AROUND HOME : Doll Making

FRENCH AND GERMAN dolls manufactured from about 1840 to the early 1900s were made of bisque or china with cupid’s-bow mouths, corkscrew curls and lavishly detailed dresses. These rare artifacts--did anyone ever play with them, really?--now sell for as much as $20,000 at auctions. Small wonder that many collectors have taken to making their own dolls for fun and profit.

Antique-reproduction dolls have been big business ever since the early ‘70s when the price of the real thing zoomed into hyperspace. Today, a reproduction doll, one that looks uncannily “antique,” can be crafted for about $300 or $400. Not exactly a poor person’s hobby, but it’s still considerably cheaper than a bid at Sotheby’s.

The doll maker starts by choosing “green ware”--molded-clay body parts that are available in hundreds of styles, from puckered-up baby faces to sophisticated fashion plates. It’s possible to re-create very specific German and French dolls, each with its own place in European doll history: a 19th-Century Schmitt Bebe, a Bru from 1875 in Germany, and a late 19th-Century open-mouth Jumeau from France. Some stores sell individual parts for creative assembly; others sell the whole doll as one unit. Either way, it is a blank, hollow creature in pieces that need to be cleaned, fired, scrubbed, painted, fired again and assembled. Then come the eyes (glass or acrylic), wig (human or synthetic) and clothes (as exquisite as one’s patience and budget will allow). Some dolls are made with cloth or leather bodies, which have to be sewn and stuffed and then attached to the head, feet and hands. A beginner with average dexterity and determination should be able to finish a doll in eight three-hour classes (at a cost of about $5 per class).

Doll makers insist that no special skills are needed--just the ability to wield a paintbrush and other small tools. In addition to classes, there are books and technique sheets that spell out such essential steps as eyelash placement (around the eyes, one hopes).

Classes and supplies for antique-reproduction doll making are offered by The Sweet Doll Shop in Brea; Sugarplum Cottage in Anaheim; Diana’s Dolls in El Monte, and Dee’s Place of Dolls & Bears in Covina. Supplies, but no classes, can be found at S.L. Clutter Inc. in Hawthorne and Judy’s Doll Cottage & Infirmary in North Hollywood.

Technique sheets and the book “Greenware Painting Techniques Workbook,” by Connie Walser Derek, are available from Connie’s Dolls & Co. (P.O. Box 1903, Grants Pass, Ore. 97526).