Granny Look at Me Now
By Alison Sibley
About Carole Beausoleil
Alison Sibley discovers a form of folk art that brings old folk to life
It's apple blossom time in the orchards of Kent, the frothy pink and white delicacy of the petals giving no clue to the bursting fruits of late summer. There's nothing to compare the first crunchy bite into an apple, or ice-cold apple juice on a hot day, not to mention apple pie. But that's not all. Believe it or not, the art of making dolls from apples is still alive.
Apple head dolls are a form of folk art that was very popular in the U.S., and since they were colonial dolls, their origins can probably be traced to Europe. Apple head dolls are carved dolls, but the artist is carving a soft substance rather than hard wood, ivory or stone.
Jean Lotz of ODACA, who makes wood dolls, explains: {"The artist carves an apple into a humanoid face and then allows the apple to dry. Nature then takes its course and the results are very unpredictable and shriveled. The dried, painted head is then mounted on a cloth body and embellished.
"The unpredictable result from the drying process is part of the challenge and fun of this craft. Many use dried apple heads to create old people and fantasy dolls."
The task of grouping dolls into categories can get confusing when a single doll can be made of many different materials. For example, a doll can be 90 percent wood and only have a porcelain head. Is it a wood doll or a porcelain doll?
"It's common to find a doll described as a 'cloth doll with a wooden head' even by large public museums," said Jean. "According to the doll category guidelines set by United Federation of Doll Clubs, the type of doll is determined by the content of the doll's head. Thus a wood doll always has a wood head regardless of the types of materials used in the body construction. These dolls should be described as apple head dolls, on a cloth, wood, or whatever, body."
Carole Beausoleil is a teacher in Massachusetts of the old art of carving, drying, preserving and constructing the apple head doll. "Fascination for these dolls, that have been around since colonial times, continues through each generation, young and old," she said.
Carole suggests that the best apple to use is the Granny Smith. It is firm and usually quite big - your apple head will shrink to less than half its size during the drying process, when the features you've carved will become clearer and more pronounced.
Drying agents include beach sand and silica sand - used as a flower preservative. Apart from salt and lemon juice, which prevents the apple from browning, and plastic wood (used as a filler inside your apple head) all other tools and materials are the sort you would find in a doll maker's workshop anyway.
"We all love the apple head dolls for their wrinkles, and the unusual characters you discover emerging as they dry out," said Carole. "The apple, which is peeled, even has a natural flesh tone, due to the lemon and salt treatment, so all you need to add is some colouring and highlights to eyebrows, lips and cheeks, with acrylic paint, markers or even nail polish. Oh, and you can use pears too."
Carole has compiled a booklet on the methods she has perfected over the years, price $10.95, that also includes her own tried and tested drying agent and lots of tips. Carole's Doll-Doings Co-op is at 30 Benefit Street, Southbridge, MA 01550, USA. Email: Grannyapplehead@webtv.net
Editor's Note: Carole contacted me and gave permission to reproduce an article written by an editor in the United Kingdom about her Apple Head Dolls. You can see the original article including pictures of some of her Carole's completed apple head dolls at: http://community.webtv.net/Grannyapplehead/doc0