Name: Eliza: Reflections in Time
Made by and When: Hello Dolly Dolls Lisa Olson Originals, approximately 2009
Material: Prosculpt (Polymer clay) head, lower arms, and lower legs; stuffed tan stockinette body, upper arms, and upper legs, cotton textiles, felt, synthetic hair fibers, and an armature
Marks: Unmarked, has a signed certificate of authenticity card that bears a color headshot of Eliza and the Topsy Turvy doll that reads, “OOAK Eliza / Reflections in Time / Original doll sculpt, clothing, and Topsy Turvy doll created by Lisa Olson / (handwritten and signed by the artist) You are never too old to play with dolls. Lisa A. Olson”
Height: 15 inches (Eliza) and 8 inches (the Topsy Turvy)
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Eliza’s black, curly synthetic wig has multiple short braids accented with ribbons at the ends. The inset eyes are brown with painted and applied upper eyelashes. Eliza has a smiling, open mouth with sculpted upper and lower teeth. There is a gap between the two front teeth, and a lower front tooth is missing. The white Topsy Turvy doll has two off-black pigtails adorned with a white ribbon. Both Topsy Turvys have painted facial features.
Clothes: The artist made Eliza’s blue-and-white floral-print dress, the white pinafore with red hand-stitched trim, and off-white lace-trimmed pantaloons. The feet are bare. The Black Topsy Turvy doll wears a red floral-print blouse with a burgundy felt center design and a white ribbon bow at the neck, a red-and-tan gingham skirt, a red headscarf that covers the head, and tiny gold hoop earrings. The white Topsy Turvy’s blouse is identical to the Black doll’s. It is worn with a black-and-white horizontally striped skirt.
Other: Part of a set of five “Girls and Their Dolls Reflections in Time” collection representing girls of different ethnicities and their dolls, Eliza is a girl from the mid-1800s. Lisa Olson of Hello Dolly Dolls presented the dolls at an IDEX show. The collection depicts different eras of girls, what they wore, and what type of doll they played with during their time, and includes a Native American girl, a Pioneer girl, Eliza, a Victorian girl, and a 1950s girl. Each doll was hand-sculpted and painted by the artist as a one-of-a-kind piece, with custom-made cloth bodies, an armature for posing, and manicured fingernails and toenails. The artist made the dresses from her own designed patterns.
Gallery
_________
Your comments are valued. Donations support the initiative to preserve Black-doll history.
If you subscribe to DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum™ by email, click the post title of the email, which links to the website to view all text and associated media. Please “like” and share this installation with your social media contacts. If you’d like to subscribe, add your email address to the subscribe or sign-up field in the footer or right sidebar. Add your email address to the subscribe or sign-up field in the footer or right sidebar.
DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum™ 