rebecca's dolls: flipping/tiptoeing through time | 04.10.25
in my art103 class i was tasked with creating a 3d piece, based off the "rebecca's dolls" exhibition that was showing in the national museum at the time. this is the bts of the doll that i made & presented. [complete]
how it started – 04.10.2025, minutes to 5pm.
below, is step 1: my initial and final sketch (i didn’t start gathering pictures until 6:34pm, but by then we’d [my aunt, cousin & i] already finished the first torso/upper body)
step 2-3: my design outlined on cotton pillowcase, before cut out
how it was going – same day, almost a quarter past 8pm.
step 4: assembling patterns. sewing two together, before getting them parallel to the red & white so that the skirt can be even.
step 5-6: stuff both bodies with shredded cotton balls before sewing on the tops, and then joining them at the hip. [stuffing the doll was so difficult that we had to break the cotton balls into fours, and use toothpicks]
how it ended – same day, a little over half past 10pm.
step 7: sew the joined patterns of the dress around the body, ensuring it’s long enough to cover the lower body while only revealing the upper. [forgot to get a picture for this]
step 8: flip in and out to test the mechanism, making sure it's secure and just right. [we also attached a string to the edges of both sides of the skirt, so it can be drawn open and shut at the waist for both styles—but i might go back and attach some elastic to make things easier down the line.]
annnd that's it! total time spent on the project was 8 hours!
i’ve been brainstorming from the day that i went to see the exhibit. i knew i wanted it to be something close to my heart, and i remember being on the phone with my mother when the idea just came to me: i wanted to recreate the doll i grew up seeing in my childhood home—which has the same flip mechanism, but was instead green floral patterned on one side (w/ a head wrap & earrings to accessorize), and yellow floral patterned on the other side (same accessories, but color matched). my mother has always been a fashionable woman, so she kept it in a vase that was short & curvaceous, and had a mouth wide enough for the skirt part to fall over—reaching halfway of the vase, and keeping the beauty of both items. unfortunately, i don’t know who created the original doll that inspired me. all i know is that it’s a grenadian souvenir that i haven't seen in years, the artist was clearly more familiar with their craft, and the doll is probably just as old as i am (if not older).
my final piece is beautiful and, for someone who's never made a doll before, i’m very proud of how she turned out. i’ll probably end up adding to her later, because she deserves a face at least—but maybe i’ll also give her curly hair, or use the remaining matching pieces of fabric to give her a simple head wrap. initially, i wanted to make her dark (like the doll that inspired me, a kinda cocoa shade) but i've never naturally dyed anything before, so she'll remain a chabin. for now. ANYWAY, would i do this again? yes! would i take commissions in the future? after i do more experimenting & for the RIGHT price, absolutely! this was such a fun and rewarding experience.
[will add alt text later!]
