Tulsa Dolling Dames

Diane Little completed her Steampunk doll and she's GORGEOUS!!!

News Bits

The next meeting will the first Wednesday in March, 1:00 @ B-Sew Inn (51st & Sheridan in Tulsa). We always have lots of fun, share good information, and have a great display of our members' creations. You're welcome to stop by & visit us!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

MARCH 23-24: Workshop with Shari Goshon

JUNE: The Tulsa Quilt Show at the Fairgrounds; See the traveling Hoffman Dolls. TDD Pin Doll fundraiser. Need Volunteers.

JULY: Hoffman Challenge

AUGUST: TDD Challenge Dolls "Bring Books Alive" Bring your story book character doll with the book.

OCTOBER: Workshop with Leta Benedict. Date TBA.

Goal for this year: Charity Dolls

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! We are a group of ladies (and gent) who love to create beautiful, whimsical, personalities from fabric, fiber, found objects, sequins, jewels, and embellishments of all sorts. In addition, each of us explores other art mediums, such as quilting, beading, embroidery. Most of all, we love to get together and have fun -- while making art! New members are most welcome. We meet the first Wednesday of the month at B-Sew Inn in Tulsa, OK. For more information, email Jean at djmssok3@aol.com; or Shirley at harbee1b@yahoo.com; or call Shirley at 918.369.6115.

How it All Began

A brief history of the Tulsa Dolling Dames begins with 3 people who met at an elinor peace bailey workshop in May of 1999, and decided to start a doll club. A very simple beginning, but it has turned into a delightful 10 years of fun, friendship, laughter and an on-going knowledge of the art of cloth doll making. To some, a cloth doll is a simple “rag” doll made of left overs, or a bright redhaired Raggedy Anne or even a Cabbage Patch Kid lookalike. But to a seamtress, several pieces of cloth can easily become an art doll.

Jean Martin, Rae Sook and Scampy Rainey started the club and spent the first few months meeting in the back room at the Quilter’s Nook shop, wondering how to ever get the word out about art dolls. Jean finally made a small poster showing pictures of cloth dolls and information about the club and hung it up by the front door of the shop for all to see. One day a visitor [Daria Cash] who had seen the sign, looked in and asked “Is this the doll club”? Well, yes it was! And so it began.

Through the years those few have turned into an active club with up to 30 members at times. Mostly local, northeastern Oklahoma, but has included members from Texas and Arkansas.

We have well-known teachers come for classes and have gone to many out of state classes. But the very first class was held in Jean’s sewing room with the original three members and two ladies from her Dallas club.....the teacher being Anne Marie Brombal. We went on to have Diane Little and Gladi Alred from Albuquerque at Jean's house, stopping on their way home from a doll conference in Kansas City. A few members attended, as well as two more ladies from Albq. and one from Florida, all on their way home. Quite a group, and the laughter never stopped. As our club grew, we had classes at the quilt shop and now at the local sewing machine center. Our teachers have included Christine Shively, Mary Tressler, Barbara Willis, Adele Sciortino, Barbara Schnoeoff, Patti Culea and Arley Berryhill to name a few.

But mostly we learn from each other, as our club has many talented members who are willing to share what they know. We’ve learned beading, embroidery, quilting, paper art, marionettes, polymer clay, and cloth-over face molds. Anything goes where art dolls are concerned.

Some of our local projects have included displays at the libraries, booths at the quilt shows, with the added attraction of a trunk full of the Hoffman dolls each time, also a newspaper article with pictures, exhibits at the state fair, as well as a Christmas tree decorated with many small cloth dolls and donated to one of our art museums, to be sold at their yearly Christmas tree exhibit. These have proven to be a good way to educate the public on what an art doll really is, as many people have never seen this type of doll made from cloth.

This is only a few of the many activities our club has taken part in, but it will give you an idea of how something small can turn into a wonderful, fun filled life, “playing with dolls”. ~Jean

11/23/2011

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