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Mary Jane Butler has been on a journey – a creative journey. It has currently led her to creating spectacular art dolls that feature quilting as a main element. The journey began as a child when she used to play with paper dolls. She would often make large gown-like dresses for her paper dolls..
Many years later she saw several African bells sitting on a shelf. These bells had a typical bell-shaped flair, but they were squeezed front to back, making them flat. Mary Jane imagined them to be over-sized skirts. When all of this imagery started coming together in her Open Range Art Dolls, she created them with paper-mache. However, after experiencing quilting, a series of dolls evolved and are now created with quilted dresses over a frame of twigs. These newest creations are called Hoop Skirt Dolls, but the dolls are essentially flat so hey hang perfectly on a wall. Each one is totally unique and one-of-a-kind and certainly a fantastic conversation piece.
I first saw these dolls back in May hanging in one of our local galleries in La Veta (Mary Jane lives near here), during a recent La Veta Quilt Retreat. Needless to say, with quilters visiting town, all of them were sold in a matter of hours. Mary Jane also has other styles of art dolls that do not feature quilting. If you are looking for a fantastic piece of art, VERY reasonably priced ($95) you can get your own Mary Jane Butler Open Range Art Doll online (click here), or contact her directly at: openrangeartdolls@gmail.com
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