Gallery

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse was a loner, deeply affected and troubled by the constant infringements of the Settlers moving west upon his people. He spent most of his adult life doing what he could to defend his people and their way of life.

I read in “Black Elks Speaks” that as a boy of about 12, Black Elk himself witnessed Crazy Horse wearing a beautiful headdress at an important council meeting. After learning of Black Elk’s account, I felt it proper to have my interpretation of Crazy Horse wear a beautiful War Bonnet.

Crazy Horse and Custer by Stephan E. Ambrose    
Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt

William Clark and Sacajawea

William Clark was an intelligent and educated man, who was also a master woodsman, a former Regular Military officer, a genius map maker and an expert negotiator. Because of these skills and talents, William Clark became the Co-Captain of President Thomas Jefferson’s project. It was called  “The Corps of Discovery” more commonly known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Young Sacajawea and her baby Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (Pomp) are mentioned repeatedly in the Lewis and Clark journals. Sacajawea proved to be invaluable in her own way to the success of the Expedition. Sacajawea, was the epitome of the “woman child”. She carried her baby on her back for thousands of miles without complaint, who with quickness of mind saved important papers during a river accident, who interpreted for the captains with expertise and maturity, yet viewed the carcass of a huge whale on the beach of the Pacific Ocean with the awe of a child.

“Naming Ceremony” Mahto and Ina

Day to day living among the Native Americans was difficult. One had to be hardy to survive especially the young. Sadly, many infants did not survive to see their first birthday, and so the people did not name their babies until the little one reached that milestone.

The Lakota Naming ceremony was literally a celebration of life. The person presenting the “gift” of a name to a child did so with much pride and honor. Today Mahto makes this gift to his nephew, along with the gift of a pipe for his brother the baby’s father. Ina means “mother” in the Lakota language. I simply wanted to depict an important event in the lives of a Lakota family.

Mystic Warriors of the Plains by Thomas E. Mails

Little Snow Feather

Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan, who was said to have had 80 children, Pocahontas, was his favorite. Pocahontas had another name, known only to those in her tribe. It was Little Snow Feather. Little Snow Feather was beautiful, smart and precocious. She was very privileged as a princess with the power to save not only John Smith’s life but the lives of several other colonists from Jamestown. She accomplished so much in a lifetime that spanned a mere 22 years.

Pocahontas by Grace Steele Woodward

Peta Nocona, Cynthia Ann and Li’l Quanah Parker

During the summer of 1836, the Parker’s fort located in east Texas was attacked by a Comanche war party. All were killed save five women and children. Cynthia Ann Parker was one of the children taken that day, she was 9 years old.

In her mid teens Cynthia became the wife of Peta Nocona a young chief of the Nocona band. In 1845 she gave birth to Quanah, who was destined to become an infamous warrior and renowned leader advocate for his people.

When it was time to sculpt my Li’l Quannah, I was introduced to a very beautiful Kiowa baby who smiled just like a kewpie doll. When I had my board full of photos of this little guy I was drawn to the photo with the mischievous smile, so my Li’l Quanah smiles too. I so enjoyed creating this family.

The Last Comanche Chief the Life and Times of Quanah Parker by Bill Neeley
Great Chiefs by Time Life Books

White Buffalo Woman

The Legend

She walked straight and proud and wore a pure white gown. Around her shoulders she wore the robe of the White Buffalo. In her hands she carried a pipe made from the windpipe of a buffalo, and on this pipe hung a half circle of pure white feathers. All of the people were gathered when she entered the village. She came singing, holding the pipe out in front of her. This is what she sang;

   I am Ptesanwin (White Buffalo Cow Woman)
   I come singing
   I come singing with visible breath

When she finished her song, she presented the pipe to the people, then immediately turned back into a white buffalo calf and ran off onto the plain from whence she came.

Beloved Woman

The first fact I discovered in my research about the Cherokee people was that they had the largest population of any tribe in America! No wonder so many people told me they were descended from the Cherokee nation. I wanted this doll to be special and my research pointed me in the following direction

Cherokee people were a matrilineal society meaning that lineage or clanship alliances were attained through the mother. Certain women had elevated status within the society. The status was attained through several different means such as reverent age and wisdom, having a son who was a chief, priest or great warrior. If she was young, this status could be gained by earning war honors in battle. These special women were referred to as “War Woman” or “Beloved Woman”.

The Cherokee People by Thomas E. Mails

Sedona

While it is true that there was a real woman by the name of “Sedona”, I did not fashion my doll after the person, but rather the name. To me, the town of Sedona Arizona and the surrounding red rock terrain is the epitome of Western Beauty and that is what I was trying to accomplish with this doll design. So, I had the name well before I finished the doll and I believe the name influenced my vision of what she would be. Her outfit is an example of what a ranch woman would wear on a typical day in the late 1800s.

Cowgirls Women of the Wild West by Flood Manns

Annie Oakley

“Little sure shot” was the name that Chief Sitting bull bestowed upon her. “Little Missie” is what Buffalo Bill Cody called her; her given name was Phoebe Ann Mozee. She was 22 when she began to call herself “Annie Oakley” and the world would call her the greatest female sharp and exhibition shooter of her time or more probably in history.

Lily

We lived in a small town in Oklahoma. Our community had a large population of various tribes with lots of really beautiful kids. Lily is one of those kids. She is a bright, happy and precocious little girl. Her name is Lily” and she made a wonderful model. It makes me smile to think of her. She said “cheeeese” every time I snapped her picture. I hope that I captured some of her sparkle.

John Dobbins

I have made a number of dolls depicting people of historical merit. John Dobbins is no exception.

My great great grandfather John Dobbins is buried in Jefferson Barracks Cemetery located in St. Louis Missouri, among 143,000 other soldiers who died in battles dating back to the Revolutionary War.

We do not know why John chose to leave his wife and four sons at the age of 39 to join the fight. Sadly, his reasons are lost to my family, but the fact remains that he did go, like so many thousands of others.

My family has a copy of John’s military record which included his physical description. I used this description along with photographs of my mother, brother and Uncle to sculpt John Dobbins. The result is a face that is quite familiar to me.

Cynthia 1860s War Bride

With the help of my good friend Elizabeth Loofburrow, an expert seamstress and fellow history buff, together we created the 1860s War Bride. Elizabeth designed the gown and gave me information on how her hair should be styled and what a bride of the day would be holding in her hands. It was great collaborating with Elizabeth. We were both very pleased with the results.