Many years have passed since the late 80's and my hobby of ceramic's. I loved making things. Cleaning the clay, painting it, then firing it in a big kiln. I loved it so much and spent so much time with that hobby, that my husband bought me my very own kiln to use at home. I made so many things. Even did porcelain a few times.
One day a friend asked me if I would like to enter a Doll Show in Bossier, Louisiana and I accepted. I worked on several dolls for that show, in different category's, but my main set of dolls were two old people. The cleaning took a while and I decided to dry brush them to give their skin a more detailed wrinkled look. During the time I worked on them I would strap them in the back seat with them wearing the seat belts and carry them back and forth from my friends shop to my house. Being how they didn't have on clothes at the time and being the size of a toddler, truck drivers would look down and honk at me sometimes as I drove by. I imagine that did look a little strange!
The women has beads in her Ta-tas so they would hang as an overly woman's would and the veins in their hands show the purple skin tone and stand up like those of my own grandmother. Heck, the more I worked on them, the more they took the look and character of my real grandparents. My mother often said that when she would visit. They both have wedding rings on, fired with 14 karat gold paint. One visit, my mother said she wanted to give me a stone to mount on the Granny's ring , which I did. She always claimed it was real and it shines all the time. Perhaps one day I will strap her in the back seat and take her down to our local jewelers and have it tested. The dolls next step was to have cloths. I made the Granny's dress, apron, and bloomers from a size 2 toddler pattern. Granddad thou needed overalls which I found at the goodwill. The day before the show I had to have all my dolls set up in place. I was nervous as could be and hoping to just place more than just an entry ribbon and hardly slept that night. The next morning as we walked into the busy show room, I could see a crowd gathered around the front desk and I knew that that was a spot where the top dolls in the show would be displayed. I worked my way through the crowd and had to look twice...there sat my Grandparents. They had won! They not only won a Blue Ribbon, but Best of Show! I was so proud of myself and to think this was my first show to enter. I won Blue Ribbons on three more of my dolls and a second place on another that day.
Many more years have passed since I won such an honor with those dolls and I still have them sitting in my living room to this day, in the same spot as when I brought them home and they became a part of who I was. and a reminder of who I will become. Just like these dolls, I was cleaned, molded, and fired to a creation of life. I'm now in my mid sixty's and look at them sometimes and see my husband and I.
I did make another set of these dolls for my sister in law, Myrna. I'm not sure what became of them after she passed on. Where ever they are, I hope they have made their owners smile as much as these two at our home. We use them every Christmas and dress them up as Mr. & Mrs. Santa. Dressing them is an ordeal because they give me such a fight and it makes my living room look like a murder scene on a CSI show. This year they even got to hang out on the couch and talk as their cloths got washed. Who knows what the future has the next thirty years for these two.
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