Thistle Maiden
Back View of the Hat on the Thistle Maiden
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Thistle Maiden
Thistle Maiden - This is a standing cloth doll in a black, white, lavender and shades of green with a thistle motif. Cotton fabric body, wool stuffing. Features created with acrylic paint, pigma pen, Prisma color pencils. Lips, eyebrows, lids, flair of nostrils hand stitched with Gutterman’s and Sulky thread. Highlight and shadow create depth. Blouse is made of a black and white grid cotton fabric. Apron front, cutwork and embroidered lavender and purple flowers on a black felt background. Periwinkle shade of tulle is under the skirt. Vintage hanky is wrapped around the waist. Hair is two colors of black and pale gray fine mohair yarn with silver metallic thread highlights sewn into a sculptural styling on the side of her face. Shoes are made with cotton fabric and a lace detail. She holds a wool blended felt black bird in her hand. The felt hat has embroidered purple and lavender flowers with a thistle on top and at the sides of the hat. She holds a small thistle pod and stands on a f...
Raise Your Hopeful Voice
“Raise Your Hopeful Voice By Christine Shively Benjamin Raise Your Hopeful Voice is one of the lines from the song Falling Slowly written by Glen Hansard. The emerald green is a nod to my youngest sister TK (Theresa Kay). Her favorite color is green. I find the chirping of birds to be a sign of hope that transcends language. Living in these uncertain times requires every bit of hope we can muster. The composition of wool blended felt birds gathered together around a tree surround the girl with their hopeful voices....
Your Hair Looks Like A WhooRa's Nest
The Mama WhooRa is looking up at the baby WhooRa's settled into a comfy nest in the hat of the girl. The skirt has a variety of fanciful and colorful little WhooRa's
Your Hair Looks Like A WhooRa's Nest
Your Hair Looks Like A WhooRa’s Nest The phrase “Your Hair Looks Like A WhooRa’s Nest” came to my attention in 2000 from a fellow dollmaker named Annie Moon. She made a doll for me using that phrase and it has been tucked away in the back of my head ever since. What’s a WhooRa? And what does it look like? The expression dates back to the early 19th century in the Appalachian areas of the eastern United States. It surfaced again when two things converged very close together. I was picking apples in my friends orchard the morning before I had an appointment for a haircut. My stylist and I had a laugh when she pointed out to me that I had leaves and twigs in my hair. A couple of days later I was listening to one on my favorite Podcasts A Way With Words, and the expression came up during a discussion with a viewer. And there it was, the beginning of my new piece. The Mama WhooRa is looking up at...
Too Many Cats In The Kitchen
Close of of Guido trying to help the cats make goulash, and Pippin trying to catch fish to add to the pot.
Too Many Cats In The Kitchen
Too Many Cats In The Kitchen Christine Shively Benjamin All of the cats and the one dog in the composition are pets either belonging to my family or friends. The white one eyed kitty in the apron pocket is Gwennie, belonging to my youngest sister. She has a fondness for turkey, so she wants to include a turkey leg into the goulash recipe. The kitty who has dived into the other apron pocket is one of my kitties from college, Bruce. He was always searching for treats. The orange tabby waking up from a nap in the chef’s hat belongs to my friend Jan. His name is Ted. He is the taster and only wants to be awakened when the goulash is ready. The kitties think they can set the Astronomical Clock in Prague in the center of the skirt as a timer. A rather silly notion of course. The black and white tuxedo kitty belongs to my sister Cate. ...
Too Many Cats In The Kitchen
Too Many Cats In The Kitchen Christine Shively Benjamin NIADA has been invited to attend an annual doll event called Doll Prague for a number of years. Too Many Cats In The Kitchen is a result of the trip that I took to Prague in the Fall of 2023. An eleven year old girl stopped by the NIADA display table on numerous occasions. She attended the event with her mother, and her friend and her mother. She was such an interesting, friendly little girl wearing round glasses. Her English was very good. Since her mother’s English was not as proficient as her daughter’s, her little girl would translate what I was saying when describing and telling the stories about my dolls. It was such a wonderful experience to watch her mother’s expression change as I spun my tales about the fabric creations I had on display on the NIADA table. Each time this little girl stopped by to talk to me about my work, I learned more abou...
Swan Song
Swan Song Full View. Column style weighted body to enable full view of the hand work and vintage lace.