(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.
There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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During the latter part of 2021, I commissioned doll artist, Karen Oyekanmi of Kissing Kousins Dolls to make a felt doll using a picture taken of me at age 3-1/2.
At favorite cousin's birthday party in February 1959
The photo she used is my favorite remaining childhood photo taken at my favorite cousin's 1st birthday party in February 1959. I've always wanted a doll fashioned from this photo, and I chose Karen O. to make it.
Karen sent several photos of the doll before shipping it to me, some of which are shown in the collage photo above.
After the doll arrived, I took the following photos, the captions of which describe my mini-me that Karen appropriately named, Little Debbie.
This is Little Debbie's first picture after I opened the shipping box.
Little Debbie is 20 inches, made of felt, with painted facial features.
My mini-me wears a pastel blue/pink/white plaid dress that has a drawstring neckline and white ribbons at the shoulder closure. The undies match the fabric of the dress. A light blue crinoline half slip, white sandals, and a birthday hat made of the dress fabric accented with pink felt circles and a ribbon tassel complete her costume.
Made from black mohair, the hair is pulled back into a tiny curly pigtail. She holds a wired pink heart in one hand and a blue felt gift box in the other. She also has a K&K hangtag. Little Debbie is able to stand with support or sit as illustrated in this picture.
She has a sweet face that captures the innocence of a 3-1/2-year-old child.
With the picture Little Debbie is fashioned after visible on my monitor, I sat her on my laptop and took this "side-by-side" picture.
This photo was taken from a different angle.
She found a dolly to hold.
Close-up of dolly
These are Little Debbie's toys.
A chipmunk and four miniature brown babies were inside the blue felt gift box. Too cute, right?
Certificate of authenticity
Little Debbie's certificate of authenticity states she is a Kissing Kousins Dolls one-of-a-kind creation handcrafted by artist Karen Oyekanmi. The certificate is signed by the artist and dated January 15, 2022. She shares the same month and day of birth as Dr. Martin Luther King.
I love my mini-me!
About the Artist: Karen Oyekanmi is a professional doll artist and designer with over thirty years experience in the art industry. In 1983, she founded Kissing Kousins Dolls, a nationally recognized company, specializing in handcrafted limited edition dolls. In 1984, Karen founded the American Black Beauty Doll Club, now known as the American Black Beauty Doll Association. It is the oldest Black doll-making organization in America.
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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.
If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.
As soon as I saw Sarah Niemela's completed photos of the custom 8-inch clay doll that I commissioned her to make for me, I began singing Stevie Wonder's song, "Isn't She Lovely?"
"Isn't She Lovely" is the 11th song on Stevie's Songs in the Key of Life album released in 1976. It was written after the birth of his first child, a daughter named Aisha. I know exactly how he felt to see something beautiful that "you" created (or that you commissioned someone else to make). That is why I named this doll Aisha.
It was a joy to work with Sarah. She had recently completed and shared photos of another doll that inspired me to request mine, which was made to my specifications.
I wanted my doll's complexion a little more brown than the other doll's. I liked the two Afro puffs the other doll had and wanted to keep those. Instead of a blouse and skirt, I wanted my doll dressed in an African-print dress.
Expressing my desire for a dress to Sarah is when I discovered that the other doll's entire costume was made from clay! I was very impressed.
Lovely pleated dress trimmed at the bodice and hem in African print
Sarah asked me to provide examples of the style of dress I wanted. I searched the Internet and found a cute little girl's dress and shared the above photo with Sarah. She replicated it quite well.
My final request was for the doll to hold a doll and Sarah came through with that request, too.
Enough of my excitement about the makings of my Aisha. Below are several pictures I took of the doll after she arrived.
Aisha, her doll, her dress, and shoes are made from clay.
She has such a precious face.
She has a rope headband with clay flower petals attached.
So-so beautiful!
Dolly's hair is accented with multiple tiny beads.
A white strip of clay is attached to the back of the doll's dress that bears Sarah's signature and the 2021 copyright.
Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful? Isn't she precious? Less than a few weeks old (Sarah works very fast!) The doll was completed within a few days. I would have received Aisha sooner, but Sarah and I both agreed for her to delay shipping until the arctic weather I was experiencing in Texas subsided. That plan worked out well. The doll was mailed on a Friday and I received it the following Tuesday.
Am I happy? No. I am thrilled!
Sarah sent one of her beautiful doll cards to thank me for the purchase. The front of the card is shown next.
This thank you card from Sarah Niemela features two of her beautiful life-size dolls.
Aisha fits in well with similar dolls her size that range between 7-1/2 to 8 inches tall as illustrated in the next two pictures.
She stands out among other similar-sized dolls that are displayed underneath a globe, the base of which is wooden, swivels, and has several spaces to display dolls on doll stands.
Here is another view of Aisha and her friends.
I love her! If you desire, listen to Stevie Wonder sing the song he wrote for "my doll" before she was even a thought. :-)
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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.
I found this one-of-a-kind 18-inch needle-sculpted cloth doll on Ruby Lane during a recent sale.
This lovely doll has needle-sculpted and painted facial features. Her eyes are brown. Her wig was made of mohair which is still attached to the hide.
Her dress is shown from the back in this photo. A white ribbon is threaded through the blouson waist of the dress. The back closes with two hook and eye closures.
She wears a white antique-style blouson dress, white with black polka dot knit bloomers, and black leather handmade lace-up boots as illustrated in the next two photographs.
Knit bloomers
Handmade black leather lace-up boots
Wired arms and fingers
Her arms and fingers are wired for posing. The second and third fingers of both hands are fused together.
Unclothed, her all-cloth body is shown here.
She is signed on the back, "Sandy Wright 1998."
I have seen a couple of other Sandy Wright dolls, but I am not otherwise familiar with the artist. I found a Pinterest pin of a Frida Kahlo doll by Sandy Wright that included the artist's email address. I emailed and asked for additional information about my doll, but the email bounced back. I am not sure if Ms. Wright is still making dolls. If anyone has information about the artist, please share it in a comment. Thank you in advance!
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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
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