This Kish vinyl doll was repainted (painted) by portrait artist Nancy Lee Moran in 2009 as a commission. Here she is having a picnic on the lawn at Nancy's home before flying off to California.
Barb requested a feminine and old-fashioned dress. I (Nancy) found a new Boneka dress is creamy-ivory-yellow with smocked embroidery of seafoam-blue and peach. The fabric, so filmy and soft, could float on a summer breeze. It has a Peter Pan scalloped collar. Barbara wrote to me, "When I was young my mother sewed all my clothes and that was her favorite collar for me. I felt like a doll when she sewed for me, as she would make four or five dresses of the same pattern in different colors."
Exquisite Smocking
Lovely hands
Peach & Seafoam Embroidery
Holding a sprig of dogwood
Custom Eyelet Slip
Ekatrina, New Wig
Factory Paint & Wig
Kish Sculpt without Paint
~ On a peaceful day in June 2009 ~
I'm sending loving thoughts to my new mom Barbara.
Ekaterina's sisters are antique reproductions created by Sandi MacGregor in 1984 and 1986. Sandi used German glass eyes and made the leather shoes herself.
Photo courtesy of Barbara, shown with her permission
Two New Dear Sisters!
Barb's husband builds doll furniture. His newest creation is a doll cabinet house . As you can see, Ekatrina is impressed with it! Here she is greeting everyone.
Ekatrina seems to feel at home amongst Barb's childhood dolls. ~ Two photos by Barbara, shown with her permission
About this doll ~ 16" (40 cm) Kish Seasons Winter, Re-created!
Her Distinctive Name is Old-World Russian and Greek.
Barbara, who is a math teacher of many years, wrote to me as follows:
For three generations, names have passed down in my family. My grandmother was born Ekaterina, but when she came to the United States her name was changed to Catherine. She named one of her own daughters Catherine. Ekatrina means pure and Hypatia means High Supreme. Hypatia was the first woman mathematician in history.
EYES are bluish-green, glazes of transparent paint over white. She has fine eyelashes (upper & lower) and feathered eyebrows using varied colors.
WIG:
The tag on the wig says Kemper Modacrykic fiber Whitney wig. The French braid is the color of Strawberry Blond. Seasons wears a size 7/8 wig. See Jasmine's Cottage for more lovely doll wigs. Click here to go to www.jasminescottage.com
BOX, Certificate, Doll Company:
She has her certificate and box. I hope you won't store your dolls in the original cardboard boxes. Cardboard is an inexpensive paper product that is acidic. If you do store your dolls in original boxes, wrap each doll first in a clean white cotton pillowcase to protect it. Seasons Dolls were designed by Helen Kish and produced by White Balloon International Doll Company of Valencia in Spain. They were distributed in the USA by Paradise Galleries. These Seasons dolls were produced in 2003 (date on certificate) and are RETIRED.
KISH MARKS: There is an impressed mark on the back of her head near the neck: 1997 Kish and Company 97F. I signed my name there, too.
FINISH:
Resin-oil glow (gloss) on eyes and satin gloss on lips
A thin veil of clear matte (non-shiny) varnish on rest of her face.
COLOR & PAINTING: Some computer screens may modify the color of the art. Some may make the image lighter or darker than it is. The doll has finer detail and more subtle coloring than a computer-jpeg-photo can show.
After removing all factory paint, I am using artist-grade alkyd-oil paints (in thin translucent glazes) with the addition of alkyd resin to make the paint surface become as flexible as the doll’s vinyl skin and to make it adhere well. I finely sand (Q-tip and finest pumice) the surface before painting it for better adhesion.
Nancy Lee Moran's POLICY TO SHOW RESPECT for Helen Kish & other doll creators is as follows:
The dolls I use were factory painted. I would never repaint a doll that the artist (Helen Kish) had painted herself, such as some of those in the Kish Signature Line. I would not paint one in a limited edition of fewer than 300 (preferably 500 or more). I consult the beautiful book I own:
Helen Kish: The Artist and Her Dolls by Louise Fecher (hardcover published in 2006). I am NOT affiliated with any doll company, creator or manufacturer.
All rights reserved. All art and photos on the site are protected by copyright law.
Each may only be reproduced with written permission of the artist. Site page design copyrighted by Nancy Lee Moran.
