Thursday, June 5, 2008

Sankofa Dolls Represented by Echo Gallery





Echo Gallery in Washington,DC is representing Sankofa Doll Artistry for the first time. Two of my dolls in the photos above are being sold through the gallery.
This is an exciting time for Sankofa Doll Artistry!

About Echo Gallery:

Looking for eye-popping, contemporary, multicultural art, with a concentration on Afro-centric motifs? Look no further than Echo Gallery, located near B. Smith's restaurant in Union Station in the heart of downtown Washington, DC.

Whether it is local talents or craftspeople you are looking for, Echo Gallery has it all. Leather works from Niger, batiks from Kenya, figurines from Jamaica, and jewelry from India, and that is just the tip of the mountain. Their myriad of collectibles and unmatched "one of a kind" innovations appeal to novices as well as experts in the art discipline. So, regardless of whether you want to peruse their works of art, or are interested in expanding your cultural horizons, Echo Gallery is the place to go!

We are so pleased that the Gallery is interested in our work and we will continue to supply them with the best in our doll artistry! Please support us through Echo Gallery!

For more information contact:
ECHO GALLERY
Union Station - East Hall
P.O. Box GE168
Washington, DC 20002
WWW.ECHOGALLERY.COM

SALES:
Tel. (800)950-3932
Tel. (202)842-8400
Fax (301)459-1811

How To Find The Best African American Reborn Dolls

In doing a search I found this interesting article which I am reprinting from Ray Baker's blog.


How To Find The Best African American Reborn Dolls -Article

* By Ray Baker

Ray Baker

My website was founded because of the lack of information and availability of ethnic Reborn Dolls. I started the site to help fellow reborn enthusiasts track down the best African American Reborn Dolls available on the Internet today.
View all articles by Ray Baker

Not everyone understands reborning, to the uninitiated it's a world of strange obsession, to the folks that do understand, it provides endless hours of irreplaceable pleasure. That pleasure is derived from beauty, artistry, and uniqueness of each doll, because just like human babies, reborn dolls come in every conceivable shape size and color - nowadays there are Caucasian, Asian, and African American Reborn Dolls.

The African American Reborn Dolls are particularly difficult to find, as the majority of artist that make the dolls concentrate on Caucasian babies. I started my website dedicated to finding new African American Reborn Dolls because even now, with the vast power of the Internet, African American Reborn Dolls are very difficult to track down as there are only a very limited number of artists who specialize in these African American Reborn Dolls.

Reborn dolls are exactly as they sound, they are dolls that have been stripped of their factory finishes and been "reborn" and transformed in to realistic looking babies. After having undergone a number of processes including repainting, re weighting, and the addition of realistic hair, special effects such as tears, a heartbeat, and tiny imperfections are created to make them appear even more lifelike. While this may not sound particularly difficult to do, it is a very challenging art form and the most respected artists can command several thousand Dollars for each doll.

Reborn doll artists use very careful processes to make an ordinary cloth and vinyl doll look
exactly like a real baby. The dolls are custom colored using multiple layers of specialist paints to give the 'babies' their skin tone to make them appear as closely related to their own ethnic groups as is possible, like the African American Reborn Dolls for example. Whilst all kinds of different dolls can be used to make reborns - these dolls are not made for play, they are collector dolls made to be cherished and admired.

The demand for the dolls at the high-end of the market is always extremely strong, but probably the fastest growing category is with the African American Reborn Dolls, albeit from a much smaller base. This is partly due to the fact there are fewer artist making African American Reborn Dolls, but also because the rarity makes them a very good investment - having said that, I must stress that the vast majority of collectors collect for the love of their hobby (many would never consider selling any of their dolls) and have little interest in making profits.

Collectors and enthusiasts from all over the world are constantly adding to their assortment of beautiful babies. The world of reborns is a friendly close-knit community and you will always find helpful and friendly advice - you'll just need to ask. I have been collecting unique dolls all my life, and I have always enjoyed artistic and creative pursuits, but when I first discovered reborn babies my passion was truly ignited. These delightful little babies are so beautiful which is testament in large part to the talented artists who share their art with the reborning community. You may have already guessed, that my particular passion at the moment are the African American Reborn Dolls.!


SOURCE : How To Find The Best African American Reborn Dolls -Article....

Project 3: Empowered by Artistry


Sankofa Doll Artistry will be participating in:

Project 3: Empowered by Artistry
Sewall- Belmont House and Museum
144 Constitution Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002-5608
Open for tours Tuesday to Saturday
Cost: FREE

Opening Reception: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Exhibition Dates: June 11, 2008 - Aug 30, 2008

Co-Sponsored by Art for Global Development, Authentic Art Consulting, Girls Gotta Run Foundation, and The ThickArt Collaborative
Project 3: Empowered by Artistry a collaborative effort of three initiatives including the Making Herstory Series under the title "La Femme: The Feminine"La Femme: The feminine is an exhibition featuring women artists from the DC Metropolitan area and an extension of the Making Herstory exhibition series sponsored by AAC and ThickArt.

In addition, this special exhibition of women artists is a part of a larger exhibition featuring artwork of women from two additional organizations including the Girls Gotta Run Foundation and Art for Global Development (Treasure Postcards). Artwork selected for La Femme portion of the exhibition is based on the theme of the power and softness of women.

