Self Portrait: A Personal History of Fashion

I made this piece for an art exhibit of Self Portraits. My first inclination was to make a face with found objects and stitchery, but eventually I changed over to the idea of a time line of my life of 52 years, which was my age in 2007. Early sketches concentrated on straight lines of dolls in different configurations, but I wasn't satisfied that this would show seamless passing of time. Once I came up with the spiral, I knew it was the way to go and I got to work.

I started making the youngest dolls first, gauging the size increase as each year passed. The dolls' armatures are made from thread wrapped pipe cleaners, with each figure dressed in an outfit I would have worn that year, taken from memories, family photos or imagination. Since I've sewn many of own clothes in my life, it was easier to remember an outfit from the past. They are recreated here with smaller scale fabric and embroidered wool felt. The wooden bead faces are painted and glued onto the pipe cleaner neck. The hair is made from embroidery floss sewn to a felt "wig" that is glued to the bead head. I showed the evolution of my hair graying, with strands of white intermingling with the dark brown thread. My husband appears the year we were married and my sons are included through the years when they were little and physically connected to me. The tatting outside of the circle was made by my grandmother about 100 years ago. The wool felt spiral is mounted on upholstery fabric, which I embellished with multicolored French knots.