Jun 21

Jun 21 Nieves | Natural Fiber Art Doll Ready To Play

Miss Nieves, a natural fiber art doll is ready to play. She is a 16” tall, mannkin style doll by Fig and Me.

If you have been following her making-journey, you will know that I started this doll quite a long time ago, but life as they say, got in the way.

Well, you shall wait no longer because here she is, ready to find her path in life, hoping to inspire you to play and use your imagination.

Natural fiber art doll Nieves, by fig and me.

These days we go from bouts of incredible sunshine, to complete fog, seeing no further than our very own noses.

This proves quite the challenge for the doll photographer and for the doll in question, who having dressed herself in white linens, refuses to get a wee bit dirty.

Though deeply acquainted with the qualities of hard soap, boiling water, bit of lemon juice and the like, she lets me know that under no circumstance will she be romping through mud puddles. Refusing to get her velvet shoes muddy, and who can blame her?

We waited for a sunny evening, a little dry, so she could go and sit on the crabapple blooming branches and tell us a little more about her. Such luck came our way just yesterday!

Do not be even a little fooled by the mystical and utterly romantic nature of these photos. We were dodging a battalion of mosquitoes, who charged at every nook and bit of exposed skin.

Nieves, having so much composure under such an attack, kept telling me to breathe quietly, stay still and let them whizz by you.

But, unlike her, my limbs are not stuffed with wool, so I believe we are under slightly different circumstances. I do have to give her props. Whenever mosquitoes landed on her, she gently coaxed them out of the way and prompt them on their journey elsewhere.

Nieves has an extremely calm nature. She sat on my studio’s thick wooden table for what seemed like an eternity, pondering important matters of the doll kind.

- handwoven linen or cotton muslin?

- how do the birds glue their nests to the trees?

- velvet shoes or leather boots?

- what possesses the dog to jump in the middle of the night?

-long wool locks or mohair weft?

- two dresses or only one outfit?

- who plants all the star flowers out there?

- are aprons a girls’ best friend?

- what really happens when you look in a mirror?

- pearly buttons or silver clasps?

- floral dresses with neckline ruffles or linen blouses with pin tucks?

- romantic novels or adventure sagas?

We both explored these subjects and she graciously answered most of them.

A length of vintage woven ribbon was the chosen accessory of yesterday, to keep her long hair out of the way. It seemed to bring her lips and rosy cheeks to the forefront.

I kept missing her amongst the blossoms. Like in a fairytale, she disguised herself in flowers and crisp leaves.

The afternoon was very charged. The air smelled of crabapple blossom, strong and fruity. Clouds moving by, the earth throbbing with the activity of all imaginable bugs and plants in upward journey.

As the sun came down, Nieves decided to go for a little walk. To inspect on her friends the star flowers, the bunchberries and the fading dandelions.

I know my dolls so well. Not only because we spend a lot of time together, but because I dream them long before they ever come to the cloth and wool.

I often wonder how other dollmakers approach their work, and know that my method is very slow and very full of anguish. But, it is the way my creativity expresses itself and though I’ve tried, I cannot do it any other way.

The dolls are born of dreams, and such dreams must come to me. I cannot force them, nor can I try to plan every detail.

Once my hands are fondling wool and using felting needles, once my fingers are sewing buttons and embroidering eyes, the doll takes a life of her own. Then I must follow their lead, as close as she’ll let me. This might be near the dream…or it might turn into an entirely different adventure.

But the result is always worth it to me. A doll so close to my heart, so unique to my eyes, with a distinct personality that even I cannot replicate.

A singularity of a piece of fabric, a bundle of wool and a stitch in time.

If that is not real magic, I don’t know what is.

Nieves is looking for a loving home. A home where she can be welcomed, soap can be provided, stories can be listened to and questions properly sifted.

She is adventurous, but not of the muddy kind. She is wise, quiet and a great listener. She knows how to have patience and perhaps she will teach you a thing or two.

She is made of fabric and wool, with an inner armature. Her head is moveable, she holds her arms and can bend her legs and torso.

She is made in my Mannikin style, so she is 16” tall and of minute proportions. She can wear MSD (BJD size) doll shoes.

In these photos Nieves only wears one of her outfits, but she has a second one, which I will try to photograph this week. Photos will be added here or in a second post to keep things tight.

Her white outfit consists of a loosely woven linen blouse, with bishop sleeves, pin tuck on the bodice, fully opens at back and closes with sewn-in snaps.

A white, quilted apron, that cinches at the waist with woven ribbon.

A very long, linen skirt.

A vintage headband, made of old woven floral ribbon.

Underwear and velvet, hard soled, mary janes.

Her second outfit consists of a Liberty of London floral dress, hand dyed with tea. Long sleeves and ruffled collar, also opening fully at back and closing with sewn-in snaps.

An apron made with vintage fabric, dyed with quince, and a a handy kerchief made of the same fabric.

A little cape made with cotton chenille, lined and trimmed with crochet lace. The cape was dyed with birch bark.
(Photos of second outfit to come soon).

Nieves is an art doll, suitable for doll collectors. She can be propped and manipulated, she needs gentle but firm and loving hands.

Her hair is made of long wool locks, wefted by yours truly and sewn to her head. Her eyes are blue, she has little eyelashes and eyebrows. Her freckles are hand painted with permanent ink. She is blushed with natural red beeswax.

Her adoption price is $1800 USD plus postage. She travels from Canada with insurance and tracking number ($50 USD to Canada and the US, International customers will need a revised quote).

If you would like to welcome her into your home, please enter your details in the form below. She will kindly receive your entries until Sunday June 26th at 5 PM EST (Toronto time). At said time, we will close the form and choose a person at random to adopt her. You will then receive a notification via email and a Paypal invoice, which is due upon receipt. Please only enter your details if you are personally interested in giving her a home.

For now we leave you to ponder big decisions yourself and we shall come back shortly to show you more of Miss Nieves in her second outfit.

She plans on going to the forest, to harvest some summer medicinals and I plan on following her wherever she goes.

Thank you so much for coming to see her, and if you are trying to offer her your home, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
See you all very soon!