Johnna Art Doll By Barbara Buysse

A Johnna Art Doll by Barbara Buysse

(To listen to a narration of this post, click the play arrow.)

 

For years, I wanted to add a Johnna Art Doll by Barbara Buysse to my collection. I recall contacting the artist several years after she retired to ask if she was still making dolls. I wanted to commission her to make one for me or purchase one if she had one available. I had no luck. Ms. Buysse informed me that she was no longer making dolls and that she began making them to help fund her daughter's college education. I believe she also shared that her daughter's name is Johnna. 

Recently, I saved "Johnna Art Dolls by Barbara Buysse" as an eBay search. A few showed up sporadically, but their prices were far beyond what I am willing to pay for dolls today. In the past, I would have snapped one up without a second thought. I passed on the others because I know if it's for me I'll have it if I exercise patience, and I'll have it at a price I am willing t pay.

He is 12 inches tall and wears "distressed" clothing and shoes.

A couple of weeks ago, I received a notification from eBay about this crying boy's auction. When I saw the price, I knew he would be mine. The buy-it-now price was quite reasonable, but there was a make-offer feature, so I made a reasonable offer which the seller accepted.  

The package arrived swiftly. I kept him boxed for about a week before opening the box... not for pandemic safety like I've done in the past, but because I've been so busy with other projects. I did spray Lysol on the outside of the box. I haven't stopped doing that. 

This past Sunday (April 2, 2023), I opened the box and fell even more in love with this little guy. I've entered him in my 2023 Excel spreadsheet as the last doll purchase for March as follows:

From the copied spreadsheet entry above, I omitted the price I paid and the seller's buy-it-now price. 

View additional photos below.

From the front, his face looks three-dimensional; however, this profile view reveals his flat face and attached cloth ears.

He wears an oversized "aged" white sweater.

His hair is sculpted and painted black.

The dirt and scuffs on his sneakers indicate he has been playing hard or maybe that they are hand-me-downs.

A "Johnna Art Dolls" cloth label is on the back of his "distressed" light-blue overalls.

The artist's signature and the year this little one was made are written on the doll's back.

View DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum entry for other Barbara Buysee dolls owned by another collector who graciously shared her photos and the dolls' information with the museum. 

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

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Jayda and Tootie's Facelift

Jayda and Tootie are shown above on the far left and far-right, respectively.  The center doll is Nella.  All three dolls were made by Barbara Elsleger a.k.a. Prims-of-the-Past

After doll-friend Betty Ativie gifted me with Nella (the center doll shown above) for my birthday this past May, I photographed Nella with her two new sisters, Jayda and Tootie.  I noticed the area around Jayda and Tootie's eyes seemed much darker than it had been when they arrived in 2010.  I viewed my original photo of  Jayda and Tootie, taken in 2010 after they arrived, which confirmed the darkening was not my imagination.  I contacted the artist who gladly agreed to repaint their faces for me.

After Barbara Elsleger received the dolls, she asked if she could change their hair.  I agreed.  She had originally used wefts of mohair for their hair, which I was pleased with because it is almost identical to natural-textured African American hair that is product-free.   In addition to repainting their faces, I commissioned Barbara to make mini dolls for the girls to hold.

The girls' post-facelift pictures and their dolls are shared next.

Tootie and Jayda are seen in their first post-facelift picture.

Their eyes are much brighter-looking now.

Nella joined the girls in the next photo.

Nella is happy about her sisters' facelifts.

In addition to their newly painted faces (Barbara painted their entire faces, not just the eyes), the girls now have wefts of synthetic hair that replaces their original mohair.  Barbara thought the synthetic hair would hold up better. 

Barbara made these four cloth dolls for the girls to hold.  Why is there an extra one, you wonder?

The fourth doll was made as a gift for Betty Ativie's doll, Nikki (Nella's original sister).

Betty shared this picture of Nikki with her new doll that she named Nina.

Jayda, Nella, and Tootie love their new dolls.  Jayda and Tootie appreciate their new faces and hair.

All the girls are happy and their humans are, too.

Related Link:
Prim's of the Past Nella

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
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Check out what I am selling here. 
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Prims-of-the-Past Nella

Birthday gifts from Betty A. included this lovely doll, Nella, by Barbara Elsleger.

Just as I was about to wind down my birthday month celebration, I received a package to remind me that the celebration had not ended yet.  The package included Nella, shown above, a beautiful 14-inch cloth doll by Barbara Elsleger.  Barbara sells her dolls on eBay under the name Prims-of-the-Past.  Also in the package from Betty was a beautiful birthday card, a leatherette journal with an ink pen, and a large-print edition of Our Daily Bread for the months of April, May, and June.  Individual photos of these items are shown below:

The inscription on the inside of the card is just as beautiful as the words on the outside.
Front:  When you opened your eyes this morning, God had already seen your day unfold--He covered each corner of it with His grace... tucked His love into every moment... and tenderly wrapped it with the quiet strength your heart would need.
Inside left:  You are precious to Me and honored, and I love you.  Isaiah 43:4 TLB
Inside right:  I pray He shows you how special you are through the blessings He gives you today.
My sentiment:  He did and always does.  Thank you, God!  Thank you, Betty!

This beautiful leatherette journal has an ink pen attached.

My mother gives me these from time to time.  I didn't have this quarterly version and did not know Our Daily Bread was available in large print until I received this one.  (Thanks again, Betty!  These old eyes appreciate large print.)

I had just thought about Betty earlier on the day Nella arrived when a doll she made for me a couple of years ago fell from her standing position.  Little did I know then that Betty had been thinking about me, too.

Nella is seen better in this close-up photo.

Nella has delicately painted facial features and a beautiful brown complexion.  Her head swivels and her arms and legs are designed for posing.  Not shown in the close-up is that she has cloth ears.  Her hair is made of dark brown wool accented with a tea-stained cloth ribbon.

This full view of Nella illustrates her separately stitched fingers and painted fingernails.

As indicated, Nella is 14 inches tall.  She wears a white antiqued sweater over her white dress and white pantaloons.

Painted-on Victorian-style black boots complete Nella's "Prims-of-the-Past" look.  She has a brown cardstock hang tag with the artist's name, month, and the year she was made on one side.  "Nella" is written on the opposite side.

This is Nikki (not Nella).

After sending Betty a thank you text and an email (it was too late to call and personally thank her), her reply informed me that Nella has a twin sister.  Nikki (shown immediately above) did not mind parting with Nella in order for Nella to travel to live with me.  How thoughtfully doll-lightful was that?

Jayda and Tootie are my first dolls by Barbara Elsleger.

Even though Nella left one sister behind, she joined two that were already here.  Jayda and Tootie were made in 2010 by Elsleger.

Barbara Elsleger had been the chosen artist to create my doll group's 2010 club doll.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, she was unable to fulfill this commitment.  I asked her if it would be possible for her to make one doll for me and she agreed.  When my package from Barbara arrived in December 2010, there were two dolls in it.  Because it had taken Barbara longer than she proposed to make the one doll, to thank me for my patience, she made my doll a sister!  So now I have three dolls by Elsleger and they are all truly appreciated and loved.

Nella is joined by her two other sisters, Jayda and Tootie.  They will forever enjoy each other's company.

Thank you again, Betty, for thinking about me and please thank Nikki again for allowing Nella to live with us.

Nella is featured on Pinterest with her sister Nikki here.  More of Barbara's dolls are pinned to her Pinterest boards, which can be accessed here.

The doll Betty made for me in 2017 that I referred to earlier in this post, Patty-Jo, can be read about here.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for following, commenting, and sharing using the share button below.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!