More than 220 color photos, together with descriptions of dollmakers' richly varied works and techniques, give an overview of contemporary dollmaking.

Includes pieces crafted from diverse materials and techniques (including forging, casting, forming, and stone setting).

Provides information for making all types of dolls, including techniques for drawing and coloring faces, styling the hair, dressmaking, and tips on what type of equipment to use

This catalogue was published to accompany the exhibition Weatherspoon Art Museum: 70 Years of Collecting, on view from February 5-May 11, 2011. In 1941 Gregory D. Ivy, an artist, teacher, and the first head of the art department at Women's College, founded the Weatherspoon Art Gallery. Ivy was motivated by his belief that students should have firsthand experience of the art of their time. During the seven decades following his astute vision, the Weatherspoon has evolved from a small teaching gallery to a fully accredited museum with a national reputation that still places education at the heart of its mission. Ivy also felt the gallery would benefit the community, and he needed its support. This book, begins with a history spun from a collection of stories about the people who so generously heeded the call. Over the years, the Weatherspoon has been the most fortunate recipient of remarkable support, both moral and financial, from the university and the greater Greensboro community. It has also benefited from a host of dedicated employees and key events that have shaped it into a modern and contemporary art museum with a significant collection. Published on the occasion of the Weatherspoon Art Museum's seventieth anniversary year, this beautifully designed and illustrated book reproduces one hundred noteworthy works of art from the collection, each accompanied by a thoughtful essay. The objects included represent each decade from the turn of the twentieth century to the first decade of this century. Among those showcased are works by Henri Matisse, David Smith, Willem de Kooning, Alexander Calder, Eva Hesse, Robert Rauschenberg, and Elizabeth Murray. Although the majority of the artists in the Weatherspoon's collection are recognized for their long, successful careers, the inclusion of a few younger artists demonstrates the museum's commitments to promising new voices. The first significant publication to focus on the Weatherspoon's collections, 70 Years of Collecting guarantees to be an informative and enjoyable read. Contributors in this book are K. Porter Aichele, George Dimock, Nancy M. Doll, Xandra Eden, Richard Gantt, Carl Goldstein, Ann Grimaldi, Elaine D. Gustafson, Heather Holian, Elizabeth Perrill, and Will South.

Families of all kinds will appreciate this simple tale of love and longing, motherhood and magic. In a small village in West Africa, a young girl explains the special way she was born. Her mother had difficulty getting pregnant, so she seeks help in the form of a doll which she treats like a human baby, carrying it on her back and covering it with kisses. Months go by and finally the woman's belly begins to grow! This beautiful story explores the Akua-Ba fertility figures of the Akan people of Ghana, while also depicting the deep love a mother has for her children. Élodie Nouhen's subtle, gorgeous illustrations combine collage and prints that are reminiscent of traditional African art, while remaining uniquely contemporary. Each spread communicates the look and feel of West Africa--the blazing yellow of the sun, the deep blue of the sky, the richly patterned textiles, and vibrant flora and fauna. Adrienne Yabouza's text echoes the rhythms of life in her homeland--the Central African Republic. The book closes with a short introduction to African art and the importance of fertility statues in African cultures.

Artists are increasingly using doll-like human effigies to explore politics and gender in contemporary culture, ranging from radical statement to sophisticated critique. Play with Me showcases this appeal of animating the inanimate as well as the multifarious and fascinating ideas that dolls bring to life—from the way female forms have been objectified to the way dolls generate ethical and political debate to the way they represent the self. Unlike sculptures, dolls offer a living and open construct of the human figure. And artists are reacting to this human form in a manner that's never been seen before, constituting an exciting new direction in contemporary art.

Grand Procession celebrates a remarkable new tradition-based, contemporary American Indian art form. From a heritage rooted in dolls and ledger-book drawings, a fresh and exciting sculptural art featuring human and animal figures has evolved since the mid-1980s. Typically around two feet tall and meticulously clothed in elaborate beaded and quilled ceremonial dress, the figures carefully emulate Plains and Plateau traditions of the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. The premier collection of these figures, created by five award-winning Native American women artists--Rhonda Holy Bear (Lakota), Jamie Okuma (Luiseno), and the Growing Thunder family (Assiniboine-Sioux): Joyce Growing Thunder, her daughter Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty, and granddaughter, Jessica Growing Thunder--has been brilliantly assembled by Charles and Valerie Diker. While each figure is a strong work of art, the assemblage of figures is particularly powerful. Beautifully illustrated, this volume will appeal to all those interested in American Indian art and crafts, contemporary and historic Indian lifeways, sculpture, and dolls. Grand Procession crosses many boundaries.