that dropped on the floor.

 

 

 

 

Learned very quickly to pin it to cardboard to secure the work. Used satin ribbon, seed beads, pony beads and bugle beads and wove the pattern back and forth.

 

Don't want to remember how many times I had to "unstring" beads because I got the count wrong - focus!

 

                    A close up of the finished product; only took two days.

Not bad for the first time. Actually, anxious to make another - and do it better.

 

Work Space

My People dolls are created all over my home.

Evenings find me in front of a movie in the den, carving with a small waste basket in my lap to catch all the shavings.  (Waste basket is then emptied into the tortoise habitat in the back yard.)  This system does NOT catch ALL the shavings, which is evident when I stand up and as I walk through the house during the day.  Shavings can be found throughout.  Nice weather can take me to the patio to listen to birds and leaves in the trees while I carve and allow shavings to be carried away on the wind.

Before we retired, downsized and relocated, I had a large one room studio where there was a table for carving so shavings were piled on the table and scraped off into a waste basket.  There was a table for painting and another for beading and making the miniature accessories.  I had storage space under tables for plastic storage boxes filled with supplies.  Office was a separate room.

Sanding has always been an issue with the sawdust - as is sawing larger wood pieces into smaller.  It is financially advantageous to buy larger pieces and cut them down.  I have had to use a mask to keep from inhaling sawdust.  I try to reserve my sanding for nicer weather outdoors.  This is not always possible so, with mask, bending over waste basket, sanding is held to a minimum.  Sawdust still finds it's way around the office, which is where my work area is now compacted.

In our "retirement home" my office and work space has been combined.  It is necessary to wall off a corner of the office/sitting space in order to create a convenient work area with supply closet.  I have sorted and labeled many supplies into small drawers to be within reach.  My paints are sorted by color in a swivel stand for easy access.  I kept my drafting table to work on.

Above my work table, is a wall shelf for solvents, specialty paints and glues.  My magnifying lamp is an absolute necessity.  The balsa wood I use is so porous I need to get "up close and personal" for even coverage.

Even though I like the solid look of an even coverage and use varnish for a nice finish, I have come to prefer a more "primitive" look which I achieve by bypassing a satin smooth sanded finish.  Look close and you will see knife marks on a finished doll.  This is preferred because of the culture and history of the no face doll.  They have existed among indigenous peoples for centuries.

In the closet behind my chair, you can find brushes, clay, tools, hardware, leather and various other needs.  

This is not the most ideal work space and I can bump my elbows on occasion.  Rearranging the office is not possible due to location of electric outlets along with the number of and size of furniture in the office.  All in all, there is a window to keep clostrophobia at bay and allow an occasional day dream.  File cabinet and computer offer reference material and I can take a coffee break on the love seat.

Popular My People doll Characters

 My People have been collected on an international level.  They reside is many countries around the world.

After creating over 700 dolls from historical records, folklore and information taken from museums and auction houses, several emerged as favorites:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  EARTH MOTHER

  She is the one who provides for us and brings forth

  wisdom from all things natural.  Care for  her before 

  she takes the path of the past; tread softly on the

  earth - she is your mother.

SKY WOMAN

She fell from the land of the Sky People to plant a 

branch on the back of Great Sea

Turtle and create the North American continent. 

CHEROKEE ROSE

This doll represents the famous Cherokee Trail of Tears.

It is said, for every tear that fell to earth, a wildflower

blooms between the Carolina's and Oklahoma.  This character

is always created with a tear running down her face.

There are other characters that follow close behind in popularity: White Buffalo Calf Woman, Storyteller, Tehan, Dream Spirit, Warrior Woman, Corn Maiden and Butterfly Woman.  

New characters are researched and emerging every year: Code Talker and Star Lily along with those recording  historical dress and regalia from pow wow.

Every one is hand carved to impart their spirit from me as I create and there are no two alike,  They all come with a certificate that gives the story of the first No Face doll along with the story of the doll that the certificate represents along with her name and number in the chronological order the doll is created.

About My People faceless dolls

 My People Indian dolls . . .
Are an original creation born of a merging of the Hopi Kachina with the No Face corn husk dolls of the Iroquois.
* * Inventory in my etsy shop will be increasing gradually.
> Some characters are taken from folklore and others represent the history of tribal dress.
> Each doll is a unique one of a kind, signed & numbered in the order each is created.
> This is a nation of hand carved Indian dolls, consisting of seven tribes along with a Grandmother pillow doll. 

> The tribes are defined by size, amount of detail, ornamentation and price.
> They are each carved by hand, sanded, a design sketched, burned, sealed, painted, adorned and accessories added - all made by the artist.
> Carving by hand imparts a spirit to the doll and insures that you get an absolute one of a kind.  I have no partners or help with My People; they are done, start to finish, by me WITHOUT any power tools.

> Finally, they are varnished to seal and protect.
> Each comes with a Certificate of Authenticity that has the story of the first No Face doll of the Iroquois (Corn Maiden) and the story of the doll you purchase.
> Hours are spent in research of various North American tribal colors and designs along with history and folklore.  
> They have been purchased at Indian Markets and art shows across the country by Indian and non Indian alike.  
> My People have been exhibited in galleries, museums and written up in newspapers, Doll News and Art Doll Magazine.  
> They have garnered my membership, by her peers, into ODACA (Original doll Artist Council of America).
> They are part of the permanent collection at Standing Bear Indian Museum in Ponca City, OK.  
> My People are in private collections around the world, creating a bridge of understanding between cultures.

>  All are packed, insured and shipped with great care.
> I have a very easy lay away plan for any doll over $250 - message me for details.
> Special orders are accepted with restrictions - message me for details.  
* Presently, I am working on an order of 165 dolls.  Special orders are "fit in" as time allows.
> Since I began in 2007, I have carved over 700 dolls with more to come.

Why No Face

 NO FACE: What is in your heart is more important than how you look.
Artist is member of UFDC (United Federation of Doll Clubs) and ODACA (Original Doll Artists Council of America).

 "My People" wooden, no face dolls are highly researched for tribal colors, designs and historical accuracy. They are original, created with a small paring knife. My People have found their way into museums and private collections world wide, bridging a gap between cultures.

 

My People nation

 

As a child, much time was spent with my Iroquois grandmother who told of the corn husk dolls with no faces. "My People" dolls came out of the Imagination Room of my mind in 2007 born of a desire to create historical record of a culture without written history. The My People nation expanded into 7 tribes, is being collected internationally by collectors and those interested in Native culture/history.

* I have no tribal status - I am not "carded" Indian nor do I make that claim. All records were discarded when grandmother began school and was instructed not to tell anyone of her Indian culture. I doubt I have enough heritage to even acquire a place on the roles.

No Face: What is in your heart is more important than how you look.

My People bring North American native peoples together as one nation with many hours of research for each doll. They are carved from wood with small knives - tradition says this is what gives each one their individual spirit.

NOTE: My no-face dolls are a one man effort; I have no helpers or assistants. I do the carving and painting. Each item listed is a one of a kind created from beginning to end by me. LOVE my work!

 Come back soon to see more about the My People nation and how each doll emerges from the wood using only a paring knife.