Artists selected for the exhibition include:

Prudence Bonds
Audrey Brown
Tess Chatfield
Zandra Chestnut
Ann Marie Coolick
Danielle Eure
Magaly Garza
Pam Hilliard
Kim Iles
Cynthia Johnson
Nihal Kecceci
Tina Lassiter
Sonya Lawyer
Heather Levy
Kiki Mcgrath
Bryanna Millis
Hester Ohbi
Patricia Ortman
Zenobia Rickford
Yelena Rodina
Heather Schmaedeke
Patricia Steck
Sherry Ways

H3: The REMIX

Sankofa Doll Artistry will be participating in:

MOCA DC Canal Square, Georgetown
1054 31st St NW # 9
Washington, DC 20007

Opening Reception: Friday, June 6, 2008, 6 pm - 9 pm

Co-sponsored by Authentic Art Consulting and The ThickArt Collaborative. Join us as we bring Making Herstory 3: Connected Sisterhood, an art exhibit celebrating the visual art of women in the DC/MD/VA area to Washington .

Special Note: Authentic Art Consulting and The ThickArt Collaborative have joined Design Scheme Interiors, LLC, Unity Health Care, Inc., The Ward 7 Arts Collaborative, and the Decorators' Alliance of North America (DANA) to help brighten the lives of residents East of the River in Washington, DC through Unity Health Care's East of the River Key Corner Project.

AAC and TAC will be requesting artists and guests to bring to the reception donated books, school supplies and art supplies for children ages 2-10 to contribute to a new children's reading corner and patient waiting room at Unity's East of the River Health Center.

The community served by Unity's East of the River Health Center is tremendously challenged with the issues of poverty, homelessness, lack of education, unemployment, substance abuse, poor education and HIV infection rates that are 12 times that of the national average. For information about the project, click here

Participating Artists:

Wanda Aikens (DC)
Prudence Bonds (DC)
Sharon J. Burton (Maryland)
Zandra Chestnut (DC)
Magaly Garza
Marilyn Hayes (Virginia)
Cynthia Johnson (Maryland)
Jennifer Judelsohn (Virginia)
Nihal Kececi (Maryland)
Sharon Keyser (Maryland)
Elva Lovaz (DC)
Bryanna Millis (DC)
Patricia E. Ortman (DC)
Michelle d. Parrish (DC)
Marina Reiter (DC)
Kerry Richardson (DC)
Anike Robinson (MD)
Heather Schmaedeke (Maryland)
Patricia Steck (Maryland)
Desiree Sterbini (Maryland)
Sherry B. Ways (DC)

Friday, May 2, 2008

2008 Black Doll Collectors Convention

It is time again for the Black Doll Collectors Convention. I wish I could go but maybe next year. This is the premiere black doll event in the country.

Check it out if you can:


2008 Black Doll Collectors Convention
Event Details

Time: May 30, 2008 at 10am to June 1, 2008 at 5pm
Location: Mansfield Holiday Inn
Street: 31 Hampshire Street
City/Town: Mansfield Massachusetts 02048

Website: http://www.blackdollcollectors.com
Contact Info: 617-524-1777

Event Description:
Black doll show featuring 40 exhibitors from around the country. There will also be workshops and exhibits.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Doll Noir VI- A Celebration of the Black Doll Artist!












Oneeki Design Studio, Francine Haskins Studio, and The Graham Collection presented The Sixth Black Doll Artist Doll Show and exhibition on Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27, at Paula Whaley's Oneeki Design Studio on 2103 N. Charles Street in Baltimore, Maryland.
Ms. Whaley is the youngest sister of the late great James Baldwin. It was a pleasure being in the same show with this wonderful lady and great doll artist.

This exhibit featured one-of-a-kind dolls and works of up to 14 local and nationally renowned doll artists (Gwen Aqui, Betty Baines, Daisy Carr, Patricia Coleman-Cobb, Francine Haskins, Viola Leak, Carrie Lyles, Christopher Malone, Adrienne McDonald, Tonya Mitchell, Malinda Saunders, Elerie Thomas, Tamara Thomas, Paula Whaley and more).
The exhibit was well attended with a steady stream of patrons, doll makers and collectors from all over the region!
My classmates in the Francine Haskins Doll Workshop also exhibited including myself in the "doll in the box" series. I exhibited a doll in a very decorative box which I titled "Changing woman" and the other was a mini action doll exhibit called, "Yoga Divas," in which I positioned two dolls in yoga poses in a mini yoga studio.

My mentor and friend Francine Haskins spoke about the importance of being true to your creativity and encouraged all in attendance to continue to create. There was a discussion about what makes collectors collect doll art as well as what inspired the artists to create their designs.

I felt truly at home and honored to be among some of the finest black doll artists in the United States.

CNN Honors Woman Who Teaches Children to Make Dolls

It is really inspiring when dolls make the news. At CNN they have a special award for Heroes, and one of those so honored is Viola Vaughn.After the sudden death of her 26-year old daughter left 5 grandchildren in her care, Viola Vaughn, a Detroit native, moved to Africa with her husband to raise them. When her husband died, she began home-schooling her grandchildren. Locals took notice, and soon she began teaching girls who failed or dropped out. Her "10,000 Girls" program helps girls teach each other and become entrepreneurs. One of the ways they support the fast-growing school is by making dolls. You can read her story here. http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/04/10/heroes.vaughn/index.html

This link is to a video of the children making dolls that sell all over the world:http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/04/10/heroes.vaughn/index.html#cnnSTCVideo We wish to thank Viola and all those who share their talents to help make the world a better place.