Folk Art...Dolls

I have a thing for Folk Art...rustic, interesting stuff. My mom bought me a pair of rag dolls with no faces on them for Christmas one year...as the Amish. I've always wanted these kinds of dolls. They are just so unique and interesting. I guess the reason why I like them so much is that you can let your imagination create whatever kind of face you would like your doll to be. It is said that the reason for the faceless dolls was because of religious reason...the Bible says that you are not supposed to make anything that is in the image or likeness of a human...or another explanation is, the dolls are not being made as graven images (the making of which was strictly forbidden according to the Book of Deuteronomy). I found another lady that shares the same love I have for these dolls. You can read her blog: Tips from the Blogging Queen and why she just loves these types of dolls here.

These dolls are on top of my cupboards in the kichen...since it's done up in a kind of folk-country style. I also collect roosters, so I have many chicken inspired stuff around.

My Amish girl doll.

My Amish boy doll.

A few years ago at the Des Moines Farmer's Market I came across a booth filled with beautiful and exquisite folk dolls. I got to talking to the lady that made them. June Wildash is such an artist with her dolls. I have two in my collection and they are high up so my three year old daughter can't play with them. I just love them to pieces! Here are some pictures of Sally and Lacie.

Lacie on the left and Sally on the right sit on top of books in my bedroom, high on a bookshelf so little hands cannot get to them.

Little Lacie is a sweetheart of a doll. She has a little angel brooch on her dress.

Sally...the bigger doll and Lacie's big sister. Just as lovely as Lacie.

June Wildash has a website devoted to her dolls and you can order them here.

They are well made and very lovely to look at in person.

I love dolls. Always have, and always will. I can see that joy on my baby's face when she plays with her own. Her favorite dolls are ones that are made by Pottery Barn Kids. She has Chloe, Sophie and Joy (or Clo Clo, So So and Jo Jo as she calls them) She loves them all, and calls them her "sisters." LOL!!! The Jennerbug has been brushing their yarn hair...and I keep telling her that these dolls are not like Barbie's where her hair can be combed. Bugs the heck out of me...and I think that's why she does this. Anyway...Here is a photo of Jennerbug and her "sisters" (l to r) Joy, Chloe and Sophie, all barefooted!!! Jens is holding on to her Princess rag doll that she got from the Blank Park Zoo a few years back.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Look what my baby made me in Preschool...

A Butterfly Clip

Mother dear, I love you, and I know you love me too.I am very glad to celebrate this holiday with you! I thank you for the things you do, and I just want to say, "I hope you have a super special, happy Mother's Day!"

Musings about Amusement Parks...

Jennerbug and her friend Aurora go cruising on a lady bug...

Today I went to Adventureland, along with my Jennerbug and our friends Melissa and Aurora. We had a blast!!!! It's been a few years since I've been at the Park...and I live only 5 mins away. But, having Jens really didn't allow me to go there until now. And being almost 4, she handled all the rides beautifully!!! I was holding on tight to her on the sky ride. The seats are not the most stable for a little girl like her. She could of fell through and then...yep...don't want to think about that. Anyways, she was having a lot of fun.

We went into the gift shop to look for a little something to remember her first day there and she chose a purse with a dog's head on it and the words had the words Adventureland printed on it. The funny thing is that the cashier didn't know they had that purse in the store. LOL!

Amusement parks are something I'm very familiar with. I was born in a hospital down the street from Disneyland in Anaheim, CA...a hospital that is no longer there. It's an apartment complex. I loved going to Disneyland. It was a treat. And every time we drove pass the park...doing errands or other things...I would always ask if we are going there.

Loved Disneyland...the way the place had this peculiar, musty scent in the Haunted Mansion and Pirates. To the Alice in Wonderland ride...natch! The theming was wonderful!! Rich detail and care with every ride the Imagineers created. Love that place...magical! I just hope that Jens going to Adventureland will feel the same way when she gets to be my age. The wonderment...nistalgia...the fun!!!

And since I'm on a Amusements kick tonight...

This Haunting picture is of a Farris Wheel that was abandoned and overgrown at Chippewa Park in Ohio

I have never been to Chippewa Park in Ohio...but the above photo is really cool! Wikipedia has a whole list of defunct amusement parks you can read about here! Warning that entry...it will engross and fascinate!!!! So many parks that are now closed across the country! Ranging from Opryland to Busch Gardens.

The one that really captured my attention was an amusements called Enchanted Forest. A now-closed theme park in Ellicott City, Maryland. See some of the terrific, haunting photos of Enchanted Forest here! These whimsical buildings that children used to play in and imagine in are sadly, as you can see...going into disrepair. An effort is underway to restore a lot of this precious park. Here is a great website recounting people's fond memories of the Enchanted Forest and times gone by...and how people are trying to restore a lot of the attractions time forgot...

Going back to parks in California...I used to go to Marineland near LA when I was a kid. For one thing, it was much closer to my house than driving down to San Diego and going to Sea World. So when I was a teenager back in the late 1980's they closed that park down. And, much like the Enchanted Forest, it remained a shadow of its former self for many years...with weeds, graffitti...etc, littering the place. Finally a developer came in a leveled the place and now they are getting reading to build luxury homes in that area.

A beautiful shot of the old Marineland near LA over looking the Pacific Ocean.

Another park I had fond memories of was Santa's Village near Lake Arrowhead. I only been there a few times...but I really remember was the giant bees flying overhead that were monorails caring passengers! I had a lot of fun there. The place was just as whimsical as the Enchanted Forest.

A large Bee Monorail takes passengers across Santa's Village in Lake Arrowhead, CA

Movie Monday Featuring...

Gulliver's Travels

Way back when Walt Disney had the only feature length motion picture cartoon, other animation studios wanted to jump on the bandwagon and come up with their own. Of course, Snow White proved to be quite a hit for Disney. So the Fleischer brothers, namely their studio made Gulliver's Travels, which became second animated feature film ever released, and the first produced by an American studio other than Walt Disney Productions.

Now the story written by Jonathan Swift back in the 18th century and full of political satire would go over children's heads if they were not well versed in the subject. This version was more kid friendly.

The plot has Gulliver washed up on an island and being found by the Town Crier Gabby. For all you trivia buffs...Gabby had his own series of spin off cartoons that Fleischer Studios produced. My daughter has a collection of old cartoons that my mother bought for her a year ago and I was surprised to see a cartoon about Gabby...not knowing how popular the character was after the Gulliver's cartoon came out. According to The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons by Jeff Lenburg, "Stories were shaped around Gabby's inability to do anything right."

The whole plot is centered around two kingdoms and the Kings (Little and Bombo, respectfully) of both of them. Their children, Princess Glory of Lilliput and Prince David of Blefuscu are do to be married. The two Kings cannot agree on which song to play at the ceremony; Little wants to play the song "Faithful" while Bombo wants "Forever." It takes the gentle giant Gulliver to smooth things over for the two kingdoms, and for the couple to become happily ever after...

You can download Gulliver's Travels for free since the copyright to the movie has lapsed and it is now in the public domain: http://www.archive.org/details/gullivers_travels1939

I remember watching this enchanting movie on the Family Film Festival on channel 5 in LA when I was a young one. The follow up, which I'll do for next week's Movie Monday was a flop for Fleischer Studios...but it's just as good and sweet as Gulliver is. Just as Disney before, the Fleischer's used Rotoscoping, an animation technique in which animators trace over live-action film movement, frame by frame to give Gulliver more human characteristics. However it was Max Fleischer who invented this design for Fleischer Studios first cartoon, "Out of the Ink well," and proved to be so successful, that the Disney Studios adopted this technique.

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